Originally posted on mythicramblings.com on Apr 11, 2015.

Last time, on Mythic Ramblings…

You’ll thank me someday. Probably Friday. No vaccines for you, sweet child. What sort of fairy tale ending is – oh. I was more disappointed than anything.

This time, on Mythic Ramblings, I’ll be talking about some great presentations I saw at the 2015 National Popular Culture Association Conference in New Orleans. Some of them were awesome, others piqued my interest, but all of them definitely happened. 

So I am a big procrastinator. I’ve been one since I can remember. I remember a project I had to do in the 2nd grade about Rosa Parks. I started it the night before. It ended up being awesome, but I distinctly recall my dad saying, “Never again! Next time we start projects when we get the handout!”

Needless to say, procrastinating has become part of my process and I’ve learned to thrive under the pressure (that I unnecessarily create for myself). So that is how I found myself, Wednesday morning at 1 am, at the New Orleans airport writing/editing my presentation for PCA. Thankfully the airport had couches and jazz music, so I was able to get work done. I also worked on it quite a bit the next night (and morning). Around all that, however, I had time to attend a fantastic conference. The conference was Wednesday through Saturday. It was great to get my presentation out of the way (Thursday morning), but I think my networking was hurt by its early placement, both in the conference and in the day (8 am).

Overall, I made some great connections and really enjoyed the presentations I saw. There are a few, however, that I thought were particularly innovative and I wanted to share them with you!

The first really great one I saw was on Wednesday morning at 9:45. Presented by Kenna Day from Virginia Tech, it looked at Deadpool in the post-Watchman era and how he differs from the superheroes that came before him. It was very interesting to see how she tracked generalizations about comic superheroes and then compared them to the mannerisms of Deadpool. He’s a fun and witty character, so I appreciated the focus on him.

I also have to give props to my fellow Thursday morning panelists. Owen Horton from University of Kentucky looked at the PTSD recovery model as shown in Source Code and Edge of Tomorrow. Apart from being a fascinating exploration the Hollywood interpretation of PTSD, I especially liked how he evaluated the shortcomings of his approach. I feel every good academic should do this and am always surprised when people don’t. Aaron Tucker from Ryerson University unfortunately couldn’t make it to present at our panel, but luckily his partner was there and could present for him. His presentation tackled the simulation of war in Ender’s Game. I have refrained from seeing the movie, since the book was so dear to me. After this paper, though, I might be persuaded to give it a chance if only for Aaron’s reading of it as a depiction of the pitfalls of simulated warfare.

The next session at 9:45 was where I had the pleasure of seeing Courtney Neal, an independent scholar, and her research into identity performance in dystopian YA books. I know Courtney personally and have to disclose that I already though she was great. She’s done some awesome preliminary groundwork into amassing similiarities between the many dystopian stories that have taken pop culture by storm lately. I’m really excited to see where she goes with this as she offered some interesting evidence – I was particularly struck by the presence of surveillance that she brought up.

After that I found myself at an 11:30 serialized narrative panel that I picked randomly. These random panels usually end up being a good choice for me and this panel was no exception. It might be one of the best panels I went to overall. Of note was University of Rhode Island’s Gabriel Romaguera and his presentation on nonchronological continuity in the comic of Atomic Robo. I had never heard of this comic before but I am definitely jumping on this train. Atomic Robo follows a robot and many reoccurring figures from science throughout the times, but the comics don’t follow any main timeline; it jumps around, from 1970 to 1943, without any points of reference for the reader. The idea of a story line bucking the traditional definition of a narrative (something happened, which then caused something else to happen) is so much fun to me. I talked to him later on about the connections that could be drawn between Atomic Robo and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comics. It was really fun to talk with him and I will be keeping my eyes peeled for other things from him.

Another presentation that I really enjoyed from that serialized narrative panel was by Kellye Corcoran from Francis Marion University. She was looking at the many instances of evil in American Horror Story. It was all hunky-dory until she brought us to the startling revelation about the trend of perverted motherhood throughout the show’s many story lines. I had never really thought of motherhood in the show and it was a real “d’oh” moment for me when she laid it all out. I feel like the presentations that shock me with their simplicity are the ones that really stick with me.

Thursday afternoon at 1:15 I saw Krista McQueeney from Merrimack College present her research into the media coverage of “mean girls” in news stories about female aggression. She did great work in compiling the differing terms and narratives given to white and POC females in the news. She also expanded her scope to look at non-heterosexual females. My favourite headline she showed us was “Attack of the Killer Lesbians.” What I love about pop culture research is that it frequently shines the light on real and awful issues in a great, on-the-nose way. Her presentation made the audience laugh and groan in equal turn. Good stuff.

Lastly, for Thursday, I saw Rhona Trauvitch from Florida International University present on the intersection of taxonomical nomenclature with popular culture. Another disclosure: I know Rhona and have roomed with her two years in a row for PCA. She’s beyond brilliant and I had high hopes for this presentation. She didn’t fail me. She looked at the variety of ways that fiction in pop culture has been coming into the “real world.” My favourite example is that Richard Castle, the fictional author from Castle, is labeled as a real author on World Cat. I mean, this just opens up a ton in terms of exploring the ways fiction influences reality, which then in turn influences fiction. It’s very meta and makes my brain explode and I love it.

After much drinking and many oysters, I eventually made it to Friday morning. I first hit up Café du Monde for the obligatory beignet stop (I went there a total of three times). Then I went into a full day of mythology panels. One of my absolute favourites was at 9:45, when Rosalie Bouck traced the Aztec roots of the rising borderlands saint, Santa Muerte. Rosalie is a classmate of mine from Pacifica Graduate Institute, but we’ve only recently started getting to know one another. I’ve really been missing out. Santa Meurte is gaining in popularity in the border region of Mexico, especially among the Mexican drug cartel. Through iconographical research, Rosalie points out her Aztec roots and posits on the possible reasons why Santa Muerte could be becoming more and more commonplace. Hint: it has to do with the repression of all things dark by Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Another myth panel (this one at 11:30) I adored was Adrian Cook of Tarrant County College and his energetic analysis of the anti-hero. His take focused heavily on the anti-hero’s relationship with the hero, a point that I think is crucial when considering the anti-hero. He brought in religion (specifically kabbalah) in a way that I don’t know if I’m totally on board with, but I love his basic thesis that the hero is motivated by concern for the collective, while the anti-hero is motivated by his ego. Adrian and I had a wonderful talk after his presentation and, again, he’s someone I look forward to seeing more of in future academic endeavours.

The next myth panel at 1:15 featured two more amazing presentations. Last year at PCA I saw a wonderful presentation on the female hero by Elizabeth Fow from Borough of Manhattan Community College. This year brought me her conclusion. Eschewing the word “heroine” (citing its diminutive origins). Elizabeth offers the argument that the female hero, has a different experience from the male hero (due to having a different social role) but still functions in the same mythological ways. She listed examples of female heroes acting as rebel, saviour, and rescuer, to name but a few of the classic hero roles. I ran into her later on in the streets of French Quarter and expressed how much I appreciated her work. I’m so happy I got to see her present again and can’t wait to see what she’s going to bring next year.

The same panel had another presentation from a classmate of mine from Pacifica Graduate Institution, Maggie Mendenhall. Maggie and I have been running into each other at conferences for well over a year now, but I’ve never actually seen one of her presentations. She presented on Star Trek and the relationship explored in its universe between the Starfleet and the Borg. I know next to nothing about Star Trek but even I could tell that Maggie had put in a ton of work and academic reflection into this. I was really blown away with everything she pulled out of Star Trek. Does this mean I have to watch it?

To add to my wonderful track record of random panels was a panel on memes on Friday at 3:00. Imagine my surprise when the first presenter introduced herself as having graduated from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Laura Strudwick, as she later turned out to be, did a highly interesting and captivating look into the way memes function to expand user’s perception and and proliferation of information. I loved how she tied mythology into her study. I mean, she’s doing exactly what I tell people mythology can do when applied to contemporary culture. It was great to see her and her work.

Friday was a long day, and I was dead tired by the end of it. Then, during the 6:30 mythology panel, Jonathan Broussard from Louisiana State University, woke me up by loudly declaring classic rock lyrics (I cannot/will not remember the song or band he was quoting). It all made sense, however, once he started talking about how Thor transitioned into an American hero in Thor. He pointed out how the middle class was used as a way to “Americanize” Thor, which I thought was pretty brilliant. Again, I had never really thought of Thor in this manner and really liked how Jonathan made his argument.

The last presentation I saw before heading back to San Francisco (before eating an alligator po-boy) was Saturday morning at 9:45. Kim Yen Howells-Ng from the University of Melbourne, presented on the way the tableau worked for the character of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. She used specific clips which really strengthened her argument for why Dany is the perfect vessel to explore the “felt good” sensation frequently associated with watching Game of Thrones.

This is but a short and unfair summary of the many excellent panels I saw (and food I ate). I, of course, saw others that I just didn’t mention. I will say that I was not happy with how this year’s PCA was organized. It felt like there were just waaaaayyyyy too many panels and no time to eat food. With panels starting at 8 am and going till well past 9 pm, it was a long and crazy conference. BUT I was happy to see old friends and to make new connections. Next year it will be in Seattle and I’m already getting excited.

Wait. Did I not mention what it was I presented on? Woah. Well, how about I do that. I was presenting on a trend I’ve noticed where kaiju and big monsters are returning to blockbuster films. I made the connection between kaiju and deities in general, particularly angry, titanic gods. I eventually came to the conclusion that kaiju and big movie monsters are representative of religious reverence and fear, though divorced from any organized religion. I’m actually pretty proud of how many movies and shows I brought into this (upwards of 10?). I’m working on it more so that I can hopefully shop it around for publication. If you want to see the presentation, devoid of any words or context, you can do so here.

That’s all I have for you folks this time! Yup, my post really was all about a conference that certainly none of you went to. Your point?

Here’s list of the titles and presenters I mentioned in this post:

• “Crazier Than a Sack of Ferrets”: Deadpool as the Post-Watchmen Superhero – Kenna Day
• “We Have To Go Back!”: The Time-Loop Narrative as PTSD Experience in Source Code and The Edge of Tomorrow – Owen Horton
• Ender’s War Games: The Simulation of War as Weapon and Tactic – Aaron Tucker
• The Return of the Kaiju and Gods – Chelsea Brown
• Chins Up, Smiles On: Identity Performance in YA Dystopias – Courtney Neal
• Towards a Nonchronological Continuity: The Case of Atomic Robo as the Exception to Comic Book Serialized Storytelling – Gabriel Romaguera
• America Evil Story: American Horror Story and the Branding of American Evil – Kellye Corcoran
• Mean Girls in the News: Race, Gender, and Sexuality Intersections in News Coverage of Female Aggression – Krista McQueeney
• Figmentum nonfictumi, or, What You Get When You Cross Taxonomical Nomenclature with Popular Culture – Rhona Trauvitch
• You Cannot Kill the Goddess of Death: Tracing the Roots of Santa Muerte, the New Patron Saint of Mexican Drug Cartels, to Ancient Aztec Goddesses of Death and Dying – Rosalie Bouck
• Skipping a Step: the Anti-Hero and the Ego – Adrian Cook
• The (Sometimes) Quiet Call of the Female Hero – Elizabeth Fow
• Starfleet and the Borg of Star Trek: The Hero’s Journey v. Feminine Energy – Margaret Mendenhall
• Crazy Mix-Em-Ups: The User-Generated Internet’s Influence on Expanding Perception – Laura Strudwick
• Taming the Thunder to Harness the Lightning: Thor as a Mythic American Hero – Jonathan Broussard
• Anger, Awe, and the “Felt Good”: Moral Emotions and Affective Congruence in Game of Thrones – Kim Yen Howells-Ng