Dark Figures: A Social-Philosophical Analysis of John Carpenter's Films

The book represents the first attempt at a socio-philosophical analysis of John Carpenter's cinema in Russian. "Halloween," "The Thing," "They Live," and many other films by the cult director have long been considered classics and traditionally attract the attention of film researchers. However, even in the West, they are not often the subject of systematic reflection using a consistent scientific methodology. Referring to Fredric Jameson's concept of the "political unconscious," Yevgeny Degtyarev argues that Carpenter's films transmit hidden ideological content, even from the director himself. According to Degtyarev, analyzing this content and the socio-historical context in which it emerged will help better understand the meaning of individual horror films by the master and the significance of his legacy for popular culture as a whole. This monograph will undoubtedly attract the attention of specialists - film scholars, cultural studies experts, and philosophers, as well as a wide range of readers interested in contemporary cinema and mass culture.