At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4 the Lighthouse International Film Society, the year-round sister of the Lighthouse International Film Festival, will hold an illustrated film talk called “Ten Films That Scared America” at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies.
Tickets are $20 online at lighthouseff.com or $25 at the door. LIFS members pay only $15.
Last autumn the LIFS hosted filmmaker and educator Will Kuhn for a multimedia presentation of “Ten Films That Changed America.” Kuhn provided a guided tour through cinematic history, revealing how certain films such as “Casablanca,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “The Graduate” not only entertained audiences, but also shifted public conversation, influenced art and politics, and reconfigured our national psyche.
Kuhn is returning with “Ten Films That Scared America.”
What do the monsters in our favorite horror movies reveal about America’s deepest fears? Join LIFS for a fascinating multimedia journey through 10 iconic horror films and their connections to American society. From “Dracula” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” to Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” discover how Hollywood’s scariest movies reflected the political tensions, cultural changes and social anxieties of their times.
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” for example, dealt with American anxieties during the McCarthy Red Scare about communist infiltration (maybe your neighbor, who has been acting strangely lately, is a communist), conformity, and the loss of individuality. 1954’s “Them” had humans battling giant radioactive ants – people were definitely worried about radiation in the nuclear age.
Through film clips, fascinating stories and surprising historical connections, Kuhn reveals why these movies terrified generations of audiences and what they tell us about America today
