Monsters
are global, even universal. All human beings make their fears into
something tangible, visible. No wonder they are a staple part of
entertainment.
At
first I was horrified of monsters, but it wasn’t far into my
childhood that I became obsessed with and even identified with them,
and became a big fan of monsters movies, that back then were shown on
Saturday afternoon programs like L.A.’s KHJ-TV 9’s Strange
Tales of Science Fiction.
Though
these shows mainly showed low-budget Hollywood productions, they
included movies from other countries. Monsters and other strangeness
from England (which I’ve always considered strange and exotic),
Italy, Russia, Mexico, and especially Japan. Godzilla and the other
kaiju we a driving force in monster kid culture.
Years
later, I grew up into a speculative fiction sophisticate, but deep
down I’ve always been that kid who loved monster movies.
Which
brings us to David Bowles’ novel Lords of the Earth.
This
one hit me with both barrels, totally satisfying my inner monster
movie fan, and the venerable Father of Chicano Science Fiction.
In
Lords
of the Earth,
author, translator, scholar and translator of pre-Columbian
languages, David Bowles brings kaiju-style giant monsters to Mexico.
He doesn’t just throw some arbitrary guys in rubber suits into
miniature, stereotypical sets studded with adobe buildings and
cactus, Bowels digs into pre-Columbian mythology, and geology, makes
connections to Mexican cultures, dovetailing the myth with science.
There
are also heroic, educated, successful Mexican/Latinx characters,
(when I was kid, the heroes were always white, except in the Japanese
and Mexican movies) and contemporary situations, drug gangs, the
border, and bring a feeling of reality of the latest news broadcasts
to the fantastic vision.
It
brings back the fun of old monster movies, but brings the genre up to
date, making it suitable reading for adults, though this would also
be a great book to give young guys who aren’t interested in
reading.
Not
only a fabulous tribute to the art of the monster movie, Lords
of the Earth,
would make a great movie. With Mexico dominating the film industry,
it would be a natural. Especially since the taboo that kept the
Academy from recognizing the work of Mexican directors if they put
anything Mexican in their films has just been broken.
I
have a feeling that this is beginning of a monster renaissance. Which
wound also satisfy the Father of Chicano Science Fiction and his
monster kid inner child.
Ernest Hogan is currently working on a story about the monsters of Aztlán
starring a female masked wrestler.
2 comments:
Kudos to the Father of Chicano science fiction. With all the Chicano and Latino Studies departments out there, I would expect that instructors would be using more Chicano/Latino sci-fi literature to motivate their students to read. Youth love sci-fi movies, without a doubt. Come on, professores, time to get past frijoles de mi tia and "I was a teenage gang leader."
My name is Joe Steve Vera. I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and love Mexican culture. Finally we are creating exciting cultural blends! So cool! Qué Chido! Tre mojosa!
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