Harry M. Benshoff is an associate professor in the department of Radio, TV, and Film at the University of North Texas. He is the author of Monsters in the Closet and co-author with Sean Griffin of Queer Images and America on Film.
Benshoff provides a synoptic account of one of the most densely
plotted of all daytime dramas, engages with much theoretical
writing on the soap opera and Gothic genres, and provides new
insights into the intersecting and often conflicting public tastes
to which the program appeals. He does so with a deftness of touch
that makes even complex ideas entertaining in a volume that could
be enjoyed, but by no means exhausted, in a single evening." —Kevin
Heffernan associate professor in the Division of Cinema-Television
at Southern Methodist University
"Harry Benshoff's expert dissection and historically informed
analysis of the 1960s cult TV show Dark Shadows balances the ardor
of a fan and the sharp insights of a seasoned scholar. A program
that played daily to millions of viewers for five years was more
than a fluke or oddity and Benshoff gives its popularity long
overdue context and illumination. Benshoff deftly describes and
applies key theoretical concepts for analysis of the show's many
facets, yet the writing remains witty, accessible, and engaging
throughout." —Rick Worland professor in the Division of
Cinema-Television at Southern Methodist University and author of
The Horror Film: An Introduction
"Dark Shadows has everything: vampire Barnabas Collinwood as
romantic but doomed hero; narrative complexity that almost beats
Lost; counter-hegemonic family normativity; and tangled, hyperbolic
actor/character relations. Harry Benshoff's intelligent and
superbly informed account of this cult favorite teaches much about
the gothic genre and the history of television. It is truly an
enjoyable monograph." —Janet Staiger William P. Hobby Centennial
Professor in Communication and Professor of Women’s and Gender
Studies at the University of Texas and author of Political Emotions
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