‘Cult Cinema and Technological Change’ Aberystwyth University, 15–16 April 2014

Abstract

This conference took place at Aberystwyth University over two days, with 21 papers delivered, as well as two keynotes and a special screening of The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) in 3D, shown in association with Abertoir, Wales’ International Horror Festival. The conference emerged as part of the ongoing AHRC-funded project, ‘Global Cult Cinema in the Age of Convergence’, which aims to consider how technology has affected reception and distribution of cult cinema, with particular emphasis on the wider global context. Panels covered a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, fandom and technology, informal cultism, and cults, subcultures and the mainstream. The variety of papers delivered indicates not only the ongoing vitality of cult studies but the vast array of films that can be, and are, considered cult. The various ways in which concepts of technology were addressed also demonstrates how broad and productive an area of investigation this is. The conference opened with an entertaining panel consisting of three case studies: the marketing of Pete Walker’s ‘Terror’ films from original posters to contemporary DVD and BluRay; the ongoing debates about the authenticity of certain VHS sleeve art for notorious ‘video nasty’ Snuff (1976); and the transgressive and immersive nature of the short-lived but significant rise of 3D in the 1950s. Parallel panels considered issues of technology, fandom and reception. The impact of social media, arguably one of the