The Blob, Steve McQueen and the Rising Teen

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Somewhere in the late 1950s society began to come to terms with the idea of the teenager. Teens were heading to the cinema leaving younger siblings and parents at home. The Blob (1958) isn‘t a tale of rebellion or film warning about teenage delinquency but a thoroughly enjoyable time with a catchy theme tune. 

I have two wonderful guests to help us unravel this classic 1950s sci-fi. 

The Experts 

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous  of articles and books on cultural history and film. 

Matthew Rule Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

03:22 The origins of the film 

06:05 Moral panic, the teenager and the AIP film formula

11:36 Red scare as red herring: Jello and suburbia  

16:25 The intention vs the interpretation of films 

17:32 The Blob  

20:00 The theme song vs the earnest tone 

24:15 The cinema scene and self-reflection 

28:32 The double bill offering 

29:56 Steve McQueen: The adult teen 

39:10 What are we gonna do? 

39:40 Legacy: Sequels and the education system 

48:55 Recommendations for the listener

The Next Episode! 

The next episode we will focus on the film I Married a Monster from Outer Space. You can buy or rent the film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region

 

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