Tracing The Ring: Horror and its Discontents in the Age of Symbolic Change

The Japanese film, Ringu (1998), directed by Hideo Nakata and based on a
novel by Kôji Suzuki, quickly gained an enormous cult following in Japan,
where it spawned two sequels (Rasen and Ringu 2) as well as a prequel (Ring
0). The film's success in Japan, however, was dwarfed by its 2002 American
remake, The Ring, directed by Gore Verbinski. Widely popular and critically
acclaimed, The Ring earned gross domestic revenues of nearly 130 million
dollars, making it the seventh highest grossing horror film in history. Of
even greater significance, perhaps, Verbinski's film not only provided a
fresh stylistic approach to the horror film genre (one that sparked a new
American interest in Japanese horror cinema and its directors), but also
revitalized a slumbering American horror film industry. Indeed, since the
1999 release of The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense, both the
popularity of horror films and the confidence of American movie executives
in such films' potential profitability had been in decline. Astonishingly
popular, The Ring generated renewed financial, cultural, and artistic
interest in both American and Japanese horror film genres.

This proposed essay collection, Tracing The Ring: Horror and its Discontents
in the Age of Symbolic Change, takes The Ring phenomena seriously, urging
students of film, culture, literature, gender studies, literary theory, and
media technology to give both the American remake and its Japanese
counterparts (including Suzuki's novel) the kind of serious scholarly
scrutiny they deserve. Essay proposals that treat The Ring either in
isolation or in the context of its Japanese antecedents are welcome. It is
hoped that contributors will approach the films – and their concomitant
impact on contemporary culture – from a wide range of critical and
theoretical perspectives.

Please submit title and 100 - word abstract of proposed paper along with a
brief scholarly bio by February 1, 2006 to Kristen Lacefield
(nikita5595_at_hotmail.com). Digital submissions as e-mail attachments in Rich
Text Format or Microsoft Word are preferred. Maximum length for final essays
(including notes) is 30 double-spaced pages in Times New Roman 12 point. All
citations should appear as endnotes formatted according to the Chicago
Manual of Style: http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/guides/chicagogd.htm

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Received on Sat Oct 29 2005 - 14:48:21 EDT