Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds
In this paper, we suggest a speculative comparison between the short story The Color Out of Space (Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927) and the documentary film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer, 2020). We explore the similarities between Herzog’s specific inter...
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Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Litteraria Copernicana |
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| Online Access: | https://apcz.umk.pl/LC/article/view/36844 |
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| author | Jamer Mello Laura Cánepa |
| author_facet | Jamer Mello Laura Cánepa |
| author_sort | Jamer Mello |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In this paper, we suggest a speculative comparison between the short story The Color Out of Space (Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927) and the documentary film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer, 2020). We explore the similarities between Herzog’s specific interest in extreme phenomena of Nature and Lovecraftian Cosmicism. We observe that both authors have, to a certain extent, compatible views on the relationship between humans and nature: Herzog and Lovecraft seem to be interested in identifying and investigating humanity’s difficulty in coping with their insignificance when facing catastrophic events caused by indifferent Nature; both chose the same kind of landscape (iced lands, volcanic areas) and extreme natural phenomena (like meteorite falls); and they show a particular interest in characters connected to scientific experiences, and obsessed (even sometimes driven to madness) with the mysteries of nature. Our analysis does not suggest a direct influence of Lovecraft on Herzog, but a productive coincidence that can shed light on the film Fireball and its possible Lovecraftian resonances.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0f465080f10247a98cefdff005400e0e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1899-315X 2392-1617 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Litteraria Copernicana |
| spelling | doaj-art-0f465080f10247a98cefdff005400e0e2025-08-20T03:14:46ZdeuNicolaus Copernicus University in ToruńLitteraria Copernicana1899-315X2392-16172022-07-0140410.12775/LC.2021.040Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker WorldsJamer Mello0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1771-204XLaura Cánepa1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3248-599XUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulUNICAMP Universidade Estadual de Campinas In this paper, we suggest a speculative comparison between the short story The Color Out of Space (Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927) and the documentary film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer, 2020). We explore the similarities between Herzog’s specific interest in extreme phenomena of Nature and Lovecraftian Cosmicism. We observe that both authors have, to a certain extent, compatible views on the relationship between humans and nature: Herzog and Lovecraft seem to be interested in identifying and investigating humanity’s difficulty in coping with their insignificance when facing catastrophic events caused by indifferent Nature; both chose the same kind of landscape (iced lands, volcanic areas) and extreme natural phenomena (like meteorite falls); and they show a particular interest in characters connected to scientific experiences, and obsessed (even sometimes driven to madness) with the mysteries of nature. Our analysis does not suggest a direct influence of Lovecraft on Herzog, but a productive coincidence that can shed light on the film Fireball and its possible Lovecraftian resonances. https://apcz.umk.pl/LC/article/view/36844cinemaWerner HerzogliteratureH.P. LovecraftThe Color Out of Space |
| spellingShingle | Jamer Mello Laura Cánepa Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds Litteraria Copernicana cinema Werner Herzog literature H.P. Lovecraft The Color Out of Space |
| title | Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds |
| title_full | Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds |
| title_fullStr | Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds |
| title_short | Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds |
| title_sort | emissaries from other worlds asteroids science and mythology in the color out of space and the film fireball visitors from darker worlds |
| topic | cinema Werner Herzog literature H.P. Lovecraft The Color Out of Space |
| url | https://apcz.umk.pl/LC/article/view/36844 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamermello emissariesfromotherworldsasteroidsscienceandmythologyinthecoloroutofspaceandthefilmfireballvisitorsfromdarkerworlds AT lauracanepa emissariesfromotherworldsasteroidsscienceandmythologyinthecoloroutofspaceandthefilmfireballvisitorsfromdarkerworlds |