Monster in the Mirror

In this final episode, we take a look back at the late Victorian prequels of contemporary white Christian nationalism. With a little help from emergence theory, cultural memory studies, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, we talk about how Christian nationalism itself might be thought of as something of a monster in itself, a hybrid creature stitched together from past mythologies, present complicities, and future escalation. With insights from Dr. Bradley Onishi and visual artist Danny Houk, we close off the series by contemplating how we might confront this monster, as well as imagine a world without it.

With Dr. Bradley Onishi and Danny Houk (https://dannyhouk.com/about/)

Written, produced, and narrated by Lucas Kwong 

Voice acting: Christian Young-Valdovinos, Naomi Kwong, Lucas Kwong

Special Thanks to Pixabay's audio artists for public domain FX clips

Clips from various films and news used under fair use laws

Theme song "Lair" by The Brother K Melee (https://brotherk.bandcamp.com/track/lair)

Support the podcast at https://ko-fi.com/lucaskwong!

Or leave a review at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monster-in-the-mirror/id1654399705

FURTHER READING

Matt Croasmun, The Emergence Of Sin: The Cosmic Tyrant In Romans

David Graeber, "Dead Zones Of The Imagination"

Rae Jereza, "Inheritance As Alternative To Ethnographic Empathy With The Far Right" https://www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/english/news-and-events/right-now/2022/inheritance-as-alternative-to-ethnographic-empathy.html

H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call Of Cthulhu"

Bradley Onishi, Preparing For War: The Extremist History Of White Christian Nationalism - And What Comes Next

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

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Before H.G. Wells penned War Of The Worlds, the alien invasion genre as we know it didn't exist. And perhaps more than any text in this series, his landmark science fiction novel focused readers deliberately on the monster in the mirror: the British Empire's civilizing, Christianizing mission, refracted through his technologically enhanced Martian colonizers. But 120 years later,

War of the Worlds

and its central premise have been coopted by the forces of nationalism, and Christian nationalism in particular. Today we’re going to talk about how

War of the Worlds

captures the tension between two visions of the future amidst escalating crises today: a world that moves beyond the hallowing of blood and soil, and a world that

violently, defiantly, embraces it. 

With Dr. Sarah Cole of Columbia University

Written, produced, and narrated by Lucas Kwong 

Voice acting: Christian Young-Valdovinos, Lucas Kwong

Special Thanks to Pixabay's audio artists for public domain FX clips

Clips from various films and news used under fair use laws

Theme song "Lair" by The Brother K Melee (brotherk.bandcamp.com)

Closing song "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" by The Brother K Melee

Support the podcast at https://ko-fi.com/lucaskwong!

Or leave a review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monster-in-the-mirror/id1654399705

Further Reading

Michael Barkun. A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America

Sarah Bond. "Pseudoarchaeology and the Racism Behind Ancient Aliens." https://hyperallergic.com/470795/pseudoarchaeology-and-the-racism-behind-ancient-aliens/

Jason Colavito. The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestial Pop Culture

Jason Colavito. "Review of Ancient Aliens S03E12: Aliens and Deadly Cults." //www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-ancient-aliens-s03e12-aliens-and-deadly-cults

Sarah Cole, Inventing Tomorrow: HG Wells and the Twentieth Century

Michael Coren, The Invisible Man: The Life And Liberties Of H.G. Wells

John Carlos Frey. Sand and Blood: America’s Stealth War on the Mexico Border

Michael Heiser. "Ancient Astronaut Nonsense as an Interpretive Filter for the Bible."

https://drmsh.com/ancient-astronaut-nonsense-interpretive-filter-bible/

Sam Moore and Alex Roberts, The Rise of Ecofascism: Climate Change and the Far Right

A. Brad Schwartz. Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News

Alexander Zaitchik. "Close Encounters Of The Racist Kind." https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/01/02/close-encounters-racist-kind

Ben Zeller, Ed. Handbook of UFO Religions.

Full Text of War Of The Worlds: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36/36-h/36-h.htm

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Rudyard Kipling is best known for his children's classic The Jungle Book. But the creator of boy-hero Mowgli also created copaganda for his Nineties - the 1890’s.

In his recurring character Adam Strickland, Kipling fashioned an officer who elicits scorn for his unconventional methods, but who always gets his man. In the story we’re going to look at today, “The Mark Of The Beast,” Strickland faces a mysterious Hindu priest who curses his friend by turning him into a wolflike beast. As such, “The Mark Of The Beast” isn’t just a cop story. It also features two horror archetypes that would come into their own in the 20th century: the man-beast and the supernaturally powerful devil worshipper. Or, if you like, the Wolf-Man and the Warlock. In this episode, we’re going to talk about how Christocops today similarly see themselves as fighting an uphill battle to keep Wolf-Men and Warlocks at bay . . . by any means necessary. 

Text of "Mark Of The Beast":

https://repositorio.ufsc.br/bitstream/handle/123456789/134558/TheMarkOfTheBeastRudyardKipling.pdf?sequence=1

RECOMMENDED READING:

Kathryn Belew, Bring The War Home

Anthea Butler, White Evangelical Racism

Martin Danahay and Deborah Morse, ed. Victorian Animal Dreams: Representations of Animals in Victorian Literature and Culture

Rudyard Kipling, Rudyard Kipling's Tales Of Horror And Fantasy

Craig Mann, Phases Of The Moon: A Cultural History Of The Werewolf Film

Alex Vitale, The End Of Policing

Jeffrey Victor, Satanic Panic: The Creation Of A Contemporary Legend

Written, narrated, and produced by Lucas Kwong

Theme song "Lair" by The Brother K Melee (www.brotherkmusic.com)

Voice actors: Christian Young-Valdovinos, Lucas Kwong

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Christian nationalism is a kind of con game. And of all the authors examined in this podcast, the one most likely to appreciate that con would be Richard Marsh, author of the 1897 horror novel The Beetle. A one time con artist himself, Marsh treats the gender fluidity of his shapeshifting monster as a con game, a scam that defrauds God himself. Today, we're going to talk about how The Beetle's view of transgenderism illuminates the complex of hate, fear, and fascination with which Christian nationalists tell some of their most vicious lies: the ones about LGBT+ people.

Written, narrated, and produced by Lucas Kwong

Theme song "Lair" by The Brother K Melee (www.brotherkmusic.com)

Closing song "Expire/Exhale" by Lucas Kwong

Voice actors: Christian Young-Valdovinos, Naomi Kwong

Join Brad in Costa Mesa, CA - January 13: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/473515687167

Join Brad in Los Angeles - January 14: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/466693531917

Pre-Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960

To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus

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Further Reading: 

Victoria Margree, British Women's Short Supernatural Fiction, 1860-1930: Our Own Ghostliness 

Daniel Orrells Minna Vuohelianen, and Victoria Margree, eds., Richard Marsh, Popular Fiction, and Literary Culture, 1890-1915

Joe Vallese, ed. It Came From The Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror.

Cynthia Miller, ed. The Silence Of The Lambs: Critical Reflections On A Cannibal

If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider making a donation at ko-fi.com/lucaskwong or leaving a review at our Apple Podcasts page: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monster-in-the-mirror/id1654399705

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The trope of the “Asiatic criminal mastermind” has haunted Asians for over a century, from the notorious Fu Manchu right up to the myths of dastardly Wuhan virologists circulating in the COVID era. But these myths, which have helped fuel a historic spike in anti-Asian racism, didn’t start with Sax Rohmer’s “Devil Doctor.” Before Fu Manchu, there was Dr. Yen How, the villain of M.P. Shiel’s smash hit The Yellow Danger (1898). In this episode, we examine how Asians today live not only in the shadow of the ruthless Yen How, but also in the shadow of the mindless monster that Yen How commands: the “Heathen Chinee.”

We have in-person tickets at 50% off - use SWAJ50 (limited number available)

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Pre-Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960

To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

Narrated and Scripted By Lucas Kwong

Voice acting: Christian Young Valdovinos, Lucas Kwong

Sound Effects courtesy of royalty free sources Played N Faved, The Sound Source, Free Sound Effects

Theme Song “Lair” by The Brother K Melee (brotherkmusic.com)

End song “Pledge Of Allegiance” by The Brother K Melee (brotherkmusic.com)

Various film and news audio clips used under fair/educational use laws.

Further Reading:

Sascha Auerbach, Race, Law, and the ‘Chinese Puzzle’ in Imperial Britain

Harold Billings, M.P. Shiel: A Biography Of His Early Years

Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief In Modern American Culture

Lou Cannon, President Reagan: The Role Of A Lifetime

Ross G. Forman, China And The Victorian Imagination: Empires Entwined

Christopher Frayling, The Yellow Peril: Dr. Fu Manchu And The Rise Of Chinaphobia

Kathryn Gin Lum, Heathen: Religion And Race In American History

Mark Jerng, Racial Worldmaking: The Power Of Popular Fiction

Kirsten MacLeod, "M.P. Shiel and the Love of Pubescent Girls: The Other 'Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name,'" English Literature in Transition 51.4 (2008): 355–80

Caroline Yang, The Peculiar Afterlife of Slavery: The Chinese Worker And The Minstrel Form.

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When it was first published in 1897, Bram Stoker's Dracula immediately triggered a spate of strong emotional responses. These responses partly stemmed from its action-movie depiction of Christianity, but also partly from the xenophobic fears of European Jews that lurk beneath its titular monster. Dracula also introduced the idea of a holy conspiracy, whose members must conduct their sacred fight against evil in secret. In this episode, we talk about how a century of adaptations has preserved the notion of dueling conspiracies, and thereby provided the narrative that fuels QAnon, the Oath Keepers, and other modern Crusaders consumed with their own secret plot to take America back from the "globalist" monsters they fear and loathe.

Pre-Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960

To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

Voice acting: Christian Young Valdovinos, Alfred Kwong, Lucas Kwong, Naomi Kwong

For Further Reading:

Stephen Arata, Fictions Of Loss

Barbara Belford,  Bram Stoker: A Biography Of The Author Of Dracula

Roger Luckhurst, ed. The Cambridge Companion To Dracula

Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu, In Search Of Dracula: The History Of Dracula And Vampires

David Skal, Something In The Blood: The Untold Story Of Bram Stoker, The Man Who Wrote Dracula 

Bram Stoker And Valdimar Asmundsson, Powers Of Darkness: The Lost Version Of Dracula.

Bram Stoker, Dracula.

Audio from various films used under fair/educational use laws.

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Monster in the Mirror is a limited audio series produced by Straight White American Jesus, and created and written by Dr. Lucas Kwong.

Monster in the Mirror is a series about monsters. It's about how the fantastical beasts who stalk the imagination of contemporary Christian nationalists were birthed in another white God fearing empire. It's about how Christian nationalism's past and the clues to its future line, the pages of some of the most popular novels in English.

Christian nationalism isn't just a set of policies or a material network of influencers. It's a story, a story that seduces the imagination, one that's been told over and over, but that is now enjoying a renaissance. And if we wanna trace today's reboot back to its source material, we have to go back further than the Reagan eighties or even the Billy Graham fifties.

We have to go back to another time and place where the script that MAGA religion has now revived first entered white Christian consciousness, not as an explicit political ideology, but as entertainment. That time and place is late 19th century Britain. Monster in the Mirror explores how at the height of its powers, the British Empire began to suffer nightmares, visions of an apocalyptic future, of a decline.

That in some sense, actually is happening today in our place in time. And we're gonna see how the monsters that today's Christian right blames for that decline originated in the stories that the late Victorians told themselves about Christianity's enemies and protectors.

To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi

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