*CFP* "BEYOND PSYCHO: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF JOSEPH STEFANO AND HORROR IN THE OUTER LIMITS", BOOK CHAPTER

We invite chapter proposals (300-500 words) for an edited volume of critical essays dealing with screenwriter Joseph Stefano and elements of horror in the 1960s television program The Outer Limits.

This edited collection, with articles from film scholars working in the fields of horror and science fiction, will examine not only Stefano’s post-Psycho accomplishments as a scriptwriter but also his importance as a producer, establishing his gothic vision as a consistent characteristic of the show. The Outer Limits, filmed in black and white, employs an expressionist cinematography uncharacteristic of other broadcasts at that time, emphasizing the gothic elements of the plots while suggesting a new category of horror noir and science fiction drama. The Outer Limits, as horror noir, employs visual elements and narrative conventions of the art-house foreign films and noir drama of the past to create an ambiance of horror while anticipating future challenges of a society confronting accelerated scientific and technological change.

Essays will be structured around Stefano’s ten filmed screenplays and two contributed story ideas, while each essay also may examine other episodes, as appropriate, to illustrate how Stefano’s horror noir themes, tropes, and characterizations pervade the entire series.

Special consideration will be given to essays emphasizing issues of gender and identity, marginalized communities and the Other, political conspiracy and surveillance, film noir conventions, and the ethical development of science and technology.

Contributors may discuss technical aspects of the productions as instruments for promoting a profound sense of dread and horror, including the haunting score by Dominic Frontiere, the impressionistic cinematography of Conrad L. Hall and Kenneth Peach, and the visual effects by Jim Danforth and the Project Unlimited team.

We especially solicit essays on the following contextual topics and episodes of The Outer Limits:

• Episodes: 
• The Forms of Things Unknown 
• Don’t Open Till Doomsday 
• The Mice 
• The Chameleon 
• The Invisibles 
• A Feasibility Study 
• Fun and Games 
• The Bellero Shield 
• The Moonstone 
• It Crawled Out of the Woodwork 
• Contextual Topics: 
• Joseph Stefano and the Horror-Noir Narrative 
• Horror, Noir, and the 1960s 
• Black and White Horror: Images of the Other in The Outer Limits 
• Unreal Cities: The Collision of Ethics and Technology in The Outer Limits 
• Auteur Television: Joseph Stefano and The Outer Limits 
• Issues of Representation and Class in The Outer Limits

 

Important Dates

Proposal Abstract and Author Bio: September 30th, 2021

Decision Date: October 30th, 2021

Final Version of Accepted Projects: February 28th, 2022

 

Proposal Submission

Interested scholars should send a 300-500 word proposal and a 150 word bio by September 30th, 2021, to stefanoproject7@gmail.com, Michael L Shuman