W6

W6

What is the philosophy of cosmicism and how is it used to convey a sense of dread in both The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Colour out of Space?

Philosophy of comicism is a Lovecraft’s fiction provide some contempt for nascent medium. His works often relating to an imaginary world such as mysterious objects, forbidden secrets, adventures desert, the discovery of horrors in a city, metaphases, shocking revelations, dream and reality, alien beings, cosmic monsters, etc (Menegaldo, 2019).

In that cosmic perspective, man has a dire consequence of losing his mind if he fails to get the messages or cannot understand the mysteries of the universe (Menegaldo, 2019) (Joshi, 2006). In Cthulhu Mythos that Lovecraft was the ancient Philistine god Dagon in “Dagon” (1917), it was only in “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926) that the Cthulhu Mythos have come into genuine existence and the four subsidiary icons such as typography, occult love, gods and cosmicism that are conjoined into a coherent whole (Joshi, 2006). “A professor unearths evidence that a race of extraterrestrial entities, led by a creature called Cthulhu, came to earth from the depths of space millions of years ago, building a geometrically bizarre city called R’lyeh” (Joshi, 2006). Lovecraft’s stories up to this point had exemplified as his signature conception with all of the element of cosmicism that is evident only in a small number of tales.

‘The Shadow over Innsmouth” (1931) showed the comic to the mundane; the comic’s elements are presented under the surface to show their power. A bereft protagonist name Robert Olmstead (never named in the story but name in Lovecraft’s story notes) (Joshi, 2006), is a great great grandson of Obded Marsh and a Deep One; he soon will become one of the amphibious monsters whom miscegenation between alien fish-frogs like he witness in the decaying Massachusetts city of Innsmouth. In ‘the Innsmouth look” is a sign the tell them for something is happening in their place, something is big and profound physiological and psychological change that will come and haunt them in virtually immortal and dwell forever in their undersea cities (Joshi, 2006). Same for ‘The Colour out of Space’ when something falls into their backyard with an intense colour that is a sign for them whether they believe or not. Some of the characters in the movie believe that it is an unlucky sign, and they need to get out of there before it is too late, but some people do not believe in it. They keep staying in the house and many horrible happen; they cannot leave that area anymore. One thing in common in ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’ and “The Colour out of space” is that they have dwell where the alien use to hide there before they haunt and make people lose their mind.

Philosophy of comics is where the existence of two or more galaxies, alien from different galaxies and humans in the earth where we are living now accidentally meet or see extraordinary things happen like alien and they are different from us humans. That aliens come from others galaxies, and they often bring fair to human, and they are something that is unpredictable or cannot explain to the science now and hardy to believe if the sciences do not see it by themselves. Many people believe in these aliens, but many not. “The colour out of space” shows the audience something hard to understand or cannot explain in science and it is up to human whether they believe or not.

“The colour out of space” want to show audience that the aliens is exists and it is a nightmare for human. Seeing how aliens with no form like us, it is basically just a colour harm humans and turn them into a monster like two characters in Gardner family. Everything happen in the movie is a sense of dread that I think everyone who is watching the movie will feel the same fear. The movie leave an no answer questions to everyone who watches it. I feel unsure about what is actually happening and terrified of what is happening in the movie.

Reference:

Omeragić, E. (2016). A Study of Horror Elements in HP Lovecraft’s Short Stories of the Cthulhu Mythos (Doctoral dissertation, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Department of English Language and Literature.).

Menegaldo, G. (2019). HP Lovecraft on screen, a challenge for filmmakers (allusions, transpositions, rewritings). Brumal. Revista de investigación sobre lo Fantástico, 7(1), 55-79.

Joshi, S. T. (2006). The Cthulhu Mythos. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares, 1, 97-128.