Animating the unnameable: the depiction of Cthulhu in animated shows

Paccosi, Valentino 2021. Animating the unnameable: the depiction of Cthulhu in animated shows. Studies in Gothic Fiction 7 , pp. 51-60. 10.18573/sgf.52

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Abstract

The beginning of the twenty-first century has witnessed the rise in popularity of Cthulhu, the most well-known among H. P. Lovecraft’s creations. However, it seems that Cthulhu is undergoing a process of naturalization that is drastically reducing his “threat” level. His presence on items of merchandizing and in animated television shows appears to corroborate the theories of Fred Botting explaining how monsters are destined to be assimilated by the process of normalization. Building on Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s theory that the monster “always escapes,” this article demonstrates that Cthulhu partially escapes normalization. While Botting sees the re-readings of monsters as proof of their normalization, for Cohen this demonstrates how the monster maintains its otherness even in different contexts. With a close analysis of selected episodes from the animated television shows The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991), Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010-2013), and South Park (1997-present), I demonstrate how the apparent normalization of Cthulhu is a tool used by interpretive communities to produce a versatile and ready-to-use version of the monster. This specific version of Cthulhu has the function of making this unnameable monster easier to understand for the viewers and to use for the shows’ creators, without completely erasing the more complex aspects of Cthulhu’s monstrousness.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures P Language and Literature > PS American literature
Publisher:	Cardiff University Press
ISSN:	2156-2407
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 June 2025
Date of Acceptance:	29 June 2021
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2025 08:35
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179277

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