Documentary: Paul Copeland: Words of Captain Scott (U.K. 2012) Robert Falcon Scott and his attempt to be first at the South Pole is probably the single most talked about subject in Antarctic literature. Words of Captain Scott is an hour-long British tv documentary trying to breathe life into the old Continue Reading
Antarctica
Research Blog Antarctica #110: Berserk in the Antarctic
Non-fiction: David Mercy: Berserk in the Antarctic (Summersdale, 2006) Berserk in the Antarctic is a travel book in which the author, David Mercy, makes his way to Antarctica from Chile in a small sailing boat staffed by him, the young Norwegian captain and an unreliable guy called Manuel. The craziness Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #109 – Happy Feet 2
Film: George Miller: Happy Feet 2 (Australia, 2011) The two biggest subsections of Antarctic books, movies and other media are the men of the Heroic Age such as Scott and Amundsen and penguins. The first Happy Feet movie is probably the best example of penguin-related Antarctic children’s entertainemnt, at least Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #108: Peter Wilkins
Fiction: Robert Paltock: Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man (U.K. 1751) Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man has the distinction of being the first Antarctic novel ever written, by the English lawyer Robert Paltock. Unfortunately, it’s not very good. Peter Wilkins loses his inheritance Continue Reading
The Thing, revisited
John Carpenter’s movie The Thing is but the most famous example of a lineage of remakes and “inspired by” short stories and movies. And claymation movies starring penguins.
Research Blog Antarctica #107: No Horizon Is So Far
Non-fiction: Liv Arnesen, Ann Bancroft & Cheryl Dahle: No Horizon Is So Far (Penguin, 2004) No Horizon Is So Far is the account of the Norwegian Liv Arnesen and American Ann Bancroft’s expedition to cross the Antarctic continent unsupported. Books about modern Antarctic expeditions like this one are more like Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #106: Icequake
Novel: Crawford Kilian: Icequake (toExcel, 1998) What if there was an earthquake on Antarctica? That’s the premise of Crawford Kilian’s disaster novel Icequake, a novel that’s at its best when describing tons of ice moving in chaos. Following all the traditions of genre literature, its at its worst when it Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #105: The Thing
Film: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.: The Thing (U.S.A., 2011) The movie The Thing is a remake/prequel of John Carpenter’s 1982 movie The Thing, which is a remake of a 1951 movie called The Thing From Another World, which is based on the short story Who Goes There? by John W. Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #104: Antarctica on a Plate
Non-fiction: Alexa Thomson: Antarctica on a Plate (Random House Australia, 2003) Many different kinds of people go to Antarctica. Scientists, adventurers and the people who keep the infrastructure running. Often, this last category produces the best books. Alexa Thomson writes about her experiences as a cook at an Antarctic tent Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #103: The Book of Ice
Art book: Paul D. Miller: The Book of Ice (Mark Batty Publisher, 2011) Paul D. Miller, also known as DJ Spooky, created a multimedia performance piece called Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica in 2009. This book is a part of that project. It’s kind of a documentation book or an artbook, Continue Reading