Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession - New Critical Analyze Book on Predator!

Started by Corporal Hicks, Dec 06, 2022, 12:03:09 PM

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Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession - New Critical Analyze Book on Predator! (Read 1,917 times)

Corporal Hicks

While Alien has seen its share of books that take a deep dive into the meaning and themes behind the franchise, the Predator franchise has been largely void of books that take a critical look at the series. And it’s a huge shame because the original Predator has a lot more going on beneath the surface than it is given credit for.

Author Ander Monson is putting a change to that with his new book Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession, a book that serves as a memoir told through the lenses of Predator, while also looking deeper at what is going on in Predator.

In his first memoir, Ander Monson guides readers through a scene-by-scene exploration of the 1987 film Predator, which he has watched 146 times. Some fighters might not have time to bleed, but Monson has the patience to consider their adventure, one frame at a time. He turns his obsession into a lens through which he poignantly examines his own life, formed by mainstream, White, male American culture. Between scenes, Monson delves deeply into his adolescence in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Riyadh, his role as a father and the loss of his own mother, and his friendships with men bound by the troubled camaraderie depicted in action and sci-fi blockbusters. Along with excursions into the conflicted pleasures of cosplay and first-person shooters, he imagines himself beside the poet and memoirist Paul Monette, who wrote the novelization of the movie while his partner was dying of AIDS.

A sincere and playful book that lovingly dissects the film, Predator also offers questions and critiques of masculinity, fandom, and their interrelation with acts of mass violence. In a stirring reversal, one chapter exposes Monson through the Predator's heat-seeking vision, asking him, "What do you know about the workings of the hidden world?" As Monson brings us into the brilliant depths of the film and its universe, the hunt begins.


 Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession - New Critical Analyze Book on Predator!

Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession is out and currently available to purchase on Amazon (UK/US). Author Ander Monson will be joining us on the next episode of the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy Podcast, so be sure to keep an eye out for when that drops!

Make sure you stick with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien and Predator comic and novel news! You can follow us on FacebookTwitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!

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Kradan


BlueMarsalis79


Corporal Hicks

It's not going to be for every Predator fan, but I actually really enjoyed this. If you like the deep-dive kind of essays into Predator, I think this one will be an interesting read for you, especially as it's half memoir (and Ander has a very interesting past) told using the film as a focus/perspective, as well as peeling the layers of the Predator onion.

overthere

Horrible book. I could not finish it.

First of all, for someone who claims a specific number of times they saw Predator (146 times, how does he know exactly? did he really count the first 10 times back in 80s/90s? I call bullshit), he gets a lot of details wrong.
He misquotes the lines. He says "come on, kill me, come on now, I know the lines by heart", and they are wrong!
In several other places (I got to around 30% of the book), he misquotes the lines, while supposedly watching the movie WHILE writing the book.

Not just the lines, but he says something like "we see 3 of the people who they were sent to save hanging from a tree". Those are definitely NOT the people they were sent in to save.

But what was really painful is his tying in Predator with current events and his past experiences. He frequently just says "he blew shit up, was a vandal, etc", but it makes no sense, who cares? And can you be more specific? He just repeats the same thing over and over again "I blew stuff up". We get it, and it's not interesting. Your life is not interesting.

On top of that, he is just a white knight. Constantly feeling shame for his gender, race, etc. At one point he calls the all female Ghostbusters movie great and says fragile men could not let it be.

He is the worst case of woke, white knight, with extremely shallow philosophy and view on things. He is like a reddit incarnate. Him liking Predator is about the only redeemable quality about him.

Horrible book. I asked for refund. 1/10.


RidgeTop

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 12, 2022, 08:39:47 PMhttps://www.avpgalaxy.net/2022/12/12/through-the-predators-eyes-talking-to-predator-a-memoir-a-movie-an-obsession-author-ander-monson-avp-galaxy-podcast-157/

Podcast chat is up!

Really enjoyed this conversation! A non-fiction book isn't something we get to do very often, and I found this one pretty intriguing. Yeah it can get pretty into US cultural politics at times, but I personally found it to be asking questions and exploring in this regard more so than making preachy statements. 

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