(given the time of year) calling on tim burton . . .

Music: Brian Wilson: Smile (2004)

I'm taking a very brief break to report I head out tomorrow to the headquarters of a very, very, very large U.S. retailer to deliver a presentation on Halloween as a cultural practice. I'll share with leaders and executives what scholars know about the history of the "holiday," however, the bulk of my focus will be on the cultural and ritual elements of celebration. Some of what we'll be discussing I cannot talk about for confidentiality reasons (not sure what at the moment, but I'll be debriefed); still, I look forward to writing about it upon my return and sharing with my readers (most of you are buddies) my observations about the experience, since this is a pretty unique opportunity. Most scholars hang out on the "reception" end of the culture industries from a critical vantage; this is a rare opportunity to get a peek a the production side.

Reviewing films, television programs, and popular texts (papers and magazines) from the last century on the holiday has been very interesting. We see, from the 1920s to present, a number of transformations in how the holiday is celebrated, enjoyed, and experienced. Halloween used to be a kind of "independent culture" for young people to vent aggression (especially class-based aggression); it transformed post-war in the 1950s into a family-focused mediation (of adulthood and death); in the late 60s and 70s Halloween started to evolve what I'll simply term "two cultures": the innocence focused child-and-family culture, and the gory/sexy adult culture. Although my mind is not completely made up, it seems to me that today (based on what little empirical research there is and personal experience) these two cultures are in pretty stark tension: Halloween is increasingly becoming, on the one hand, an amplification of carnival (think Mardi Gras) for adults, while on the other hand, a forceful battleground for arguments about what constitutes a family. We see the latter beginning in the 1970s and reflected, not coincidentally, in Spielberg's E.T., which chronicles the successful "one parent" family vis-à-vis Halloween. The "trunk or treat" parties hosted by family-friendly groups (e.g., churches) also reflect the reinscription of the family concept as a protectorate; in 1982 it was still a "kids left to themselves" activity. Today, not so much.

I've noticed a lot of changes in my lifetime, too. I was a rabid monster fanatic, and Halloween was always (and remains) a big holiday for me. It seems like the "adult" culture has deepened substantially as I've grown older. These pop-up stores like "Spirit" did NOT exist when I was a kid, and if they had, I would have lived in them . . . .

I'm curious---as most of you are my age---if you've also noticed a similar transformation? Gore and sexy are on the rise, while "cute" similarly has ramped up for the child-centric culture. Halloween was always a big holiday for me, but culturally it seems to have grown in significance for the U.S. It's also becoming somewhat of a "battleground" for the culture wars---particularly in respect to "family values" or larger, socio-economic transformations of what a family "is."

What changes are y'all noticing? I may cite you!