10. the Urban Fantasy Classroom

U. MELISSA ANYIWO AND AMANDA JO HOBSON

10. THE URBAN FANTASY CLASSROOM

The Urban Fantasy genre has rich applications in any classroom, easily incorporated into history surveys, women’s studies, literature, communications, and a plethora of other disciplines. The following chapter provides questions and assignments directly linked to the themes covered by the authors throughout this book. Everything is suitable for any level of college study, helping you weave this text seamlessly into any course.

UNDERSTANDING URBAN FANTASY 1. Screen Gems is a movie production studio known for its urban fantasy action films, such as Ultraviolet (2006) and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013). Have students explore the worlds of Screen Gems using at least two films or movies series such as Underworld or Resident Evil and catalog the core genre themes connecting them back to urban fantasy. a. Compare and contrast their findings using either/and Gal’s or Benefiel’s chapter in this text. b. Have students create a movie poster of the next great Urban Fantasy action film that reflects its core themes and fits into Screen Gem’s stable of products. 2. Cassandra Clare’s hugely successful Mortal Instruments Series is equally categorized as urban fantasy and young adult. Split your class into two teams and have each team read and/or watch Mortal Instruments: City of Bones from one of the two genre perspectives. Have each team try to convince you that the film most accurately fits into their chosen genre. 3. Urban fantasy often deals with people (and monsters) attempting to understand the nature of goodness. a. Watch Angel “Awakening” (4:10) and “Soulless” (4:11) and have the students discuss what makes a person good or evil. Does the existence of a soul really determine a person’s behavior? b. Watch Angel “I Will Remember You” (8:1) and Being Human UK “The Boy Who Cried Vampire” (1:4). How do other people’s perceptions of monstrosity impact an individual’s view of themselves?

4. Urban fantasy is often credited with its enlightened portrayal of peoples coded as different. Challenge this argument by reading Anyiwo’s chapter on Penny Dreadful and watch the episode “And They Were Enemies” (2:10) exploring the ways Urban Fantasy reinforces images of race rather than contesting them. 5. Supernatural creatures exist across genres, but genre impacts their portrayal and characteristics. Splitting the students into small groups, have each group: a. Choose a supernatural creature (witch, vampire, werewolf, etc.). b. List the characteristics of the creature by genre (horror, romance, young adult, and urban fantasy). c. Create a Venn diagram or vision board that brings together the characteristics and connections to their chosen genre. 6. Transmedia storytelling reflects how urban fantasy is not only fluid across genre boundaries but also across media, moving from novels to television and film and on to graphic novels and other visual media. a. Have students read Guitar’s chapter and define the concept of transmedia storytelling and the ways it functions in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. b. As many urban fantasy narratives move from television to film then to novelizations and graphic novels (see Penny Dreadful and Buffy the Vampire Slayer as examples), have students examine pieces from different media forms and collect examples of how the method of delivery influences urban fantasy narratives.

GENDERED PERSPECTIVES 1. Urban Fantasy is often described as an empowering genre that shows strong independent women with (super)heroic powers. Challenge this concept by having your class subject Underworld Awakening (2012) and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) to the Bechdel test.1 Do movies present different arguments about women when directed by a man (…. Awakening) than by a woman (… Blood Wars)? What arguments does Ana G. Gal make, regarding the overall series and its claim to empowerment? 2. Now that Urban Fantasy is an accepted genre, scholars include stories that precede its origins in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Series. Have students watch Xena: Warrior Princess “A Day in the Life” (2:15) and Wonder Woman “The Boy Who Knew Her Secret” (3:20 & 21) alongside

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