Feasting our eyes on the accursed ugliness: Famous Monsters, Lon Chaney fandom and undoing male masochism

This article examines the influence of fan periodical Famous Monsters of Filmland (FM) and its editor Forrest J Ackerman in keeping silent-era star Lon Chaney in cultural memory and expanding audience use of his star image. Chaney’s many depictions of the suffering male body raise questions of whether Chaney fandom is symptomatic of male masochism. Considering that many FM readers might have felt marginalized by conventional masculinity, I argue that the magazine’s presentation of Chaney called such conventions into question, and its presentation of Ackerman demonstrated a successful ‘alternative’ masculinity, encouraging identity play that not only guided FM’s readers past masochism, but prompted new ways of thinking about manhood and self-determination.