"Everything about him was just perfect. And I fell in love instantly" : Life and love in welcome to Night Vale

Stobbart, D. (2018) "Everything about him was just perfect. And I fell in love instantly" : Life and love in welcome to Night Vale. In: Critical Approaches to Welcome to Night Vale : Podcasting between Weather and the Void. Palgrave Pivots, Cham, pp. 23-34. ISBN 9783319930909

Text (Stobbart Night Vale Essay)
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Abstract

Despite, or even because of, its surreal and fantastical characters, Night Vale is an open and accepting place for most of its residents, and using the podcasts and the 2015 novel, this chapter explores Night Vale's ability to accept diversity. Focusing on representations of gender, sexuality, and disability, I show Night Vale to be an open-minded, progressive town, and that the podcast actively endorses attitudes of acceptance and understanding, not only through the actions of the characters affected by these issues, but by the actions of the inhabitants themselves, particularly radio host Cecil, and how they treat each other. © The Author(s) 2018.