South of the Slot

At its core, “South of the Slot” is a dual-identity narrative in the tradition of many superhero narratives that include a secret identity (e.g., Batman, Superman, Spider-Man). This subgenre is a common one whose roots can date back to Biblical times and continues into contemporary literature and film in “body switch” comedies (Freaky Friday [2003]) and popular films and television shows like Fight Club (1999) or Alias (2001-2006). The lasting popularity of these types of stories is compelling in and of itself but seems to have reached a certain peak around the late-19th and early 20th centuries in Anglophone literature. A number of canonical works take up a similar structure at this moment: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), and Captains Courageous (1897). Readers might ask why this is. One contributing factor is that much of the Western world witnessed large-scale growth in urban areas, which created a new combination of social factors that would lead to concerns about identity, anonymity, and responsibility in artistic production.

“South of the Slot” takes place in an urban setting, and the dividing line (the cable car tracks, aka

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