Radio/Television/Film Genre (322-0-20)

Topic

Global Female-Directed Horror

Instructors

Ashley R Smith

Meeting Info

Louis Hall 119: Mon, Wed 10:00AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

Historically misunderstood as a genre by men for men, horror cinema's female contributions have long been overlooked. This course provides a counternarrative to the "boy's club" mythology that has pervaded the horror genre and trains the spotlight on the global explosion of female-directed horror cinema that has dramatically reshaped the genre over the last decade. Films to be screened and discussed in class include works such as Julia Ducournau's cannibalistic coming-of-age drama, Raw (2016, France & Belgium), Jane Schoenbrun's creepy dissociative tale of online isolation, We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021, USA), and Chloe Okuno's feminist Hitchcockian-styled debut, Watcher (2022, USA, UAE & Romania). Through weekly screenings, readings, class discussions, and short writing assignments students will explore contemporary issues in horror cinema as envisioned through a variety of intersectional and multiethnic female perspectives while thinking about what the future of the genre may hold for women in front of and behind the camera. Lectures and class discussions will address topics including: horror's gendered violence, gendered viewership myths about horror, feminist horror, and the "monstrous" female body/female sexuality in horror cinema.

Class Materials (Required)

Students should have access to a computer for homework. All required readings will be provided as PDFs on the course website.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area