2024/01/01 by Caetlin Benson-Allott · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · Psychology · #Cinema and Media Studies #Gothic Literature and Media Analysis #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1525/fq.2024.78.2.61
Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s trilogy of films are not horror movies but movies about horror media that collectively proclaim horror’s value for its trans, queer, and otherwise vulnerable fans. A Self-Induced Hallucination (2018), We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021), and I Saw the TV Glow (2024) demonstrate three fundamental truths about horror media, horror fandom, and their utility: (1) Horror creates community; (2) Horror provides a means of processing reality; and (3) Horror helps its fans manage the difficulty of self-discovery. Schoenbrun’s films extol horror’s life-affirming functions, which are often overlooked in critiques of its morbidity and pathologizations of its fans.