Sophie-Mae Turner
This project focuses on the significance of queer representation in the horror genre and its manifestation in contemporary American horror cinema. The overlap between horror and queer culture is due in part to the nature of the genre, whose focus is often the strange and unusual; what hegemonic social norms consider the ‘other.’ To explore contemporary representation, this research focused on two films,’ I Saw The TV Glow’, a film that reckons with the of inherent strangeness of self-discovery and transformation, and ‘Bodies, Bodies, Bodies,’ a twist on classic slasher narrative that centres around a queer relationship.
What I aimed to show through my project:
1. The importance of the horror genre for queer representation both in the past and contemporarily.
2. The evolution of queer representation and how it manifests in contemporary American horror
3. The significance of the relationship between queerness and horror
While researching and creating this project I learnt a lot more about film history and how minority groups have had and continue to have their mediated identity decided for them. I gained a better understanding of the origins of queer-coding and how film language was used to infer and imply representation where it couldn't be stated outright. Through analysis of the two films, I Saw The TV Glow and Bodies Bodies Bodies I was able to recognise the evolution of queer representation and how each film embodied queerness for a modern audience. Each film takes a quite different approach to queer representation, which I felt showed the range of how it can manifest in contemporary cinema. Their differences made them good contrasts for each other while ultimately sharing the goal of creating innovative and unique queer representation in a genre that has historically not presented queerness in a flattering light.
I found the critical essay more straightforward that the video essay as I’m more familiar with academic writing than video editing. It was an interesting challenge using a visual medium to demonstrate my argument, having the clips and editing add to my discussion and enhance the explanation.
Overall I am happy with my project, I feel I achieved my objectives and gained a better understanding of the subject and film history.
My thesis question asked 'Has the horror genre remained an important medium for queer representation in contemporary American cinema?' It aimed to understand the relationship between queerness and the horror genre in American cinema, its history and evolution. Through analysis of two films, I Saw The TV Glow and Bodies Bodies Bodies, it analysed the contemporary manifestation of queerness in the genre and if horror remains a significant source of queer representation.
The critical essay focused on how each film represented queerness in their narratives. Both played with genre tropes and conventions, subverting and repurposing them in their communication of the main themes and critique of perceptions and power structures.
In contrast, the video essay was concerned with the visual language of each film and how queerness was presented through framing, editing and cinematography.
Hi my name is Sophie-Mae Turner, I'm a 24 year old New Media Studies graduate with a passion for Media Literacy, Critical Theory and Sociology of Media. I'm a big believer in critical consumption and enjoy dissecting media artifacts to understand the rationale and context of every element.
