ENGFLM 1529 - TELEVISUAL HORROR

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
Long Description Televisual Horror takes as a given that horror television functions differently on television than in the cinema or video games. When we think of the most horrific things that we have experienced in our lives, many of us will indicate that we were sitting in front of a television when we learned and understood what happened. This could be a memory of JFK's assassination on live television for the Baby Boomers, watching the second plane strike the World Trade Center on 9/11 and realizing in that moment that the USA was under terrorist attack, school shootings, police involved deaths, hurricanes or tsunamis devastating swaths of a country, and countless other examples. Many of us (especially older Americans) can experience fear and panic any time that a "breaking news" alert cuts into our television show. And, this is the core difference for television horror as even Stephen King has noted: the horror shows that we watch pale in comparison to the terror of everyday life. In this class we will consider a few elements of horror and television, ranging from horror as a mode across many television genres (game shows, soap operas, sitcoms, teen romance, cooking shows, reality shows, procedurals) but one that does not always deliver "fear" in the same way as is common in horror cinema. The importance of "family viewing" as a crucial designation for television studies will play a role here, as we will consider children's media relationship to horror at multiple points. We will also think about how fantasy genres in general and horror in particular can become a strong signification system in relation to queer shows (remembering, as always, the distinction between queer shows and gay shows with queer shows often being embraced as more progressive in terms of identity politics). In this class, we will consider what is lost when we collapse cinema and television, especially in terms of thinking about horror. For Robin Wood, the cinematic formula for horror is "normality is threatened by the monster," but we will want to ask ourselves what happens, what changes, and what is at stake when horror is the normal on television.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: LG/SNC Elective Basis

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