February 3, 2025 - 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

The WSU Humanities Center invites faculty, students, staff, and the community to a Brown Bag presentation given by Peter Marra (Assistant Professor, English and GSW) on the topic of, "We Belong Dead: Embracing Monstrosity in 21st Century Horror".

Abstract: Classic horror movies commonly begin with the monster’s arrival and end with their demise. However, 21st century horror advances a more ambivalent finale: the monster’s embrace. Films instead conclude with scenes that suggest the monster may be assimilated into the ongoing social order. These endings impact horror scholarship that sees the monstrous ‘other’ as allegorical to lived experiences of marginalized communities. Most importantly, it raises questions about what it would mean for marginalized others to be queasily embraced by the society that simultaneously exploits them. Rather than imagine their annihilation, these films imagine the horrors of concurrent abuse and affection.