Horror films often get a bad rap for how they treat women. Many lean on explicit sex and violence, reduce women into disposable victims, or fall back on familiar roles: the mother, the virgin, and the whore. But is that the whole story?
In this talk, Prof Susanne Kord takes a fresh look at women in horror, from the “final girl” who outlasts everyone else to the archetypes we love to fear. Drawing on film and cartoon theory, she explores how horror shapes the way we see women, whether audiences share some responsibility for what they watch, and whether an “ethical” horror film can exist.
At its core, this talk wrestles with two big questions: why do we keep watching horror – and what does that say about us?
Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7:30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!
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Speaker Bio:
Professor Susanne Kord is a Professor Emeritus of German at UCL and a member of the British Academy. Her research interests include German history and culture, English literature, cinema (with an emphasis on horror and/or gender issues), and the history of crime (in real life, literature, and film). She is the author of eleven books and dozens of essays, and has received seven major awards for her writing, including a life-time achievement award. So far she has gone on three international lecture tours, and additionally offered fifteen keynote or plenary addresses at major conventions, four named lectures, and hundreds of other talks.
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