BA, BSc (Trent), MA (Carleton), PhD (Trent)
Thesis: Women in Horror: On the Screen, In the Scene, Behind the Screams
Examining Committee:
Alan O'Connor (Supervisor), Kelly McGuire, Michael Epp
External Examiner: Alison Peirse, University of Leeds
Internal Examiner: Kathryn Norlock
Abstract
The objective of this dissertation is to measure the influence of the contemporary influx of women’s involvement in the horror genre in three dimensional capacities: female representation in horror films, female representation as active, participatory spectators and female representation in the industrial production of horror. Through the combined approach of theoretical and empirical analysis, this dissertation examines the social conditions that facilitated women’s infiltration of the horror genre. Beginning with psychoanalytic theories of spectatorship, it is demonstrated that female filmmakers have challenged horror’s traditional images of victimized women through the development new forms of feminine representation in contemporary horror films. Using data collected from a sample of 52 self-identified female horror fans, it is revealed that the purported invisibility of female horror spectators is a consequence of their alternative modes of consumption. Through interviews conducted with four female producers and an examination of their cultural productions, I illustrate that women have reconstituted the horror genre as a space for inclusivity, political activism and feminist empowerment. Cohesively, these findings reveal the contemporary feminist reclamation of horror to be a form of resistance intended to challenge the patriarchal structures that facilitated women’s historical exclusion from the horror genre.
Amy Jane Vosper completed her PhD at Trent University in the Spring of 2021. Vosper’s PhD dissertation combined psychoanalytic film theory with original empirical research to investigate women’s multidimensional infiltration of horror as a genre, as a fan culture and as a productive process. Her research interests include horror, feminism, psychoanalysis, spectatorship, early Hollywood cinema, political economy, French New Wave cinema and studies of fan culture and fandom. Derek Newman-Stille once dubbed her “the mistress of dark scholarship.” After completing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies at Trent University, Vosper attended Carleton University to obtain a Masters in Film Studies, concentrating on the experiences of female fans of the horror genre. Vosper is a course instructor, as well as regular panelist and guest lecturer. Being heavily involved in fan culture herself, she enjoys attending and contributing to horror-focused fan events and conventions.
Outside of academia, Vosper teaches feminist, body-positive burlesque classes and runs a dance troupe made up of former dance students. She is a former director of the Trent Film Society; a not-for-profit film club devoted to screening rare, cult classic, independent and foreign films for the local film community. In her spare time, she enjoys watching horror films, travelling, practicing yoga, cosplay, dancing, making YouTube and 8mm films, crafting and cuddling her miniature schnauzer, Jillian.
Publications:
“Film, Fear and the Female: An Empirical Study of the Female Horror Fan,” Offscreen, 18, 6-7, 2014: https://offscreen.com/view/film-fear-and-the-female