Teaching critical media effects through classic horror films

Abstract

Courses

This unit activity applies critical theories from the fields of communication, sociology, and gender studies and therefore can be used in any course that discusses gender studies, qualitative research, content analysis, media effects, film analysis, or LGBTQ studies. This can be modified as an activity for graduate or undergraduate courses.

Objectives

The activity utilizes clips from five popular horror films that feature common transphobic tropes and teaches students to apply each tenet of critical media effects (CME) theory into their analysis of the films. This encourages both students and instructors to adopt a trans-inclusive approach to communication theory. By the end of this activity, students will be able to describe CME theory and its tenets, apply components of CME to film analysis, and utilize queer theory as a lens for analyzing media.