Date of Graduation
Fall 2023
Degree
Master of Arts in Writing
Department
English
Committee Chair
Margaret Weaver
Abstract
In this research, I examine the concept of the Other in horror films. I use Kenneth Burke’s identification, Jean-Francois Lyotard’s metanarrative concept, and Lennard Davis’s bell curve of normalcy to describe the Other and how otherness relates to disability. First, I discuss how horror films have portrayed the Other historically in a negative context and slowly transition to the virtuous Other, the final girl. Next, I discuss the trend of portraying disability or otherness as an asset or tool in contemporary films like A Quiet Place, Birdbox, and Don’t Breathe. Then, I examine how current horror films explore the implications of donning otherness for personal gain as seen in Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us. My analysis leads to a discussion on how the practice of adopting otherness or imitating the Other may be reflected in current identity politics, the struggle for clout, or protection from cancel culture.
Keywords
horror film, disability, Kenneth Burke, identification, apocalypse, Jordan Peele, otherness, the Other, cancel culture, Lennard Davis
Subject Categories
Film and Media Studies | Other Film and Media Studies | Rhetoric
Copyright
© Seth Hadley
Recommended Citation
Hadley, Seth, "The Rhetorical Use of the Other: An Analysis of Symbolic Disability in Contemporary Horror Films" (2023). MSU Graduate Theses. 3920.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3920
