Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Religious Studies

Organizational Unit

Joint Ph.D. Program in Study of Religion, College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Religious Studies

First Advisor

Rachael Liberman

Second Advisor

Miguel A. De La Torre

Third Advisor

Lynn S. Clark

Fourth Advisor

Joshua Hanan

Fifth Advisor

Ryan Lizardi

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Horror, Neurodivergence, Feminist and crip disability studies, Media studies

Abstract

Given that 1) horror films are currently at a moment of peak cultural relevancy, 2) the horror genre is deeply entangled with the othering of neurodivergence, and 3) there is scarce academic literature published on neurodivergence and horror films, I argue an intervention is necessary that comprehensively analyzes modern horror films and neurodivergence in order to advocate for more liberatory representation. Specifically, through this dissertation I seek to answer 1) how neurodivergence is encoded in modern horror films, 2) what emotional and affective purpose neurodivergence’s encoding serves, and 3) how this encoding is utilized as a persuasive device for other types of commentary. I answer these questions through a theoretical framework I call ‘Eating Othered Minds.’

The dissertation will be split into two sections divided by a methodology chapter. The first section will establish three theoretical frameworks in the disciplines of Religion and Media Studies, Feminist and Crip Disability Studies, and Horror Studies respectively. In Chapter Two, I argue that existing models of disability are insufficient for theorizing disability within media. Building on recent works in Disability and Media Studies as well as foundational texts in Critical/Cultural Media Studies, I create a ‘media model’ of disability. In Chapter Three, I focus my theoretical approach regarding neurodivergence through a feminist and crip lens. Additionally, I advocate for the use of a new term, ‘Othered Minds,’ to solve problems of representation in Disability Studies. In Chapter Four, I narrow my approach towards the cinematic medium to Horror Studies, utilizing affect theory to understand the pleasure of horror.

These theoretical frameworks will be interwoven in the second section, which builds a theory of ‘Eating Othered Minds.’ ‘Eating Othered Minds’ identifies a pattern of voyeuristic encoding in modern horror films where neurodivergent protagonists are conceptualized first through fetishization then through abjection. In Chapter Six, I focus on abjection and textual analysis of Smile (dir. Parker Finn, 2022) and Smile 2 (dir. Parker Finn, 2024). In Chapter Seven, focus on fetishization through textual analysis of Stopmotion (dir. Robert Morgan, 2023) and The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019). Finally, in Chapter Eight, I demonstrate how Eating Othered Minds is utilized as a persuasive device for other types of commentary, with Pearl (dir. Ti West, 2022) and Saint Maud (dir. Rose Glass, 2019) acting as examples.

This dissertation therefore seeks to contribute three interventions to the field of Disability and Media studies: 1) the media model, to improve analysis of encoded disability, 2) ‘Othered Minds’ as alternative field of study for those excluded by the limitations of Neurodivergent Studies and Mad Studies, and 3) ‘Eating Othered Minds’ a theory analyzing disability’s fetishization and abjection in horror films, with the goal of more liberatory representation.

Statement Regarding AI

AI was not used in the research, writing, or in any other aspect of this dissertation.

Copyright Date

8-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Matthew R. Konerth

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

289 pgs

File Size

1 MB

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Available for download on Sunday, September 24, 2028



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