#candyman analysis

[prime-crime-time]

holy fuck I just realised the protagonist in candyman (2021) was suddenly successful with his art because the white art critic loved seeing herself over seeing black people in his previous paintings it was a critique of self-indulgent white people in art who gatekeep from non-conforming pocs

[overnightoverthinking]

I’ve been genuinely thinking about doing a Candyman review ever since the sad news of Tony Todd’s passing but I both wanted to give it time and give me time to review/edit whatever I write.

[wlwvampirism]

Some More Essay Reviews from It Came From the Closet edited by Joe Vallese

I thought about doing a review for the last two essays in Monster Mash--Three Men on a Boat by Jen Corrigan and The Wolf Man's Daughter by Tosha R. Taylor--but I just don't have anything interesting to say. They were both good essays, but they just didn't click with me for some reason, and if I were to write a review, it would just be me repeating that it was 'fine, but...' over and over.

The next section is called Fatal Attractions. I think this one is the strongest section in the book so far, most of the essays were pretty good, there was only one that I had mixed feelings on, and only one that I didn't really care much for. I also managed to get all five reviews in one post, so yay me.

Twin/Skin by Addie Tsai - Movie: Dead Ringers (1988), dir. David Cronenberg.

Looking at Goodreads reviews, I noticed that this essay kept getting singled out as a good essay that stands out amidst a slew of essays that ultimately have the same theme, so when I got to this one, I was pretty excited.

From my understanding, the idea of this essay is that being a twin, having a twin, is, in a way, kind of queer and carries an intimacy that is hard to understand if you are not a twin. Addie Tsai talks about how her complicated relationship with her twin, how it soured, how they stopped being friends and their relationship turned kind of parasitic, which she parallels with Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (based on a true story).

The first time I read it, I didn't really think that this essay belonged in this collection; I liked it, but queerness didn't feel like a focal point. I still don't know how I feel about it being in this specific collection, that being said, it's an interesting essay and I recommend it.

Loving Annie Hayworth by Laura Maw - Movies: The Birds (1963), dir. Alfred Hitchcock.

To me, this is the standout essay out of this entire collection.

This essay is a queer analysis on The Birds, focusing on Annie Hayworth and Melanie Daniels' subtextual queer relationship. Maw parallels Annie and Melanie's relationship to her complicated relationship with a girl, also named Laura.

This essay is not only a good queer analysis, it's also a good horror analysis of the movie. It talks about the tension and anxiety of horror, how that sort of anxiety is often also seen in queer stories, and how in The Birds, the anxiety is never relieved, just like how the queer anxiety surrounding Annie and Melanie's relationship is never relieved, it is instead forced to stop.

I would love to go on, but I don't want to regurgitate every interesting thing that Maw said, so I just highly, highly recommend you read this one. When I first picked this collection up, I imagined all the essays looking like this one. My favorite one and it did dethrone Indescribable, something I wasn't expecting.

The Same Kind of Monster by Jonathan Robbins Leon - Movies: The Leech Woman (1960), dir. Edward Dein.

And we're back to the middling essays. I feel like a dickhead saying this, but this one just did not stand out at all. After reading 15 essays, this one just feels like more of what I've already seen; this movie is queer because monsters, and I had a deep shame surrounding my queerness, so I related to the monster.

There you go, that's pretty much the essay.

It's not bad, it's obviously personal to the author, but I didn't feel anything towards this essay and I don't have a single interesting thing to say about it. Sorry.

Centered and Seen by Sumiko Saulson - Movies: Candyman (1992), dir. Bernard Rose, and Candyman (2021), dir. Nia DaCosta.

An essay so good, I now want to watch the Candyman movies (not including the weird sequels that fucked everything up).

This is an essay that truly stands out in a slew of essays that ultimately have the same theme. Saulson's essay focuses on black experiences, black pain and trauma, how black pain is used as a storytelling device by white people, gentrification, the erasure of black communities, being black and queer, relating this to the Candyman movies, and how DaCosta's Candyman amplifies voices that would have been neglected or suppressed in a white narrative.

This was an eye-opening essay that truly captivated my attention and any review I write won't do it justice so, once again, I just recommend you read this one for yourself.

Blood, Actually by Grant Sutton - Movie: Friday the 13th, part II (1981), dir. Steve Miner.

First of all, Jason Voorhees, at some point in this franchise, went to fucking space????

Secondly, this essay parallels the Friday the 13th movies (and other slasher movies) to Grant Sutton's relationship with his queerness; for context, Grant Sutton grew up in the midst of the AIDs epidemic, a dark time in queer history.

It goes without saying that growing up in a time period where the deaths of people like you are celebrated, that you would develop a horrible image surrounding your queerness, that you would grow up scared of it, and scared of sex, and this type of fear and shame isn't something that easily goes away.

Some of these ideas were present in Leon's essay as well, but I preferred the way this essay approached it.

Sutton talks about how these slasher movies were kind of a coping mechanism for him, a way of gaining some sort of control. Watching fictional characters get brutally murdered is comforting because it's fiction, you are in control, you can stop when you want, you can rewind, and when the movie ends, they're all alive again.

Overall, not my favorite essay, but another interesting one.

[tomorrowusa]

Stuff like this is not exactly news, but it is finally making the news.

In a speech at the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit on Saturday night, former President Donald Trump once again questioned President Joe Biden's mental acuity, suggesting that Biden should take a cognitive test. However, in the next breath, Trump confused the name of the doctor who administered the test to him during his presidency. "He doesn't even know what the word 'inflation' means. I think he should take a cognitive test like I did," Trump said of Biden. Seconds later, he continued, "Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said I was the healthiest president, he feels, in history, so I liked him very much indeed immediately."

The doctor Trump was referring to is actually named Ronny Jackson, not Ronny Johnson. Jackson, who served as the White House physician for part of Trump's presidency, is now a Republican congressman from Texas and one of Trump's most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill. Trump, who turned 78 on Friday, has made questioning whether the 81-year-old Biden is fit for a second term a centerpiece of his campaign. However, critics quickly seized on his Saturday night gaffe, with the Biden campaign posting a clip of the moment, minutes later.

Biden has had a lifelong stutter which he's mostly overcome. Trump's attacks on the disabled to draw attention from his own shortcomings are just part of his routine.

In fact, Trump is the candidate who repeatedly has shown increasing signs of psychological derangement.

In April, a leading psychologist said Trump's mental capabilities appear to be "faltering in a very dangerous way," while speaking on the David Packman Show. Harry Segal, a senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University who has been critical of the former president's mental health said he believed Trump's "cognitive decline as being another layer of danger on top of an already erratic, mentally challenged person who shouldn't be anywhere near the White House."

As for Dr. Ronny Johnson Jackson, using him as a source is rather dubious.

First on CNN: Rep. Ronny Jackson made sexual comments, drank alcohol and took Ambien while working as White House physician, Pentagon watchdog finds

The Department of Defense inspector general has issued a scathing review of Rep. Ronny Jackson during his time serving as the top White House physician, concluding that he made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted concerns from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper care.

Johnson Jackson got the nickname "Candyman" for freely handing out drugs at the White House.

Ex-White House doctor known as the ‘candyman’ dispensed pills without prescriptions

A former White House doctor was allegedly nicknamed the “candyman” for handing out pills to staff without prescriptions. [ ... ]

Former members of the White House medical unit claim that under Dr Jackson’s leadership, they had handed out stimulants and sedatives without prescriptions, and faked staff members’ identities to give them free healthcare. They claimed the practices had been shaped by Dr Jackson, now a Republican congressman, who was given the nicknames “Dr Feelgood” and “the Candyman”.

I'd love to see an analysis of Trump's blood. In addition to sky high levels of caffeine from his 12 Diet Cokes® per day, there are probably some interesting chemicals churning through his system.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, November 8th

Buffy: There is only one thing on this Earth more powerful than evil, and that's us.

~~Showtime~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Buzzkill by veronyxk84 (Spike, Dawn, PG-13)

Tonight and the Rest of My Life by anr (Angel/Cordelia, T)

Bewitched Bimbos by TiffyB (Buffy/Willow/Xander, Explicit)

Burn by buffytargaryen (Buffy/Angel, G)

A New Dawn by Sasusc (Buffy/Angel, Dawn, Joyce, G)

Escape to Capri by melodys_muse (Buffy/Angel, G)

will we find this light by bonniesfire (Buffy/Angel, T)

Wherever You Go by a2zmom (Buffy/Angel, Lorne, Dawn, Faith, G)

Haikus: Inca Mummy Girl, Reptile Boy, Halloween by Senorpuddin (Scoobies, worksafe)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Shadowed Suspicion Omake 12 by madimpossibledreamer (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fusion, Teen)

Dreams of Home - Chapter 1-4 (COMPLETE!) by Liana_Medea (Buffy/Angel, G)

The Watcher, Ch. 34 by In Mortal (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Great Escape from Oz, Ch. 7 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Science of Being Yours, Ch. 7 by Maxine Eden, ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Bad Penny, Ch. 1 by OffYourBird (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

With Sprinkles, Ch. 43 by dogbertcarroll (anime crossover, Xander, FR15)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Drawings: xander is the #1 willow simp by hamspamandjamsandwich (Willow/Xander, worksafe)

Vid: Caronte by mycatismyfriend (Angel/Wesley)

Gifset: Between Good and Goodbye by peeta-mellark (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

moodboard: fred x wesley by courtillyy (worksafe)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Walkthrough Part 4 (XBOX) by ★WishingTikal★ ()

A Tribute to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Show). A Tribute Fan song. by EpicTributeTunes ()

Vid: Always an angel, Never a god by Lov3ly Day (Buffy, ensemble)

Manip: Rip Tony Todd aka Candyman (Tony Todd, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

Mothman's Buffy rewatch: Season 4, episodes 9, 10, and 11, "Something Blue", "Hush", and "Doomed" by mothmans-wedding-photographer

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Series Retrospective (Review/Recap) by JB's Spooky Review

[Boom] Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1. | 60 second comic Book Review by WithoutaPanel-t8x

Which single-episode bad guy creeped you out the most? by MountainFig7244

The Cinematography by Outside-Cabinet1398

Best episodes to watch on an edible? hosted by RafRide

[Recs & In Search Of]

alas-poor-cesario is looking for an old Giles/Xander fic where Spike was used as a cooling mat

Buffy podcast recs by CraftyDependent5283 and others

YouTube channel Episodic Analysis recced by wolfotwindsor

[Community Announcements]

Revamped I Will Remember You Marathon — week one masterpost (Buffy/Angel fan fiction)

[Fandom Discussions]

Images: wedding cake toppers... that would fit Spuffy better than the one Buffy picked out by aphony-cree

stray thought but why didn’t they just let giles die in spiral? by camellcat

respectfully disagree that faith and spike would be kismeses by lesbianmarrow

What I want to know is how Angel and Spike got to the point of arguing about cavemen vs astronauts by thequeenofsastiel

Spangel captivates me so much more, and I’m not sure why by thequeenofsastiel

Re: “Chloe was an idiot. She was weak.” by theredpharaoah

I think the Slayer Activation Spell is kind of lore-breaking and doesn’t make sense by theredpharaoah

Another one of my favourite Buffy headcanons (The Dark Age) by duckwnoeyes

strange that Spike is shown to be someone who doesn't spend a lot of time thinking complex thoughts or focusing on any self reflection, while Angel/us is - by thequeenofsastiel, everythingeverythingeverything

The Kendra/Faith dynamic that exists only in my head by finalgirl1984

having some twisted and somewhat possibly perverted thoughts about spangelus by xaeyrnofnbe

Diagram: behold, my buffyverse ship thoughts by xaeyrnofnbe

RIP Tony Todd by burrunjor and others

RIP horror legend Tony Todd (Candyman). He played Vyasa in The Shroud of Rahmon - by InfiniteMehdiLove

Would Anya be a better character if... by debujandobirds

Innocent victim of the day (in Storyteller) by timmorris82

Does anyone know anything about this spell? by KaleidoscopeNo1263

DVDs… to Keep or Not to Keep… by AornisHades

checkpoint lesson [American politics] by ersimon417

Happy birthday to Azura Skye who played an amazing Cassie/The First by PinkPashaTS

Inncoent(?) victim(s) of the day (in The Pack) by timmorris82

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters Brisbane Supanova Expo 2024 Reports, Pics & Videos via dontkillspike

Todd McIntosh Makeup Secrets from Buffy and Beyond by PopGeeks

Embracing Stillness: Discovering the Power of the Pause. Ft Rob Nagle [who played Robson] by The Aftermath

I ask Amber Benson for her opinion on Taffy (Tara x Buffy) by Matanza Mafia-Fedora

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[jasminethetransvampire]

Top 5 favorite movies??

Thank you for the question! The answer to this was originally going to be a lot more in-depth and detailed, but for reasons I've had to make it more compressed. 5, Godzilla: King of the Monsters Is it the best kaiju film out there? Hell no. But it does have giant monsters beating the shit out of eachother in scenic locations, the best dragon in cinema, and non-human characters effectively communicating personality through body language. 4, Oldboy Dark, brutal, bleak and gorgeously scored. Seriously, every part of this movie does an excellent job of conveying the sheer tragedy of its plot. The phenomenal acting and dialogue stands out as well. 3, RRR Okay so ignoring the discussion about how good of a gateway this movie is to Indian cinema and foreign language films in general, RRR is a great movie in its own right. I appreciate creative action choreography and this movie has it in spades, the music is really great too. Plus, you get to see lots of British colonisers die in interesting ways. 2, The Raid 2 I love martial arts films, I love the brutality and beauty of scripted and rehearsed violence. And while there isn't quite as much emotional intensity and impact behind the fights in the Raid 2 compared to others in the genre, it still makes for an incredible spectacle. Like, the kitchen fight scene in particular I would argue conveys a level of visceral intimacy that rivals many sex and romance scenes. 1, Candyman (2021) I love stories, and I love stories about stories. I love mythology and learning how different figures changed and evolved over time, which details slid off and got replaced and which stuck to them like honey. I was positively mesmerised by this movie, so much so that I had to go see it in theatres twice just to make sure I absorbed everything. Additionally, this movie came out around the time when I was first starting to pick up interest in black history and media analysis, and served as the catalyst for me really starting to dive deep into the topic.

[horrorb]

Candyman (1992) v Candyman (2020): Commentary and Comparison

wc: 797

Before this class, I had been meaning to watch Candyman (the original!) for a while now, as it was one of the last mainstream horror movies I had left to watch – I didn't even realize there was a new film made in 2020. So, right when this class started, I watched the original on my own, and I wasn’t sure what I expected but it was definitely interesting, especially in regards to the power that folklore holds. I watched the new film today, just before writing this, and I have to say that it surprised me as well, but in an entirely different way. I am superstitious and cover my eyes when they say His name so I don’t see any reflections, but this movie had me turning away at other scenes as well. Previously, the only other film that made me close my eyes was Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as I couldn't handle the gore, and that sentiment held true in this film as well. Near the end...

where Anthony's body began to truly change, and be changed, into the likeness of the original Candyman, I couldn’t handle it! So I suppose props in the “this made my skin crawl” department.

Moving to a more in depth analysis, we will begin with the original. The main, or one of the main, conflicts is that Candyman (a black man) is chasing after Helen (a white woman) and messing with her mind, trying to convince her to join him, to kill with him, to be eternal with him. This relationship is seen as taboo and is harmfully reminiscence of the stereotype that Black men are aggressive and animalistic, and they desire a white woman as if they are forbidden fruit (though I suppose historically they were in a way), and will do anything to get her, including harming her, or taking her against her will. In this sense, one could then view Candynman and Helen's entire relationship as a metaphor. Of course, their relationship is a parallel to the story told depicting how Candyman (Daniel Robitaille) originally died – he loved and had an affair with a white woman, then when found out was chased and murdered. So one could view his and Helen's relationship as a cautionary tale for Black men wanting to break the status quo…not exactly a good message, especially in modern society. The theme throughout the film is not only highly racialized, but also involves class and classism. It was strange to me that Candyman would kill anyone indiscriminately when he was murdered by rich white men due to his relationship, but what did these people living in Cabrini-Green do? I suppose Candyman is a Boogeyman and not a vengeful type spirit, but still…

In the 2020 film, I feel like we get more context for what is shown in the original. Throughout the film, the concept of “being eternal” is explored in multiple ways – Anthony's art is referred to this way, the legend of Candyman is eternal, and the pain that people in this community have and share is eternal. It’s implied in the film that horror and folktale is used as an outlet for this pain, but interestingly enough, this folktale is giving life to these horrors as well. It's interesting to explore the power that shared belief and words have. And of course, near the end it's revealed that Anthony was some sort of vessel of the original Candyman, as he physically becomes him in some sort of ritual (completed on accident by the police comin in and killing Anthony), but his other things in his life parallel Daniel, like his art career. When Anthony starts his series on Cabrini-Green, he says it feels like he knows what he's supposed to do for the first time in his career…probably because looking into the legend of Candyman and where he was born (and originally kidnapped) was the trigger to his descent into the Boogeyman persona. Him being an artist also brings up the interesting conversation of class. The art critic even claims artists are gentrifiers, that they are the reason for the neighborhood being neglected, and though this comment isn’t necessarily or completely true, it does make the viewer wonder.

One other thing I want to mention from the new film is the scene in which Anthony is in the mirror elevator. Watching it, I thought it was interesting in the sense that the endless reflection creates the illusion where you don't know where you start or end – a metaphor for not knowing where “you” start or Candyman starts inside ones (Anthony or Helens) mind – overall you dont know whats real and a hallucination. In the end it seems that just because something is just in your head, doesn’t mean it's not “real”.

As always, there's so much to cover and so little time, but I’ll end it there.

Stay cool/ghoul!

- ghost |^-^|

[edensblogs]

Candyman 2021

What an insane sequel to the original Candyman! Anthony, an up-and-coming artist, uncovers the legend of Candyman. Willam, a resident of Cabrini-Green, tells a story of what he encountered decades ago when he was only a boy—one afternoon, he went to do laundry when a mysterious hooked man climbed out of a hole in the wall and offered Willam candy. Willam shrieks in fear, and the police rush in, killing the man. However, it is later revealed he was not Candyman, as razors in candy continued to appear after his death. This story highlights the error in law enforcement systems, as they pretend to care about an underprivileged community; they sit in police cars, watching and waiting to shoot without any hesitation. The police cars did not surround Cabrini-Green because they cared for the residents; in reality, they did that because they cared for society outside of Cabrini-Green. It is a cruel system keeping the underprivileged in, failing them in all aspects of life!

William remembers this incident and uses Anthony as a vessel for the resurrection of Candyman, as Anthony was the lost baby who escaped his wrath decades ago. It was discovered that there were various Candyman’s, each enduring a gruesome death. William formulates a scheme to avenge Candyman and use Anthony as a martyr. Once speaking with Willam, Anothony returns home and repeats “Candyman” five times into the mirror, sealing his faith. It is interesting how Anthony was not murdered instantly like the other victims of the Candyman. 

Why did William want Candyman to rise again? This question rattles my mind. Candyman was a killer, murderer, and taunter. William tells Anthony, “They love what we make but not us.” The Cabrini–Green’s projects are neglected and underserved, and rather than help them, they leave them to dry. The film ends with Candyman murdering all the police officers who killed him, yet he lets Brianna live. Then, the original Candyman overtakes Anthony’s body and tells Brianna to “Tell Everyone.”  Candyman transforms, taking on a new role as a protector of the community, killing those who are deceitful. He, a white-eyed, one-armed man swarmed with bees, symbolizes the hurt of the African American community. He wants to “Tell Everyone” that he is back, and back for good. He is resurrected as a protector rather than hurting his community, as in the initial flim. Also, it was compelling how, in this flim, Candyman is never shown hurting/killing any African American individual. 

The film explores the theme of lingering racial trauma in black communities and the systemic racism that allows white supremacy to rise while keeping  African Americans silent. Two specific instances resonated with me. Firstly, Anthony displays this work at the gallery, which ties significantly to his background and identity. Yet, a white art critic devalues his art and merely dismisses it as a lack of talent. Yet, following his sudden fame, her interpretation shifts; she now glorifies and praises his work. Her deception and lies now conceal her racism. Secondly, At the end of the film, the police arrive and murder Candyman while he lies there in Brianna's arms. Brianna is then arrested by a white police officer who threatens to blame her for his death, imprisoning her for life unless she corroborates their factious chain of events. This depicts how present police brutality is in society and how power is extorted to their benefit. 

Candyman 2021 took a different take when comparing it to the 1992 version. I enjoyed the initial flim more. The sequel was hard to follow, and I needed clarification on the film's ending. Therefore, I rewatched the last 20 minutes twice for better analysis and interpretation. Anthony is tied up, and William is in sort of a psychotic state when, suddenly, he shoves a hook into Anothony's arm and dresses him as the “Candyman!”  Totally shocking and complex! I still believe there are so many hidden meanings and interpretations that I have not yet understood, as the flim was so dynamic.

[veditalks]

Uncontrollable Women

Wow, I can’t believe this is my last blog post for this class! In reflecting on how much I have learnt about the socio-political importance of visual culture - and in this blog post, I’m going to explore just that - this time, inspired by a video essay by Rooney Elmi. They are the founding editor of Svlly(wood) magazine, a print and digital publication that produces experimental, alternative texts in film criticism, commonly from marginalised voices. The essay is entitled ‘Black Femininity as the Monstrousness: Exploring race, gender, sexuality and diasporic culture in blaxploitation horror’ and analyses Barbara Creed’s ‘7 Deadly Sins’ of feminine character portrayals in the horror genre. 

Here are some key takeaways from Elmi’s analysis that will underlie my blog post today:

The Blaxploitation genre is written by and stars black people, and is connected to the post-civil rights era, and Black pride movements in the early 1970s

By embracing the racialised Black monster and turning him into an agent of black pride and power, the blaxploitation films created sympathetic monsters that helped shift audiences away from the usual black monster stereotype

And instead positioned white society as the maker of black monsters

Therefore, Blaxploitation cinema humanised the heavily demonised identity of blackness and repurposed cinema as an artistic venue of Black rebellion, instead of its historic purpose as a tool of white supremacy.

So that I don’t spend this blog post just relaying everything that was mentioned, here’s a link to the video essay: https://www.graveyardshiftsisters.com/archive//2017/05/horror-blackademics-rooney-elmis-black.html 

But for all of Blaxploitation cinema’s strengths, it also fails in its portrayal of gender and sexuality, or to acknowledge womanhood and sensuality as equally important strides in the Black liberation movement. 

As we’ve established in previous blog posts, what creates the horror in films is often not the supernatural elements, but the very real and brutal aspects of human life that are tied into the film’s premise, such as family secrets in ‘Eve’s Bayou’, violence against Black people in ‘Candyman’, pedophillic predatory crimes in ‘The Lake’.... I could go on. And what becomes clear through Elmi’s analysis is that the ‘horror’ of female characters in the Blaxploitation genre is that fact that women cannot be controlled and categorised.

Alright, hear me out here: when a female character is possessed by a demon, se is often still pure and beautiful on the outside, with a terrible evil lying within, that enacts trouble and terror through overt sexuality. Therefore the horror emerges from the fact that a woman has broken away from a ‘proper’ feminine role, and can no longer be someone's wife, daughter, mother etc - and she is powerful and uncontrollable - terrifying! With a female vampire, she is also uncategorizable -  she crosses and hovers on the boundary between the human and the animal, and the living and the dead, and is all-powerful and independent. And instead of celebrating and humanising these aspects of strong femininity in the Blaxploitation genre, it is villainised and portrayed as deplorable. 

So moving forward, I am going to embrace those moments of feeling powerful, free from other’s control, feeling comfortable in my sensuality and not pressure myself to neatly fit into a category that society is comfortable with. And I would encourage you to do the same!

So long, 

Vedika

[arianahrizzo]

Candyman & Short Stories

Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman… I will not say it five times. After watching the two films back to back, I refused to look into the mirror until the next day. I appreciated Professor Due’s comment that we can still enjoy the creative aspects of a movie while simultaneously critiquing it for its problematic aspects. I appreciate Candyman (1992) for its success in frightening me and telling a storyline that helped me understand Candyman (2021) more clearly. Candyman (2021) was intentionally created to send a social message and create commentary around race. Therefore, its intricacies and storyline, while requiring more critical analysis to decipher, are powerful in moving past the harmful tropes that Candyman (1992) continued to recirculate. I agree that Candyman (1992) is not Black horror, but rather diminishes Black life and experiences through horror.

In Candyman (2021), I immediately felt bad for Candyman, he seemed like he was trying to fit in, was cast aside, and in trying to brighten a child’s life by giving him Candy, he was killed. I believe this was the intended purpose in reclaiming a narrative that Black men should not be feared. The ending of Candyman (2021) fit right into this theme, when Anthony (turned Candyman) did not kill his girlfriend. She too understood Candyman in a new light by helping at the end of the movie. It is not Candyman that is the monster - it is racism, as we’ve seen in other works during this class.

The short stories this week showed me new approaches and the variety of the Black horror genre. “The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World” proved protagonists are fearless and demonstrated that horror does not always have to end in death, sometimes the outcome is left unsaid for the reader to interpret. This story was gruesome in its own ways, especially when she was eating the hen. I liked the self-reflectivity of the young girl at the end of the story and the cautionary theme. 

 I really enjoyed the short story “Pressure.” From the start, the point of view of “you,” seemed very captivating. The story appeared to be a mundane day, and one that is very relatable, until we reach the end of the story. The normalcy of the story has a way of creeping up on you and building suspense. This story showed me how I can pull from personal traumas and experiences that I often disregard as normal, when I think about writing my own horror short story or film.

[princelythirsts]

misc selfship updates

I’m treating selfship as a hobby / fandom kinda thing and trying to engage more in making stuff for my ships

- I kinda updated my f/o list in my main post but aaaa my feelings on characters mean making an f/o list is kinda futile unless I have very specific ones

like I’m usually thinking of one main ship and like two others at a time, with other characters I like to revisit once in a while

and other characters still that I have a great fondness for even if I’m less fixated on them. like I’m not super into the penguin right now but I love seeing fanart and love when people give me things related to him.

- I would say Phemie/Charles has been my main since like June but I develop plots with new characters I like and revisit old ones I like too.

I tend to gatekeep when it comes to considering a character an f/o or not bc I get pretty intense about some. Like with my mains I usually have ideas for them every day even if I don’t write them down, daydream a lot, will accidentally imagine and “hear” their voice when I’m reading (if they have one), have ideas for analysis, etc.

I don’t have the same amount of ideas/energy spent on other characters so I tend to doubt myself, even if I clearly ship with them

- creations wise I have been drawing more of my f/o’s like Coyle, Omni Man, Eddie, Gooseberry etc. I started drawing a me x Candyman piece, but I’m kinda hesitating out of fear of messing up. I also drew Phemie but I’m weirdly hesitant to post art still. I will say I used a ref of myself for Phemie and I joked that he looks like an Asian Bobby Hill and can’t unsee it

- tonight I put together an ita bag spread with Leatherface (larger than before) and an outfit with a new sweater I got with his face!

- I am experimenting with other f/os: Duff from Dave the Diver who I gained from playing the game just now

+ Plastic from Mirror’s Edge Catalyst who I’m revisiting since I had a crush on her when I first played the game in 2016

+ Omni Man who I have a super melodramatic idea for an incest ship with.

[hollywoodhandle]

‘It Lives Inside’ Review: An Underwhelming And Generic Take Of Horror

I don’t feel it’s unreasonable to say that much of the best of the horror genre taps into real-life social issues. From Candyman’s analysis of gentrification and cultural self-panoptigonising, to His House’s look at the immigrant experience and how difficult it can be to adjust to a new place and culture where it can seem everyone is trying to push you back out. Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside…

[thenixkat]

Jordan Peele's Candyman: The Horror of Inevitability | READUS 101

by  La'Ron Readus

[basic-otaku]

My thoughts on Xue Yang's character (based on the drama and novel)

Xue Yang is a character I didn’t fully understand until I finished The Untamed. I looked back on him with a bit of pity but little understanding. It wasn’t until I listened to his character song that I truly began to dissect his character. Reading those lyrics completely flipped my perspective on him, and I went back to watch the Yi City arc again. I was shocked by how much I had missed. Xue Yang has since become one of my favorite characters of the series. I’ve spent so much time thinking about him and his motives that I finally decided to write down my thoughts. This analysis comes mostly from what I perceived, so it may differ from other people’s opinions. You are free to disagree with me.

Let’s start with what we know: Xue Yang was a street kid with a hard childhood. We know he was abandoned at a young age, but we don’t know how young. However, he must have been old enough to survive, so he couldn’t have been younger than four when he started fending for himself. We don’t know who his parents are because he doesn’t remember them, nor does he remember anyone else who had potentially taken care of him. His parents could be dead for all we know, or they could have dumped him somewhere when they no longer wanted to take care of him. It’s all up to speculation. He also has a very high pain tolerance, probably due to constant beatings as a child.

When you’re all alone in the world, you have to learn to put yourself first. There’s no one to care for you, so only you can care for yourself. I believe that Xue Yang wasn’t always a bad person because no one is inherently evil. However, because he was alone, there was no one to nurture him and teach him right from wrong. When all you experience is violence and hatred, that becomes your response to similar situations; you don’t expect kindness or want to give it in return.

One of Xue Yang’s flaws as a child was his naivety — he was much too quick to trust. That’s how he got himself into such a bad situation. He was eager to have something he was never able to have (candy), so he immediately trusted that shopkeeper when he said he could have some as a reward for running an errand. What he got in return wasn’t candy, but a brutal beating and a severed pinky. If Xue Yang had still had any faith left in humanity, this is the point where it would have left him. The remaining childhood innocence in him was gone. This brings me to an interesting piece of dialogue. In Yi City, when Xue Yang confronts Song Lan and tells him what he’s been up to, Song Lan curses at him, calling him an animal. Xue Yang laughs at him and says, “I quit using those words when I was seven.” And what happened to Xue Yang’s finger? “One finger was ground into battered flesh on the spot. The child was seven.” Even Xue Yang himself knows that moment was when everything changed, and he still carries the resentment with him now.

Back to the cart incident. This event scarred him for life and was the primary reason he became a sociopath. Now he’s bent on revenge. He was powerless as a child; just another street rat who shouldn’t be treated like a human being nor spared any pity. So, when he realizes he can do the same to those that hurt him, he takes it much further. When he was old enough and strong enough, he exacts his revenge. He wanted to make the Chang Clan feel his pain — not only for the finger he had lost but for his whole miserable life up to that point. If no one deigned to understand him, then he’d make them understand in the only way he knew how. With violence.

Xue Yang was only fifteen or sixteen when he slaughtered the Chang Clan, killing more than fifty people. This is where he meets Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan. From the first moment, Xue Yang hates Xiao Xingchen. He’s so righteous, so full of light. He thinks he makes the world better just by doing a little good. What a hypocrite. Where was he when he was needed? Where was he when Xue Yang was a seven-year-old boy left crying in the streets after having his finger ground to a pulp? No, nobody can be that good.

When Xue Yang is captured by Wei Wuxian and the others, Xiao Xingchen takes him back to Qinghe to be apprehended, and Xue Yang vows to get his revenge on Xiao Xingchen for it. It isn’t long after he escapes from Qinghe that Xue Yang slaughters Baixue Temple, blinding Song Lan in the process. According to Xue Yang’s logic, hurting Xiao Xingchen’s friend is just as bad as hurting Xiao Xingchen himself. This is what causes the rift between Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan. Without this incident, Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen may never have met again.

A few years have likely passed while Xue Yang was working for Jin Guangyao. He is probably closer to eighteen or nineteen when Jin Guangyao injures him and throws him out, which is how Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing find him. Xiao Xingchen doesn’t hesitate in bringing Xue Yang back to Yi City with him and A-Qing and caring for his wounds. Xue Yang wakes up pained and disoriented, but he immediately tries to back away when he realizes who is tending to him. He doesn’t know Xiao Xingchen is unaware of his identity, and probably thinks that Xiao Xingchen is getting ready to take him to face justice or something. But Xiao Xingchen insists that he doesn’t need to know who Xue Yang is and that he’s only doing what’s right. Xue Yang is clearly shocked by this admission. He truly cannot comprehend kindness, and this is the first time he’s ever experienced it.

This is also the first time we get to see his genuine smile. It’s shocked and incredulous, like he can’t believe this is happening, but it’s there. Throughout the series, Xue Yang’s snarky words and sly smirk are a token of his character, but now we know they are just a mask he uses to hide the small, broken child inside of him. If no one can see the hurt he hides, then no one can hurt him further. But with just one kind gesture, Xiao Xingchen was able to bring out the young boy who just wanted love and comfort.

This kindness is such a foreign concept to Xue Yang that he doesn’t think it’s genuine for a long time. But as the years pass, Xue Yang comes to realize that Xiao Xingchen isn’t a threat. This is something he scoffs at. Xiao Xingchen is ridiculously naïve; so stupid. If he knew who he was living with, who he was eating with, he wouldn’t act like this. He would treat Xue Yang the same way everyone else had. So, Xue Yang decides to trick Xiao Xingchen into murdering innocent people for revenge. Xue Yang can’t wait for Xiao Xingchen to find out what Xue Yang has made him do because it’ll break him. What this revenge is for is up to interpretation. Maybe he’s still angry about being captured and sent to Qinghe. Maybe he’s angry at the world for treating him so badly. Maybe Xue Yang wants to show Xiao Xingchen that his worldview is stupid and that there are no good or pure people in the world. I choose to believe that it’s the last one.

At least, this is his motivation at first — he slowly loses the will to harm Xiao Xingchen. This brings me to another interesting point. In episode three, Xue Yang says he doesn’t fear death, he fears boredom. But isn’t this domestic life he’s living with Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing considered boring by his standards? I think the boredom he speaks of is really the fear of being alone and having nothing at all. Now he’s happy, however reluctantly he’s willing to admit it. He wouldn’t have put up with A-Qing’s petulant behavior if he didn’t enjoy the time they spent together. Although they didn’t get along at first, Xue Yang protects A-Qing and takes care of her like an annoying older brother. He teases her, sure, but he also cuts her apple slices in the shape of rabbits and gives her advice on how to scare away the people who bully her (even though killing them isn’t great advice). Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing were the family he never had. Now he would do anything to preserve the life he is living.

After about a year, Xue Yang’s plan stopped being about revenge. I’m not completely sure how he justified this change of heart, but I like to think he told himself he was still biding his time and that he’d get back to it eventually (even if he had stopped thinking about hurting Xiao Xingchen). Based on what A-Qing told Song Lan when he arrived at Yi City, Xue Yang hadn’t taken Xiao Xingchen out on one of those night hunts in a long time. And most of the people that Xue Yang made Xiao Xingchen kill were the merchants that made fun of his blindness and cheated him with bad vegetables and high prices. It was a messed-up way to get revenge for Xiao Xingchen. Xue Yang hates being looked down on, so shouldn’t Xiao Xingchen feel the same way?

Nevertheless, the time they spent in Yi City was probably the only time Xue Yang had been happy in his entire life. Xiao Xingchen was so in tune with what Xue Yang needed that Xue Yang came to care for him deeply. Whether those feelings were romantic or platonic in nature is up to the viewer, but I believe Xue Yang had fallen in love with Xiao Xingchen in the only sick and twisted way he could. Xiao Xingchen understood him more than anyone ever had, going so far as to listen to his idle ramblings and bring him a piece of candy every day after hearing that he had loved sweets as a child but could never have any. He managed to tame the savage beast in Xue Yang’s heart with only his presence and basic human decency. Xue Yang’s bloodlust was satiated as long as he had Xiao Xingchen to take care of him. At this point, I don’t think he would ever actually kill Xiao Xingchen. He had stopped wanting to hurt him a long time ago. A-Qing? Sure. She’s expendable, but Xiao Xingchen is irreplaceable. Even if Xue Yang reluctantly came to care about her, it wasn’t the same kind of bond. She had never shown him the same kindness that Xiao Xingchen had. He wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her if she betrayed him, but she was important to Xiao Xingchen, which meant he couldn’t do her any harm if he didn’t want to disrupt their happy life.

If Song Lan hadn’t found them, how long would Xue Yang have stayed? I don’t even think he knew. He just knew that he didn’t want to leave anymore. Xiao Xingchen gave him too much for him to want that. The viewer can easily see the happiness in his eyes when he looks at Xiao Xingchen. Xue Yang acts like a kid around him — playing games, joking around, making him laugh with childish remarks. Even in the quiet moments, he’s happy. This was especially noticeable in the campfire scene. It wasn’t shown in the original drama, but in the special edition, Xue Yang smiled at Xiao Xingchen from across the fire, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at his daozhang was so tender that it honestly caught me off guard. It seemed to catch Xue Yang off guard too because he caught himself, and the smile slowly fell. It’s like he realized what he’s doing and remembered that this should be about revenge.

Where in the past, Xue Yang hated Xiao Xingchen for his righteousness, he now loves him for his naivety. Without it, Xue Yang knows that Xiao Xingchen would be disgusted with himself. There would be no more laughs, no more games, and no more smiles. Then Xue Yang would lose the one person who didn’t treat him like dirt. So, when Song Lan finds them, Xue Yang immediately perceives it as a threat to their domestic life. He knows how important Song Lan is to Xiao Xingchen, and there’s no doubt in his mind that Xiao Xingchen won’t hesitate to leave with Song Lan when he discovers Xue Yang’s identity.

Furthermore, Xue Yang resents Song Lan for taking Xiao Xingchen’s eyes (even though it was voluntary on Xiao Xingchen’s part and was essentially Xue Yang’s fault). His logic tells him that having Xiao Xingchen kill Song Lan would be the perfect way for Xiao Xingchen to get his revenge. What Xue Yang doesn’t understand is that not everyone thinks about things in the context of revenge. I don’t believe Xiao Xingchen ever truly regretted giving up his sight. But Xue Yang can’t comprehend how someone could be that selfless.

This is where it all falls apart. A-Qing sees what happened to Song Lan, and she runs to Xiao Xingchen and tells him everything. When Xiao Xingchen comes back to confront him, Xue Yang spills it all. There’s nothing left for him to lose. His mask falls again, and he basically bares his soul to Xiao Xingchen. This is probably the first time he’s told the story about his finger, and I think he genuinely thought Xiao Xingchen was going to understand him; that if he knew what Xue Yang went through, he’d sympathize with him and justify his action (thereby justifying his feelings). Instead of that, however, Xiao Xingchen calls him disgusting, and it flips a switch inside of Xue Yang. How can Xiao Xingchen call him disgusting when he’s killed people too?

I think one of the reasons Xue Yang led Xiao Xingchen to kill those people was to bring Xiao Xingchen down to his level. Xue Yang doesn’t think that anyone can be as good as Xiao Xingchen claimed to be, so he had to taint his perfect record. Maybe if he killed people, Xiao Xingchen would understand him. Xue Yang thought that when Xiao Xingchen found out, he’d stay with him. Now he’s not the same righteous person he used to be, so how could he be good enough to travel the world with Song Lan? No, he should stay with Xue Yang instead and live a happy life together.

So, when Xiao Xingchen calls him disgusting, Xue Yang was probably confused and upset, which made him instinctively put his mask back up. Being vulnerable only hurt him again, so he’s back to harsh words and smirks, telling Xiao Xingchen that this is why he’s always hated him and that all of this was fun. Fun in every sense of the word: the killing and the happiness.

Xiao Xingchen finding out that he killed Song Lan was the last straw. Xue Yang is still laughing as Xiao Xingchen slits his own throat. It takes a moment for the realization to set in, but as it does, the smile falls from Xue Yang’s lips, and his hands begin to shake. This is the third time his mask has fallen. His eyes begin to well with tears, but he tries to keep up his act, saying that dead ones are easier to control, but the only one he’s acting for is himself.

The next scene is the one that really solidified Xue Yang’s feelings for me. He cleans the blood from Xiao Xingchen’s skin with the same care that Xiao Xingchen had shown him when he first found Xue Yang in that ditch. Xue Yang clearly thinks that Xiao Xingchen is going to come back and that the ritual will work, that he staves off his tears and sets out food for both of them. He considers eating his candy but then decides he should wait until Xiao Xingchen comes back. If he’s back, then Xue Yang is sure to get another piece.

When he realizes that the ritual isn’t working and Xiao Xingchen isn’t coming back, he breaks down. The tantrum he throws is so full of rage and anguish that it really shows the depth of his feelings for Xiao Xingchen. Again, he goes back to acting, trying to guilt Xiao Xingchen’s dead body into coming back to life by telling him all the terrible things he’ll do to Song Lan and A-Qing if he doesn’t reawaken. Obviously, Xiao Xingchen can’t hear him, and Xue Yang knows this, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He finally dissolves into tears, screaming and crying over Xiao Xingchen’s corpse. This may have been the first time he’s cried since he lost his finger. Crying is for innocent, naïve children, and it doesn’t help anybody. But now Xue Yang has had a taste of pure sweetness and doesn’t want to go back to the bitter life he has known, so he finally lets himself weep for all the things he could have had.

Xue Yang spent the next seven years trying to bring Xiao Xingchen back to life with no success. We don’t know much about his activities after Yi City, but we have gotten information through rumors that Shuanghua was being used to kill innocents. It seems like Xue Yang wanted to keep a part of Xiao Xingchen with him. He even continued his sick revenge plot after Xiao Xingchen’s death by gouging out the eyes of and killing the remains of the Chang Clan, including their leader, Chang Ping, by lingchi. Xue Yang doesn’t blame himself in the slightest; he just thinks that Xiao Xingchen’s death was an unfortunate consequence of the situation. He will put the blame on anyone and everyone other than himself. Thus, instead of performing lingchi on himself like Wei Wuxian suggested, he takes out his anger on the remains of the Chang Clan.

Everything Xue Yang does in the present is tied to Xiao Xingchen, yet he still can’t bring him back. So, when he heard that the Yiling Patriarch had suddenly come back to life, Xue Yang knew it was his last chance. The sword ghost/ghost arm is what led Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to Yi City. It was pointing to its murderer. I’m sure Xue Yang could have avoided a confrontation if he wanted, but this was intentional. As for the juniors, I have a feeling that Xue Yang was behind the cat corpses that led them to meet up with Wei Wuxian. This is still unclear though because Xue Yang doesn’t have a real reason to get them involved. The only person he needs is Wei Wuxian.

Xue Yang has tried everything at this point. So, when Wei Wuxian finds him in Yi City, pretending to be Xiao Xingchen, he is completely desperate. I do wonder if that is something he has done more than once. Did he often go around dressed as Xiao Xingchen? Was he playing with the life they had in Yi City? Pretending he was still there? Or was it a one-time thing to trick Wei Wuxian into dropping his guard? I also wonder how often he used his own sword because only after Lan Zhan took Shuanghua from him did he pull out Jiangzai. That could be because he was acting as Xiao Xingchen, but we can’t be sure. However, that isn’t the point. Right now, Wei Wuxian was Xue Yang’s only option because the Yiling Patriarch surely knew things he didn’t. Xue Yang had lived with Xiao Xingchen’s corpse for those seven years, keeping him in pristine condition. I’m pretty sure the only way Xue Yang could have done this was by giving him spiritual energy every day, which would be incredibly draining. I don’t think Xue Yang had an exceptionally strong golden core to begin with either. He is primarily a demonic cultivator, which means he doesn’t use his golden core often. It must have taken most of his strength to keep Xiao Xingchen’s body in such good condition. But anything for daozhang, right? Xue Yang needed Xiao Xingchen’s body to be perfect when he returned. He also put aside his pride and used Song Lan for protection all those years. He kept the one person he continued to hate with a burning passion around him for so long.

When Wei Wuxian tells Xue Yang he can’t bring Xiao Xingchen back to life because his soul is too broken, Xue Yang refuses to believe it. It’s been seven years already; he can’t give up now. Deep down, I believe Xue Yang knows Xiao Xingchen wouldn’t want anything to do with him even if he did come back, but he can’t figure out why. Because nothing was his fault, of course.

Something Wei Wuxian said really struck me as I went back to rewatch episode 39. Before the fight, Wei Wuxian turns to Xue Yang and says, “you disgust him to the core, yet you still want to pull him back to play this stupid game.” Xue Yang responds with “I want nothing of the kind.” And he’s being honest. He doesn’t want a stupid game — he wants something real. He wants a life where Xiao Xingchen knows his identity and stays with him in spite of it. He just wants one person to accept him as he is, but that will never, nor could ever, happen —not with all the crimes he has committed.

When Lan Wangji cut off his arm, leaving Xue Yang bleeding on the ground, I think he knew it was over. There was nothing left for him now. He was never getting Xiao Xingchen back. He never had him in the first place, not in any way that counted. So he laughs, blood spilling from his lips, to cover up the tears he wishes he could cry.

He’s ready when Song Lan stabs him, dying with a smile on his face as he gazes at the last piece of candy Xiao Xingchen had ever given him. It’s blackened and inedible, yet Xue Yang held on to it for so long; it was a reminder of his daozhang and of why he was fighting so hard. Like his character song said, he was “too determined to let go.”

It’s kind of sad that even in death, he was never respected by anyone other than Xiao Xingchen, and all of that was built on a lie. He didn’t even get a proper burial, although I suppose he kind of deserved it. Xue Yang is the character I pity the most in this series. He isn’t a good person, nowhere near it, and he deserved the end he got, but I wish things could have been different. What hurts is that it just as easily could have been Wei Wuxian. If Xue Yang had been taken in as a child; if he’d had his own Jiang Fengmian, his own Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, he could have been happier. Maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe he would have met Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan and started a sect with them. Realistically, he and Xiao Xingchen would never be lovers because Xiao Xingchen was so strongly connected to Song Lan, but I think they could have been friends.

However, one question I still have is did Xue Yang fall in love with Xiao Xingchen because of how he treated him or because of the person Xiao Xingchen really was? If they had met under different circumstances (and if Xue Yang had had a support system when he was young), would Xue Yang have still fallen in love with him? I guess that’s up to the viewer to decide.

Ultimately, Xue Yang is still a sociopath who can’t understand empathy or feel remorse, so I don’t think he regretted any of his crimes. However, I do believe that Xue Yang regretted the consequences of his actions in Yi City. He didn’t want Xiao Xingchen to die, but his actions were what caused his death. It’s more of a dissatisfaction with where things ended up than feeling guilty for his death. Although I don’t think Xue Yang felt remorseful, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t grieving, nor does it mean his feelings for Xiao Xingchen weren’t as genuine as they could have been.

I don’t know where Xue Yang or Xiao Xingchen will end up now, but I hope they’ll both be happy in their next lives. The same goes for A-Qing and Song Lan (when he finally meets his true end). There are so many things that contributed to Xue Yang’s unstable mind, but I think the moral of the story is that it pays to be kind. If just one person had taken pity on him as a child — had shown him that there was good in the world — I wonder what kind of person he would have become.

I already know how cruel fate is

Not looking, not asking, not grieving, not hating

Waiting to relive my life just for a single person

Ups and downs in life

I would leave no regrets

I tried searching in the darkness of night

When I am trapped in the past

I still hope that a flicker of light will appear in my heart

The legend of this lonely city

Who came here before?

And gifted to me my karma

I am waiting for this karma to liberate spirits, liberate souls, and liberate me

Even though I am already too determined to let go

If I get rid of these inner demons

Would you forgive me?

Gaining freedom from destiny, starting all over again

[queermustelid]

Shout-out to everyone who thinks horror media is a really fascinating intersection of psychology and storytelling but who also can't consume said horror media because they are a Little Bitch™

[cipheramnesia]

Like apparently the original book on Slashers, which has kind of become a template for other analysis, puts stuff like Psycho and maybe Alien into the slasher genre and posits what sounds like a heavily Freud influenced gender-based interpretation of anything it includes in the slasher genre.

Which sort of works okay because a lot of the world is gendered and patriarchal hegemony exists. Except a great deal of horror movies aren't specifically addressing gender politics, including slashers. And movies like Psycho are not slashers unless you stretch the concept so wide anything fits in, but that ends up excluding analysis of more substantive and different underlying subtext, as well as lumping everything under male/female dichotomy.

But I do see the whole "everything is a slasher" mode of analysis coming up a good deal, and I guess it's thanks to much of that early work. Anyway slashers are both less gendered and more specifically defined than all that. Alien is not a slasher, Psycho is not a slasher, Candyman is not a slasher, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not a slasher.

I think I may have inadvertently developed my own definition of horror subgenres and meanings derived from the popular literature, but distinct from it, and I have been off here operating through these fairly specific individual concepts as generally applied in scholarly studies of horror, when they are more like my own new ideas derived from earlier ideas. The problem here of course is that means no one else actually recognizes the concepts I'm working with, and more importantly my versions are also the correct ones.