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We are coming into the October season, and more and more, around the world, that means it is the season for horror. If you are interested in the portrayal of possession and exorcism in movies, then please check out our book from Lexington (Rowman & Littlefield): https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498519083/Possessed-Women-Haunted-States-Cultural-Tensions-in-Exorcism-Cinema Possessed Women, Haunted States: Cultural Tensions in Exorcism Cinema by Christopher J. Olson and CarrieLynn D. Reinhard Since the release of The Exorcist in 1973, there has been a surge of movies depicting young women becoming possessed by a demonic force that only male religious figures can exorcise, thereby saving the women from eventual damnation. This book considers this history of exorcism cinema by analyzing how the traditional exorcism narrative, established in The Exorcist, recurs across the exorcism subgenre to represent the effects of demonic possession and ritual exorcism. This traditional exorcism narrative often functions as the central plot of the exorcism film, with only the rare film deviating from this structure. The analysis presented in this book considers how exorcism films reflect, reinforce or challenge this traditional exorcism narrative. Using various cultural and critical theories, this book examines how representations of possession and exorcism reflect, reinforce or challenge prevailing social, cultural, and historical views of women, minorities, and homosexuals. In particular, exorcism films appear to explore tensions or fears regarding empowered and sexually active women, and frequently reinforce the belief that such individuals need to be subjugated and disempowered so that they no longer pose a threat to those around them. Even more recent films, produced after the emergence of third wave feminism, typically reflect this concern about women. Very rarely do exorcism films present empowered women and feminine sexuality as non-threatening. In examining this subgenre of horror films, this book looks at films that have not received much critical scrutiny regarding the messages they contain and how they relate to and comment upon the historical periods in which they were produced and initially received. Given the results of this analysis, this book concludes on the necessity to examine how possession and exorcism are portrayed in popular culture. CarrieLynn D. Reinhard Dominican University Associate Professor, Communication Arts and Sciences Director, Social Media Minor Director, Film Studies Minor Undergraduate Faculty Associate, Borra CTLE Editor, Professional Wrestling Studies Association Co-Host/Co-Creator, The Pop Culture Lens www.playingwithresearch.com<http://www.playingwithresearch.com> thepopculturelens.podbean.com<http://thepopculturelens.podbean.com/> prowrestlingstudies.wordpress.com<http://prowrestlingstudies.wordpress.com> <http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/> <http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/> <http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/> <http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/> -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation. MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html). Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid “engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list.” For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/ --------------------------------------------------------