The Ethics of Horror
Spectral Alterity in Twenty-First-Century Horror Film
Abstract
The Ethics of Horror: Spectral Alterity in Twenty-First Century Horror Film examines the theme of spectral haunting in contemporary American horror cinema through the lens of ethical responsibility. Arguing that moral obligation can manifest as terror to the complacent self, the text extracts this dimension of ethics in twenty-first century horror films. Drawing on the ethical theories of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida, which posit the asymmetrical obligation of the self to the other, Michael Burke highlights how recent horror films portray spectral antagonists as ethical others that hound protagonists and summon them to an accountability that they can neither evade nor ever completely fulfill. Burke observes the resulting destabilization of notions of ethical responsibility and justice in a variety of contemporary horror subgenres, including technohorror, haunted house and zombie films.
- Kapitel Ausklappen | EinklappenSeiten
- i–viii Preface i–viii
- 1–18 Introduction 1–18
- 47–98 Technohorror 47–98
- 99–144 Haunted Hostage 99–144
- 145–200 Zombie Alterity 145–200
- 201–214 Conclusion 201–214
- 215–236 Bibliography 215–236
- 237–242 Filmography 237–242
- 243–248 Index 243–248
- 249–250 About the Author 249–250