"Since the moment pictures could move, we had skin in the game": Black horror podcasters as fans, critics, and creators

Abstract

Black horror is often investigated within film and television studies, but there is a lack of further inquiry into how Black horror exists within fandom, audience, and podcast studies. Upon completing nine in-depth qualitative interviews in our ongoing project on Black-identifying horror podcasters, we investigate how they centralize their racial identity while negotiating and participating in horror fandom and podcasting, as well as how they navigate thematic interpretation and critique of the horror genre. We offer data from our interviews with Black horror podcasters in which we discuss Jordan Peele's film Nope (2022) to explore the ways in which Black horror podcasters embody the unique position of being Black horror fans, critics, and creators. Our investigation centralizes the voices of Black horror podcasters as they discuss experiences, feelings, and labor; such insight greatly contributes to a larger conversation about marginalized audiences' engagement with the horror genre that is often either neglected or exploited.