There was an early Halloween treat recently for Edward Little Professor of English and Cinema Studies Aviva Briefel and her latest book project.
(University of Texas Press, 2023) is a collection of essays exploring how work and capitalism inspire horror in modern cinema. Whether it’s a mad scientist in his lab, a creepy housemaid, or a quiet motel owner, the role of labor—the jobs we do—is a central theme in the horror movie genre, argues Briefel (read more).
The book was coedited by Briefel and , associate professor of English and visual and cultural studies at the University of Rochester. Labors of Fear has just won the 2024 Best Edited Collection Award, an honor bestowed by the .
Briefel could also be heard recently on NPR, where she was a guest on the cultural affairs podcast and show It’s Been a Minute. In a discussion with host Brittany Luse, they talked about the “unexpected horror trope: scary service workers.” The idea can be traced back at least as far as nineteenth-century Gothic literature, said Briefel, well before the days of cinema. “In everything from Jane Eyre to Victorian ghost stories, the servant is important.” That, she explained, is because as well as being in a marginal position, the servant also has access to information that no one else does. “The servant can sneak around and listen to things and have information and … a critical perspective on what's happening.”
The idea of the servant as a knowing observer, said Briefel, has been a very important trope since the beginning of the Gothic era. It can also been seen in modern-day horror movies, she added, such as Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017), where the housekeeper Georgina has a crucial role. (Note: the discussion featuring Briefel begins about halfway through the podcast—around the 23:30 mark).
Briefel is teaching two classes this semester: Victorian Ghosts and Monsters (ENGL 1005, GSWS 1005) and Victorian Plots (ENGL 2405).
