S8EB: Monstrous Others with Rachel Dean-Ruzicka
We explore how Stranger Things signals a new monstrous moment, moving from unknowable creatures to human-made villains, and what that shift says about power, identity, and culture. Along the way, we ask how animals get coded as monsters and when their agency is reclaimed or removed in film and TV.
Rachel Dean-Ruzicka is a Senior Lecturer of Writing and Communication at Georgia Tech where she has been since 2015. She holds a MA degree in Literature from Colorado State University and a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. Her research is broadly in popular culture studies including publications on young adult Holocaust literature, the podcast My Favorite Murder, and various comics. Her current project is on the transmedia world of Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things. She loves podcasts, her cat Steven STEVEN, spending time with friends, and reading way too many books at a time.
Mentioned:
Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature by Rachel Dean-Ruzicka
Paranormal Maturation: Uncanny Teenagers and Canny Killers by Rachel Dean-Ruzicka
Of Scrivens and Sparks: Girl Geniuses in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction by Rachel Dean-Ruzicka
Monster Culture (Seven Theses) by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen
The Monster Theory Reader by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock
The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
Monsters, Heroes, and Others: Unpacking Power in Media and Politics through Race or Species
Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; and the pollination project, the School of Modern Language, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, as well as the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech University for co-sponsoring this season. The bed music was composed by Gordon Clarke and the logo designed by Jeremy John. This episode was produced, hosted, and edited by Claudia Hirtenfelder.