Penn State Altoona professors examine ‘Candyman’ in latest podcast

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona faculty members Brian Onishi, associate professor of philosophy, and Jeff Stoyanoff, assistant professor of English and of women's, gender and sexuality studies, have released a new episode of their "Horror Joy" podcast. In the latest episode, the hosts discuss the 1992 film "Candyman" as the final entry in an "academic horror" course, focusing on how the movie links urban legend, the university, and racialized violence.

Onishi and Stoyanoff follow graduate student Helen Lyle's dissertation research into the Candyman myth at Chicago's Cabrini-Green, highlighting how academic distance and the "white gaze" turn Black suffering, especially Daniel Robitaille's lynching, into an object of study.

Drawing on writers such as Zayla Crocker, George Yancy, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Robin R. Means Coleman, the hosts argue the film reflects its early-1990s moment (including Rodney King and the Los Angeles uprising), critiques systemic racism and misogyny and frames Helen as both privileged researcher and exploited academic.

The full episode can be accessed on podcast providers or on Red Circle.