Penn State Altoona faculty’s podcast examines academic horror in film ‘Master’

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 academic horror through Mariama Diallo's 2022 film "Master," set at the fictional elite Ancaster University.

Onishi and Stoyanoff are joined by returning guest S. Trimble, associate professor of women and gender studies at the University of Toronto, and first-time guest Joe Vallese, New York University faculty fellow in expository writing, and editor of "It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror." The conversation unpacks "Master's" slow-burn dread, as Gail Bishop (Regina Hall), the newly appointed first Black master; Jasmine, a first-year Black student; and Liv, a professor up for tenure, all navigate both explicit racism and subtler academic violence.

The hosts and guests discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter" as a canonical text used to police interpretation and power in the classroom, including Jasmine's failing grade and the gaslighting embedded in academic evaluation.

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