Articles

'There is Still Time' - Queer Discomfort in I Saw the TV Glow

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Abstract

Jane Schoenbrun's 2024 horror film I Saw the TV Glow engages with the aesthetics of transition, forgoing traditional layers of metaphor for an explicit trans narrative. I argue that the ways the film engages with the horror genre demonstrates an awareness of the principles of horror as defined by Noël Carrol while inverting the assumed purpose of the horror genre. Drawing upon the intersections of film studies and queer studies, I propose a viewing of I Saw the TV Glow in which the self-destructive nature of transition is centered, where the act of recognizing one’s identity is seen through the lens of violence. This subversion of norms within horror is also used to explain the divisive reception the film received upon its Sundance debut, with its rejection of linear narrative paralleling its rejection of traditional gender structures.

Keywords: Queer Studies, Horror Studies, Contemporary Film, Transgender Fiction, LGBTQ+ Studies

How to Cite:

Finnegan, J. W., (2025) “'There is Still Time' - Queer Discomfort in I Saw the TV Glow”, DiGeSt - Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies 12(1), 99-112. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/digest.93281