Project Treatment + New Ideas
Project Title?
My working title currently is Home Sweet Unhomely: Local Horror Hosts and their Fan Communities. My preferred title would be ‘Ghouls Next Door’ but that is being used as the title of a podcast which is also based in Philly, so I’m afraid I can’t use it. A final title is still in development and being actively brainstormed.Brief Description
Home Sweet Unhomely is a documentary about horror hosts from small local stations, studying the communities that formed around them, their interactions and impact.Long Description
Home Sweet Unhomely: Local Horror Hosts and their Fan Communities is a short documentary about horror hosts from small local stations, the communities that formed around them, their interactions and impact. Horror Hosting is a television trend that began in the 1950s in Los Angeles and quickly became popular nationally, remaining fairly prevalent through at least the mid 2000s. The format features a television presenter (known as a horror host) who introduces and comments on horror films, often in a format incorporating skits, comedy and characters. Many horror hosts take on personas that incorporate horror tropes and local culture. Although the trend is best known for producing national stars such as Vampira, Elvira, Zacherle and Svengoolie, it was also widely adopted by smaller local television stations, whose horror hosts became fixtures in the local community. It is not uncommon for these smaller horror hosts to have cult followings of their own, with fans who describe fond memories of growing up watching their favorite host and bonding with them over scary movies. Before the internet, many horror hosts had ‘fan clubs’ that one could subscribe to, and hosts would interact with fans by attending events and responding to fan mail. On the internet, there is a wealth of fan websites, zines, forums and chat rooms dedicated to appreciating specific horror hosts and preserving information about the trend overall.
Although the impact of the horror hosting trend on the lives of fans is clear, there has been very little attention given to studying the trend on a local scale, with much research being focused instead on the largest national examples. Unfortunately, some horror hosts have been entirely lost to time due to the rarity of preserving old footage within smaller television stations. Since these horror hosts meant so much to the lives of fans, I believe that it is important to discuss the impacts of the trend, preserve the memories that fans value, and discuss the forms of community that exist around them. With Home Sweet Unhomely, I plan to look at many different facets of the trend’s impacts. What did horror hosts mean to fans? How did they interact with their fan communities from afar? How did they interact with and impact their geographically local communities? What types of communities formed around horror hosts? What did fans mean to horror hosts? What did horror hosts mean to each other? I hope to address all dimensions of community within the horror hosting trend. This analysis will be grounded in research that characterizes the horror host by combining studies of television hosts, local celebrities, persona, and authenticity, to describe the ways in which the horror host functions as a media figure. It will also be informed by literature about local and virtual communities, participatory culture, and fandom, to help characterize horror host communities, their fans and activity. Finally, the content of horror host shows will be analyzed through the lenses of cultural specificity and localization, cultural fears and representation, to understand why it appealed to and impacted audiences. This research will synthesize a new way of thinking about figures like horror hosts, who fall in between traditional categories for media figures. It will also add to the rich body of literature about fan communities and activity, providing added perspective about fans of lost media, local media, and horror media.
Although the impact of the horror hosting trend on the lives of fans is clear, there has been very little attention given to studying the trend on a local scale, with much research being focused instead on the largest national examples. Unfortunately, some horror hosts have been entirely lost to time due to the rarity of preserving old footage within smaller television stations. Since these horror hosts meant so much to the lives of fans, I believe that it is important to discuss the impacts of the trend, preserve the memories that fans value, and discuss the forms of community that exist around them. With Home Sweet Unhomely, I plan to look at many different facets of the trend’s impacts. What did horror hosts mean to fans? How did they interact with their fan communities from afar? How did they interact with and impact their geographically local communities? What types of communities formed around horror hosts? What did fans mean to horror hosts? What did horror hosts mean to each other? I hope to address all dimensions of community within the horror hosting trend. This analysis will be grounded in research that characterizes the horror host by combining studies of television hosts, local celebrities, persona, and authenticity, to describe the ways in which the horror host functions as a media figure. It will also be informed by literature about local and virtual communities, participatory culture, and fandom, to help characterize horror host communities, their fans and activity. Finally, the content of horror host shows will be analyzed through the lenses of cultural specificity and localization, cultural fears and representation, to understand why it appealed to and impacted audiences. This research will synthesize a new way of thinking about figures like horror hosts, who fall in between traditional categories for media figures. It will also add to the rich body of literature about fan communities and activity, providing added perspective about fans of lost media, local media, and horror media.
Statement of style/creative strategy
I plan to combine archival footage of horror hosting shows, interviews with horror hosts, and memories from fans about their favorite hosts. I also plan to take cues from the horror hosting tradition in the visual style and structure of my film. In pre-production I plan to create a number of resources that will help my creative process. The first is my horror host database adapted from online resources, which I will use to create a timeline and map of horror hosts. From my database I will begin gathering as much available footage and archival material as possible from libraries, databases, websites and television stations, while coding it and organizing it by host. In addition to content from the hosts and shows themselves, I will collect and code the online responses and memories shared by fans about the horror hosts. This will help me determine more clearly which hosts would be the richest to study. I plan to select a few of the strongest examples to focus on and (hopefully) interview for my documentary.When it comes to generating content for my documentary, one of my first steps will be constructing a website where I can share the information about horror hosting that I have gathered. I will then create a call for people to send in videos of themselves sharing memories about horror hosts and post the call in online communities to reach fans. I hope that this will give me some good content from fans to work with to help build my narrative. I plan to combine these fan testimonies with interviews from my chosen horror hosts that show their perspectives on their communities and impacts. This will be complimented by the archival footage I have collected. I think that these three sources of content will allow me to create a strong narrative, along with the different creative segments, transitions and stylistic choices that I will structure my film with. Taking inspiration from horror hosting shows, I hope to incorporate a host for my documentary who will introduce the content from a set, transition and map the content out, give commentary and perform skits. I want to lean into the low-budget, campy and kitschy style of horror hosting, shaping the documentary overall into a love letter that embraces the trend and its style. Choosing a documentary video form will allow the audience to appreciate the visual style and content of horror hosting, as well as connect directly with the fans and hosts that are involved. This will make the discussion and delivery of the subject matter more impactful overall.
Statement of research intent
I have found a few reference sources that describe the horror hosting trend and give information about different hosts and their shows. However, when it comes to discussions about the horror hosting trend from a media analysis and criticism perspective, there is little to no existing literature. However, I believe that this provides an opportunity to synthesize other literature about different media figures into a comprehensive characterization of what the horror host is and how it functions. There is a lot of writing about different types of celebrities, such as local celebrities, reality television celebrities, television hosts, and cult media figures. There is also a lot to read about media persona, authenticity, and interaction that can inform my characterization. I have found a lot of helpful writing about fandom, fan behavior, and online/in person fan communities that can help me understand what types of community form around horror hosts, as well as the impacts of fan behavior and what purposes they serve in the community and to the fans themselves. There are many sources that discuss how the content of media reflects cultural norms, fears and events, with many specifically addressing the genre of horror. Additionally, I have found some good sources on cultural specificity, localization and local media as a whole that can help me understand how local media content differs from that designed for a national audience. These sources combined can help me understand how the content of local horror hosting shows may appeal to audiences based on shared culture, and how this impacts their participation and interaction with the media.Many of my sources are from the psychology, anthropology and behavioral sciences fields, especially in the areas of fan behavior, participatory culture, persona, authenticity and celebrity. Media, film and communication studies make up the remaining bulk of my sources, specifically addressing media effects, media representation and content analysis. The core questions I am asking are: What type of media figure is a horror host, and what roles/functions do they take on? How does the content of horror hosting shows impact or encourage the audience’s fandom and participation? What qualities about horror hosting appeal to audiences? What types of communities form around horror hosts, and what are the characteristic behaviors of those communities? How do horror hosts impact their local communities and their fans/audiences?
Comments
Post a Comment