Harry Benshoff Explained

Harry M. Benshoff is an associate professor of TV, film and radio at the University of North Texas (UNT).^[1]

He is the author of Monsters in the Closet, which deals with the portrayal of gay men in American horror and science fiction films, with the creation of what Benshoff calls the "monster queer" identity, which Benshoff posits as a counter-hegemonic identity to the heterosexual status quo.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} In this work, he argues that the films of Val Lewton in the 1940s, such as Cat People, reflected "a growing awareness of homosexuality, homosexual communities, and the dynamics of homosexual oppression as it was played out in society and the military" during that era, which led to a more nuanced depiction of monsters in films of that era.^[6] In 2022, he was interviewed for Queer for Fear, a 2022 documentary on LGBTQ representation in horror films.^[7]

He has also written books about the blaxploitation and the presentation of race in American horror films.

Select publications

• Book: Benshoff . Harry M. . Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film . 15 November 1997 . Manchester University Press . 978-0-7190-4473-1.
• Harry M.. Benshoff. Blaxploitation Horror Films: Generic Reappropriation or Reinscription?. Cinema Journal. 39. 2. Winter 2000. 31–50. 1225551. 10.1353/cj.2000.0001. 144087335 .
• Book: Benshoff . Harry M. . Griffin . Sean . Sean Griffin . America on film: representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies . 2004 . . 9780631225829.
• Book: Benshoff . Harry M. . Griffin . Sean . Sean Griffin . Queer Images: A History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America . 2005 . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers . 9780742568570.
• Book: Benshoff . Harry M. . Dark Shadows . 2011 . Wayne State University Press . 978-0-8143-3439-3.
• Book: Benshoff . Harry M. . Griffin . Sean . Sean Griffin . America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies . 26 August 2011 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-1-4443-5759-2.

Notes and References

1. News: Goldberg . Stephanie . 'Hunger Games' and Hollywood's racial casting issue . CNN . 28 March 2012.
2. Brownlee . Peter . Review of The Panorama: History of a Mass Medium . . 1999 . 37 . 2 . 116–118 . 0883-105X.
3. Tipton . Nathan . Harry M. Benshoff's MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET: HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE HORROR FILM . . 1998 . 3 . 10.14288/clogic.v3i0.192695 . 1097-3087.
4. Latham . Rob . Rob Latham . Phallic Mothers and Monster Queers . . 1998 . 25 . 1 . 87–101 . 0091-7729.
5. Scales . Adam Christopher . Logging into Horror's Closet: Gay Fans, the Horror Film and Online Culture . School of Art, Media and American Studies . 2015 . University of East Anglia.
6. . Quoted in News: Crucchiola . Jordan . 55 Essential Queer Horror Films . 30 December 2023 . . 26 June 2018.
7. News: Nahmod . David-Elijah . 'Queer for Fear' - new docuseries tells the history of LGBT horror films . . October 25, 2022 . 30 December 2023.