Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Liberal Studies
Advisor
Leah Anderst
Subject Categories
Aesthetics | African American Studies | Africana Studies | American Film Studies | Education | Film and Media Studies | Liberal Studies | Race and Ethnicity | Television | Visual Studies
Keywords
Critical Race Theory, CRT, Pedagogy, Television Studies, American Television, Black American Television, Horror, African American Television, Lovecraft Country, THEM TV Show, Misha Green, Little Marvin
Abstract
This thesis examines the pedagogical role of Black American horror television in advancing Critical Race Theory (CRT) through the analysis of Lovecraft Country (HBO, 2020) and Them (Amazon Prime Video, 2021-2024). Situated in a cultural and political moment where CRT is increasingly contested, restricted, and even banned from formal education, this project argues that television horror functions as an alternative and accessible site of public pedagogy. By employing horror aesthetics such as monsters, violence, fear, and the supernatural, these series make abstract and often inaccessible CRT concepts such as colorblindness, intersectionality, race as a social construct, fear of the Black body, and white power through police brutality both tangible and emotionally resonant for audiences. Drawing on scholarship by Kimberlé Crenshaw, Derrick Bell, bell hooks, Victor Ray, Kevin Wynter, and others, this study situates horror television as a vital space for counter-storytelling, cultural resistance, and racial awareness. Audience responses demonstrate that the visual dramatization of historical atrocities and systemic racism prompts reflection, dialogue, and further investigation and research, even among those unfamiliar with CRT as a framework. Ultimately, this thesis contends that Black American horror television, through its narratives of trauma, resistance, and survival, functions as both entertainment and education, challenging dominant ideologies, preserving erased histories, and offering a powerful medium for teaching the realities of systemic racism in the United States.
Recommended Citation
Thabet, Yosra, "Critical Race Theory Pedagogy of Black American Horror Television in Lovecraft Country and Them" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6413
Included in
Aesthetics Commons, African American Studies Commons, Africana Studies Commons, American Film Studies Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Television Commons, Visual Studies Commons
