Manhunt: Unabomber: domestic terrorism and the making of a north-American television series

• Grant number: 21/09901-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: November 30, 2021
• End date: May 29, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of America
• Principal Investigator: Mary Anne Junqueira
• Grantee: Rodolpho Hockmuller Menezes
• Supervisor: Stacy Takacs
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Oklahoma State University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/21042-0 - Anti-modernity: domestic terrorism in the United States and the TV series "Manhunt: Unabomber", BP.MS

Abstract

The research, part of the main master's dissertation entitled "Anti-modernity: Domestic Terrorism in the United States and the TV series" proposes an internship in Oklahoma, United States, under the advisement of Professor Stacy Takacs (Oklahoma State University). Our aim is to attend scheduled interviews with key figures in the production of "Manhunt: Unabomber", creating a direct dialogue with the series director, the screenwriter, and the creator. We will investigate how "Manhunt" can be understood in the context of television productions that depict terrorism in the post-9/11 United States. In this sense, our intent is to discuss the representation of domestic terrorism and its portrayer in the show, Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber. For this purpose, we interrogate how Kaczynski can be perceived as a part of the north-American frame of reference. Our expectation is to find auxiliary documents especially helpful in understanding the production context of the series and build an up-to-date bibliography. Also, we propose to present our research at conferences and meetings. (AU)