The horror between the dystopic conservatism and the dissident abjection: an analysis of Medusa

• Grant number: 25/01666-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Visual Communication
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Maciel Guimarães Junior
• Grantee: Lucas Daniel Benvenuti Castro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Artes (IA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research is based on the analysis of the film Medusa (Anita Rocha da Silveira, 2021). In intersection with studies on utopias and dystopias in contemporary Brazilian cinema, we propose the notion of "dystopian conservatism" to discuss the object as a vehicle of a dystopian imaginary linked to conservative notions that control and repress dissident individuals. The analysis intersects with studies on genre cinema, more specifically the horror in the film Medusa and its modal manifestations with the concept of "horrific mode" or "horror mode". The main focus of the project is to analyze dystopian regimes and the interference of horrific imagery in the work by addressing the moral panic of the conservative community and the fear of dissident individuals, themes that collide the notions of abjection and the invader in contemporary Brazilian cinema.