98. Nostalgia 101: Are You Afraid of the Dark, Horror, & Mental Health w/ Prof. Josh Grant-Young

The Nostalgia Test Podcast

Dan & Manny are joined by Prof. Josh Grant-Young, PhD candidate at the University of Guelph in Canada where he studies our past and contemporary conceptions (medical, political, and popular) of mental differences, using the genre of horror film to point both longstanding cultural anxieties and myths surrounding mental differences and new possibilities for shifting discourse around them. This is one of those episodes that starts in a place and digs deeply. We talk about Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark, monstrosity, PTSD, how sufferers of mental health issues are reflected in horror, specifically men, and so much more.

Content Warning

This episode deals with discussions of violence, PTSD, Depression, Psychosis, and Suicide Ideation.

Josh Grant-Young is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Guelph in Canada. Josh’s research explores our past and contemporary conceptions (medical, political, and popular) of mental differences, using the genre of horror film to point both longstanding cultural anxieties and myths surrounding mental differences and new possibilities for shifting discourse around them. For Josh, film’s narrative capacities and cultural power can both limit our conceptions of mental difference, as well as offer creators and audiences alike new methods of articulating alternative conceptions of it. Josh has published several book chapters and articles on horror film and literature, essays on mental difference and the horror genre, participated in online forums on the horror genre, and has been a guest on various podcasts. In his spare time, he writes short horror fiction.

Episode Notes

• The Orange Years (Documentary 2018)
• 🎥🧡The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story w/ Director Scott Barber
• Nickelodeon
• Are You Afraid of the Dark (series 1990-196; 1999-2000; 2019-2022)
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (book series)
• Goosebumps
• Eerie, Indiana (series 1991-1993)
• Horror Homeroom
• Bedlam (movie 1946)
• Boris Karloff
• Split (movie 2016)
• Lights Out (movie 2016)
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
• Frankenstein (movie 1931)
• Halloween (movie franchise)
• Black Christmas (movie 1974)
• Black Christmas (movie 2006)
• Halloween (movie 2007)
• Psycho (movie 1960)
• Shutter Island (movie 2010)
• 13 Reasons Why (series 2017-2020)
• "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)" by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen
• The Babadook (movie 2014)
• It (movie 201)
• It (tv miniseries 1990)
• It by Stephen King
• Stranger Things (series 2016-present)
• Cobra Kai (series 2028-present)
• Carrie (movie 1976)
• The Twilight Zone (series 1959-1964; 1985-1989; 2002-2003; 2019-2020)
• Tales from the Crypt (series 1989-1996)
• Smile (movie 2022)
• Bird Box (movie 2018)
• Friday the 13th (movie franchise)
• House (movie 1977)
• The Shining (movie 1980)
• The Wolf Man (movie 1941)
• Iron Maiden (band)
• Eli Roth
• Jordan Peele
• Get Out (movie 2017)
• Nope (movie 2022)
• How Are You Afraid Of The Dark? created a generation of feminist horror fans | SYFY WIRE
• Ranking: Every Are You Afraid of the Dark? Episode from Worst to Best (consequence.net)

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This was recorded .

The intro and outro music ('Neon Attack 80s') is by Emanmusic.

The other music ("ABCD") is by Pudge. Any other music you hear, The Nostalgia Test Podcast does not own.