Say Their Names: Race and Gender in Candyman

In this episode, Dr. Hettie V. Williams discusses the cult classic Candyman with Dr. Lisa Dinella and Professor Claude Taylor. Dinella is Professor of Psychology at Monmouth University, Principal Investigator of the Gender Development Laboratory, and Director of the Program in Gender and Intersectionality Studies (PGIS), and Professor Taylor is Director of Academic Transition and Inclusion at Monmouth and he also teaches several courses in media studies at Monmouth. This conversation is focused specifically on race and gender in the slasher film with a focus on the 1992 and 2021 versions of Candyman starring Tony Todd as “Candyman.” Dinella and Taylor consider how gender and race are represented in this genre and how filmmakers Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta have extended the boundaries of this genre to focus more intently on race, gender and social problems.