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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · 16h

Obviously I don't mean that human behaviour caused by disability should be presented as scary. Just that the cruel ways people treat each other is much scarier than someone who looks different. This piece was primarily about physical disability – clearly there's a lot more that could be written

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · 3d

Full piece here:

Horror movies have an ableism problem. Isn’t it time we found new ‘monsters’?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Horror movies have an ableism problem. Isn’t it time we found new ‘monsters’? | Kathryn Bromwich

Films such as Frankenstein still use disability as shorthand for moral depravity. But human behaviour is far scarier than human appearance, says journalist Kathryn Bromwich

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · 3d

I love most of the films I mentioned in the piece. This isn’t an attack on these directors, and I’m not telling anyone they can’t enjoy these films. I would just like this kind of thing to stop, so that people with disabilities can enjoy films along with the rest of you without feeling excluded

In her excellent International Booker-longlisted novel Hunchback, Saou Ichikawa references The History of the Body, edited by Corbin, Courtine and Vigarello: “The ‘criminalisation of the gaze’ that took hold around the dawn of the 20th century had led to the decline of the freak show, which was subsequently replaced in popularity by the Monsters of Hollywood. Now, with costumes serving as an ethical cushion, people can enjoy ogling deformity without guilt or reserve.”

What is perhaps more painful, and insidious, is the portrayal of disability in films not specifically in the horror genre but which trade in a sense of discomfort: arthouse films by respected auteurs, with less emphasis on gore or jump scares than on an undercurrent of psychological unease. In these films, a disabled actor (or an actor in prosthetics) will often appear at a crucial moment as a visual signifier heightening the level of eeriness in a scene. This has happened in some of the best films ever made: the mute, paraplegic girl in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (referred to as a “mutant”), the “dwarf serial killer” in Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, “the disabled one” in Aster’s Midsommar, the gratuitous five-second shot of a facially scarred amputee gleefully clapping along at a Nazi event in Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest (a modern masterpiece, and one of the most important films of this century). In Yorgos Lanthimos’s remarkable Poor Things, Willem Dafoe’s prosthetics-assisted “deformed … scary face” (as it is described in the screenplay) and Emma Stone’s character’s intellectual disability are not a sign of moral depravity but are nevertheless presented as “creepy and uncanny”. The saddest thing is that these are some of my favourite films. I have no wish to publicly criticise them, but feeling excluded from them is particularly hurtful.

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · 3d

(Re Frankenstein: visually stunning, great performances, hated the saccharine ending, but why tf, in an allegory about the dangers of ableism and fear of the Other, would you make the villain disabled – when he isn’t in the book – to make the point he is “the real monster”...?)

There is something sadomasochistic about being a horror fan with a disability. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the intoxicating cycle of dread-terror-release that a genuinely frightening horror film can bring – the simultaneous feeling of “I hate this and want it to end” and “This adrenaline rush is making me feel fully alive.” But I have also come to expect certain tropes that I know will make me feel a different kind of dread, which other people in the cinema may not necessarily be attuned to.

Guillermo del Toro’s handsome adaptation of Frankenstein, which received a 15-minute standing ovation in Venice this August, powerfully makes the case that we ought not to be afraid of difference. However, given that the story is widely regarded as an allegory for disability, it is disappointing that the film stars only able-bodied performers and that a creature repeatedly referred to as “deformed” is portrayed by Jacob Elordi. While the creature is shown to be gentle despite his “obscene” appearance, the audience is heavy-handedly invited to conclude that “the real monster” is his creator, Victor Frankenstein (in case you hadn’t understood the book). Unfortunately the film then drives home the point about Victor’s moral degradation by making him increasingly disabled – in a departure from the original novel, he is given a prosthetic leg, facial scarring and amputated fingers. Del Toro may have adapted the book with a great deal of panache and visual flair, but he has not understood its most basic message.

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · 3d

This was a painful piece to write. I love horror, but it doesn’t always love me back. I wish I didn’t have to write this, but it keeps happening, often from people who should know better

Tl;dr: we need more disabled writers/directors so we can tell our own stories 🙏 Please share

Screenshot of Guardian comment piece: Horror movies have an ableism problem. Isn’t it time we found new ‘monsters’? by Kathryn Bromwich.

Films such as Frankenstein still use disability as shorthand for moral depravity. But human behaviour is far scarier than human appearance

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

This is the rest of my portfolio: kathrynbromwich.com

And here is my email address if you would like to get in touch: [email protected]

Kathryn Bromwich

Freelance writer and editor, London

kathrynbromwich.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

Love that book

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul review – poignant, egotistical and often wise

www.theguardian.com/books/2024/m...

The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul review – poignant, egotistical and often wise

In a witty, highly entertaining memoir, the drag queen turned TV star recounts his journey from homelessness to the dizzying heights of fame via the punk scene – and a snub from Madonna

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

Weyes Blood: ‘That I ended up making beautiful, feminine music is a surprise’

www.theguardian.com/music/2022/o...

Weyes Blood: ‘That I ended up making beautiful, feminine music is a surprise’

The US musician’s Titanic Rising saw her hailed as the ‘millennial Joni Mitchell’. She talks about her new album examining our turbulent times

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

Roberto Saviano: ‘I saw my first corpse in secondary school. It didn’t shock me’

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/a...

Roberto Saviano: ‘I saw my first corpse in secondary school. It didn’t shock me’

The Gomorrah author on his new book about Italy’s teenage mafia leaders, why he risks his life for his writing, and the UK’s shameful corruption

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

‘I feel like when I’m 50 people will take me seriously’: novelists Eliza Clark and Julia Armfield in conversation

www.theguardian.com/books/articl...

‘I feel like when I’m 50 people will take me seriously’: novelists Eliza Clark and Julia Armfield in conversation

The two authors, who became friends during lockdown, discuss their experiences in the UK publishing industry, the day job, and books they love

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

‘We’re losing decades of our life to this illness’: long Covid patients on the fear of being forgotten

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

‘We’re losing decades of our life to this illness’: long Covid patients on the fear of being forgotten

Five years on from March 2020, millions of people still face debilitating symptoms, with huge repercussions on public health and productivity. But politicians are starting to pretend the pandemic neve...

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

Jarvis Cocker: 'People fall in love with an illusion, something that’s never existed'

www.theguardian.com/music/2017/m...

Jarvis Cocker: 'People fall in love with an illusion, something that’s never existed'

For his new album, the former Pulp frontman checks in to Hollywood’s most storied hotel to explore celebrity, memory and myth

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

‘I fell in love with Lila’: on the set of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/n...

‘I fell in love with Lila’: on the set of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend

The first of the author’s Neapolitan novels is about to hit TV screens in a hugely ambitious adaptation, made on location in Naples

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

Emilia Clarke: ‘The best place in the world is backstage at a theatre’

www.theguardian.com/culture/2022...

Emilia Clarke: ‘The best place in the world is backstage at a theatre’

The Game of Thrones star on her self-doubt as the hit show took off, her decision to write about her brain aneurysms and showing her love through baking

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

There is so much more for us to worry about than men masquerading as women to access single-sex spaces

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There is so much more for us to worry about than men masquerading as women to access single-sex spaces | Kathryn Bromwich

We should concentrate on what unites us, from sexual assault to healthcare inequality

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

How long Covid forced me to confront my past and my identity

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/n...

How long Covid forced me to confront my past and my identity

For years, I repressed thinking about three things that shaped my life and my body. But the fourth blow of coronavirus pushed it all out into the open

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jul 31

Hello. After 11 years @theguardian.com & @theobserveruk.bsky.social I am now freelance and available for commissions. I do features, profiles, interviews, reviews, comment pieces, editing and more

Here are 10 pieces I'm proud of:

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jun 17

I interviewed the owner and the architect behind the renovation of this mad, beautiful house on a rock overlooking the Atlantic ocean

observer.co.uk/style/interi...

The high and dry home on its own Cornish island

The house, known as The Island, is a familiar landmark on the Cornwall coast

observer.co.uk

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jun 8

‘It’s outrageous,’ says mother of UK Israel protest accused as he faces 21 months in jail before trial

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

‘It’s outrageous,’ says mother of UK Israel protest accused as he faces 21 months in jail before trial

William Plastow’s mother believes it is the longest anyone will have been held awaiting trial on protest-related charges

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jun 4

And also for the shoutout in the actual song

youtu.be/q2MoQJP-PhA?...

Kate Nash - GERM (Official Lyric Video)

YouTube video by Kate Nash

youtu.be

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Jun 4

Thank you Kate Nash for speaking to me about terfs, trolling and trans rights for @theguardian.com ✊🏳️‍⚧️✨

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...

‘British feminism needs reshaping’: Kate Nash on her new single about trans rights

The British pop musician questions the gender-critical movement in her new song GERM, and argues that cis women need to stand up for the trans community

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Apr 28

I'm going to take it easy for a couple of months before starting freelancing in earnest... in the meantime, here's my portfolio / contact details if you want to get in touch

kathrynbromwich.com

Kathryn Bromwich

Freelance writer and editor, London

kathrynbromwich.com

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Kathryn Bromwich @kathryn42.bsky.social · Apr 28

For my final piece as a Guardian employee, I'm going out with dignity (wrote about boobs)

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

The one change that worked: I took my bra off during lockdown – and never put it on again

I couldn’t imagine life without hooks, wires and straps. Then Covid came along and suddenly I couldn’t bear any of it

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Kathryn Bromwich

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · Apr 25

Labour's new policy - of humiliating trans people by requiring them constantly to self-identify - we believe puts the UK (again) in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and will seek a declaration of incompatability. goodlaw.social/0r6l

Help us challenge the Supreme Court’s judgment on trans rights | Good Law Project

goodlaw.social

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