This event is a chat with author and film critic Payton McCarty-Simas to celebrate the release of their second book, That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film! In the book, Payton tackles over seventy years of American film history and politics, exploring the relationship between representations of witches in horror film and American feminist movements. Touching on everything from Second Wave feminism to the Satanic Panic, from the #MeToo Movement to QAnon and beyond, Payton will discuss the political interplay between feminist activism and American genre film culture, unpacking movies big and small along the way. Payton McCarty-Simas is an author, programmer, and film critic based in New York City. They hold a Masters in film and media studies from Columbia University, where she focused her research on horror film, psychedelia, and the occult in particular. Payton's writing has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Little White Lies, Rue Morgue, Film Daze, and others, and she is the author of two books, One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture, and All of Them Witches: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film.
New York City, NY; NYC