Race and Horror in HBO’s Lovecraft Country

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the HBO series Lovecraft Country in terms of the elements of racism and traditional horror elements present in it, including elements typical of the prose of one of the genre’s creators, H. P. Lovecraft. The purpose of the article is to explore typical horror elements that appear in the series and show how the authors of the series combine traditional horror with the horror of everyday life in the oppressed Black community in 1950s America. At the beginning of the article, the series and its main idea are described. The article then takes up the subject of the portrayal of racism in the series, specific examples of which are presented and discussed in terms of their compatibility with the realities of America at the time. The article also discusses elements related to the antiracism movement – situations presented in the series that exemplify the character’ struggle against racism are shown. Then the otherness depicted in the series is discussed – not only racial otherness, but also gender and sexual otherness; in this part of the article, otherness is given as a reason for oppression by society. The article also explores the use of traditional elements of horror genre in the series – it indicates which scenes in the series use the traditional concepts of the horror genre, and attempts to show which characters in the series function as monsters in the story. At the end of the article, it is explained how the series draws inspiration in the works of Lovecraft, whose name appears in the very title of the series.