Queerness, Monstrosity, and the Supernatural: Joachim Trier’s Thelma
Joachim Trier’s Thelma (2017) depicts a young queer woman with a growing range of telekinetic powers, including the ability to teleport people and objects, control others’ thoughts, and exert influence over the natural world. Drawing on scholarly work in the fields of queer studies and monster studies, this talk will focus on the complex relationship between queerness, monstrosity, and the supernatural in the film. While the trope of queerness as a form of monstrosity is by now an established convention of horror cinema, Thelma complicates this familiar identification through the ambiguous portrayal of its protagonist, who is framed simultaneously as a queer youth, a monstrous being, a supernaturally gifted individual, a prospective superhero, and even, perhaps, a holy or divine person. The talk will consider the extent to which Thelma may be understood in terms of each of these roles, how the film integrates them with one another, and what conclusions we might draw from this.