Kellie Deys – författare

Following its meteoric rise, the Emmy award-winning series Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020) has become a cultural force with its catchphrases and meme-able moments. In Class, Identity, and Finding the Right Wine in Schitt’s Creek: A Place To Love, contributors focus on three central themes explored in the series: love, place, and identity. While considering the intersections of these themes, chapters analyze the representation of class, sexuality, community, self-growth, fashion, and fans, putting the show in dialogue with classic literature from Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens, as well as contextualizing it alongside its television peers and predecessors. The book argues that Schitt’s Creek, at its core, derives its power and impact from telling the story of a family whose members reconnect with each other while discovering their own individual selfhoods in the process. Employing philosophical and psychological interpretations, engaging with fan studies, trauma theory, and place studies, and applying feminist and queer readings, chapters offer a variety of lenses through which to read the show. Ultimately, the book argues that Schitt’s Creek’s inclusive ideologies and strongly formed characters encourage a process of self-growth and acceptance with an emotional and intellectual depth that recognizes the value of self and community.

Social Order and Authority in Disney and Pixar Films contributes to an essential, ongoing conversation about how power dynamics are questioned, reinforced, and disrupted in the stories Disney tells. Whether these films challenge or perpetuate traditional structures (or do both), their considerable influence warrants careful examination. This collection addresses the vast reach of the Disneyverse, contextualizing its films within larger conversations about power relations. The depictions of surveillance, racial segregation, othering, and ableism represent real issues that impact people and their lived experiences. Unfortunately, storytellers often oversimplify or mischaracterize complex matters on screen. To counter this, contributors investigate these unspoken and sometimes unintended meanings. By applying the lenses of various theoretical approaches, including ecofeminism, critiques of exceptionalism, and gender, queer, and disability studies, authors uncover underlying ideologies. These discussions help readers understand how Disney’s output both reflects and impacts contemporary cultural conditions.