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The Construction Of Truth In Fiction: An Analysis Of The Faux Footage Genre In Television, Samantha Richards

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper explores the way that “truth” is constructed in a fictional sphere through visual and narrative references. I draw upon Caetlin Benson-Allott’s Paranormal Spectatorship, and Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin’s Remediation to inform my analysis of these constructions. I look specifically at Roanoke, the sixth season of American Horror Story, to provide examples of the way faux footage horror’s unique use of the subjective shot constructs the spectator as both a witness and an interrogator, and creates an aesthetic language of truth. While being immersed in the story, viewers are simultaneously invited to consider how …