Alex Brannan
PhD Candidate | Associate Instructor | Adjunct Instructor
Contact Information
Research and Creative Interests
- American Independent Cinema
- Contemporary Cinema
- Cult Cinema
- Film Distribution and Exhibition
- film genre
- Film Studies
- Hollywood
- horror cinema
- Industry Studies
- taste politics
- platforms
- humor studies
- online media
- reception studies
Biography
Alex Brannan is a PhD candidate in The Media School. He has previously earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and an MA from the University of Texas at Austin. His current research focuses on contemporary film criticism and reception on online platforms. He has also published work in the areas of horror studies and humor studies, with a specific focus on genre hybridity. He has in-class teaching experience in the areas of film studies, introductory media skills, and media literacy.
Recent Teaching Appointments
FA 26 – Teaching Fellow – The Horror Film – IU-Indianapolis
FA 26 – Teaching Fellow – Scriptwriting – IU-Indianapolis
SP 26 – Adjunct Instructor – C292: Introduction to Film – IU-Indianapolis
SP 26 – Co-instructor – F381: Hollywood II – IU-Bloomington
FA 25 – Co-instructor – F381: Hollywood II – IU-Bloomington
FA 25 – Adjunct Instructor – C250: Story Lab I – IU-Bloomington
Selected Publications
“Talking about Talking about Porn: The Reception and Cultural Politics of Platforming Adult Film Titles on Letterboxd.” Porn Studies. DOI:10.1080/23268743.2026.2651522. [Forthcoming].
“A Broader Framework for the Horror Comedy: Alternation, Conflation, and Multiple Genre Hybridities.” Horror Studies. Spring 2025.
“The Witch.” Screening American Independent Film, Wyatt Phillips and Justin Wyatt (eds.), Routledge, 2023.
“‘It Could Be About Anything’: Middleditch & Schwartz and the Viability of Televised Improv Comedy.” Flow, vol. 26, no. 9, 2020, online. [guest column]
“‘The Film You Are about to See is Shocking’: Mondo Cane and the Horror Genre.” Film International, vol. 17, no. 2, 2019, pp. 79-87. [special issue]