Among the many interesting titles of first year seminar courses at DU, “The American Nightmare: Social Anxiety and the Contemporary Horror Film” is one that certainly catches the eye.

Professor Rodney Buxton, who also teaches in the Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies, created this seminar and is well suited to guide students through the horror film genre.

Buxton explained how he has always been interested in film genre studies and, pairing that with his love of horror, created an ideal topic for a first year seminar.

His goals for the quarter include guiding students into the world of collegiate thinking and analysis by way of a topic they already may have a strong interest in.

“It’s like candy to lure them into the trap,” joked Buxton.

Students will have the opportunity to watch films such as “The Howling,” which, Buxton said, is “the movie that got him back into horror,” and the “The Bride of Frankenstein.”

According to Buxton, watching these films will give students a chance to be cultural anthropologists and sociologists and should help them understand elements of art and photography.

“It’s really a nice synthesis, bringing these all together,” Buxton said.

Students may also have the opportunity to view horror films off campus, most likely in the weeks around Halloween.

In years past students have gone together with Buxton to see “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,” and most recently “The Last Exorcism.”

When asked about his personal connection with horror, Buxton described a particular frightening moment in his childhood.

As a 6-year-old, he fell into a cellar while running with his friends as they played in the dark. The traumatic experience remained imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life.

“It kind of gave me an appreciation for fear at an early age,” Buxton explained.

He also talked about growing up in rural Kansas during the much publicized murder of a farm family and the resulting manhunt for the killers that was documented in Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

In addition, a true product of his generation, Buxton credits a piece of his early education in horror films to the typically American event of “Friday Night Fright.”

Buxton is continuing his in-depth study of horror film and its many parallels to life and society.

He recently finished a piece on “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” in which he critiques the Bush administration, “particularly as the monster.”