Skyler’s (he/they) research interests lie in the overlap between gender and sexuality studies in Japanese film. In particular, Skyler is fascinated by the representation of women in Japanese horror film. Juxtaposing the pinku films of the 60s and 70s with the softcore erotic horror films of the last two decades, he intends to study the shift in Japan’s horror industry and the prioritization of the male audience’s gaze.

Before coming to UBC, Skyler completed his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts at Soka University of America, where he focused on Japanese language and film. While there, he completed his thesis entitled “‘This is the Happiness of Being a Woman’: the Representation of Womanhood in a Century of Japanese Horror Film”. Within this thesis, Skyler explored how the image of the yūrei and other horrific, female entities evolved, concentrating particularly on how horror icons of the 1990s compare to the wronged women of 1950s and 1960s horror jidaigeki.