Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara 
CWC Classics: Carrie
- Thursday, October 29, 2026 / 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (PDT)
- Pollock Theater
- Screening Format: 4K digital projection (98 minutes)
- With Shelley Stamp (Film & Digital Media, UC Santa Cruz)
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Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving
The Carsey-Wolf Center is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Carrie with a special screening and discussion. In Brian De Palma’s chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s 1974 novel, a troubled teen (Sissy Spacek) grappling with her telekinetic powers is pushed to terrifying extremes by an abusive mother (Piper Laurie) and high school bullies. As a canonical horror film about a witch, Carrie has inspired scholars to reflect on the powers of horror and the monstrous feminine, as well as the appeal of the genre to women. The film lives in popular memory as a coming-of-age story about a repressed teenager who exacts revenge in a climactic ending that has been referenced and parodied countless times. But the enduring power of Carrie lies in its confrontation with misogyny and the monstrous-feminine figure.
Shelley Stamp (Film & Digital Media, UC Santa Cruz) will join moderator Kyna McClenaghan (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a pre- and post-screening discussion of Carrie and its legacy.
This event is free but a reservation is recommended in order to guarantee a seat.
Biographies
Shelley Stamp (Film & Digital Media, UC Santa Cruz)
Shelley Stamp is author of the award-winning books Lois Weber in Early Hollywood and Movie-Struck Girls, curator of the award-winning disc set Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers, and Founding Editor of the journal Feminist Media Histories. She currently edits the Feminist Media Histories book series at UC Press. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the UC President’s Fellowship. She is Distinguished Professor of Film & Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz, where she has twice won the Excellence in Teaching Award.
Moderator Kyna McClenaghan (Film and Media Studies, UCSB)
Kyna McClenaghan is a PhD candidate in Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara, broadly researching occult media histories. She received her master’s in film and media studies from Columbia University and previously worked as the managing editor for the scholarly journal Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies. Her interests include feminist film theory; genre studies of horror, science fiction, and film noir; media archaeology; and occult philosophy. Her dissertation focuses on the intersections of California media industries and occult practices between the 1930s and 1970s.
This event is sponsored by the Carsey-Wolf Center.
CWC Classics
The CWC Classics program celebrates cinema’s rich history, bringing classic films back to the big screen for critical viewing and discussion. These events feature filmmakers, academics, and professionals who can contextualize the production and historical impact of the films. The series occasionally presents classic films in their original 16 or 35 mm formats. CWC Classics events celebrate the history and significance of cinema’s enduring legacy.