Lizzie Wright

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in 2018 for my undergraduate in English Language & Literature, continuing with an MAR in English Literature, and onto my current PhD. My doctoral research focuses on contemporary film and television narratives of violent revenge committed by women in unstable states of mind. I examine my texts as a response to the rising misogynist terrorism perpetuated by internet-based incels, which saw an increase from 2019 onwards in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

My MAR focused on portrayals of disability and disfigurement in 21st-century comic-book adaptations, with emphasis on how these interact with hero and villain stereotypes. This encompassed Marvel and DC film projects and was supervised by Stuart Murray and Emma Trott. My research posited that the origin stories of super-abled people serve the same purpose as the account of how the disabled person ‘became’ disabled; it creates demand for a story where non-disabled people can explore and exploit extraordinary bodies. 

I worked as a Research Support Assistant on the LAHRI ‘Sensory Storytelling, Imagination, and Wellbeing’ project which formed part of the Sadler Seminar Series for 2021–22. In 2021 I interned with Dr Amelia DeFalco on the ‘Imagining Posthuman Care’ project in collaboration with the Thackray Medical Museum. 

My undergraduate dissertation, ‘Fighting for my death: Disability and Euthanasia in Me Before You and Million Dollar Baby’ explored the right-to-die argument in contemporary literature and their respective film adaptations. 

Conference Presentations:

• ‘Emergent Genres in An Internet Age: Researching The ‘Good for Her’ Film’, Inter(connections), University of Leeds, In Person, May 2024
• ‘Disability in Disney’s MCU: Origins, Identities, Duties’, DisNet 100, Disney, Culture, & Society Research Network, Online, June 2023

Research interests

• medical humanities in literature and film
• bioethics and medical consent
• death and dying

Qualifications

• BA English Language and Literature, University of Leeds
• MA (by Research) English Literature, University of Leeds

Research groups and institutes

• Medical Humanities Research Group