An American Haunting

The film adheres to a strict framework that assumes everyone is straight or cisgender. There are no LGBTQ+ characters or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth gender identities present in the narrative.

The story reinforces traditional 19th-century gender roles and hierarchies. It fails the Bechdel test, as female characters lack meaningful conversations about topics unrelated to the central supernatural plot.

The narrative focuses exclusively on a homogeneous white family. It lacks characters of color or color-blind casting to provide a broader sociological perspective of the 1860s.

The film utilizes a standard period-appropriate moral framework centered on the nuclear family. It does not engage in critiques of Western institutions or organized religion.

There are no portrayals of physical or neurodivergent disabilities. Character struggles are framed through psychological terror rather than the lived experience of disability.