Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Dancers, Mackenzie Weakland

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

COVID-19 impacted every person who experienced it. Dancers in particular, were a group of people that were not able to participate in their art form in the way that they were always able to. This project explores how COVID-19 impacted dancers and their ability to learn and grow.

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

(Re)Constructing National Memory In Neoliberal Chile Through Patricio Guzman's The Cordillera Of Dreams (2019), Mica Barrett

Scripps Senior Theses

One of the most renowned Chilean exile filmmakers is Patricio Guzmán. Best known for his documentary work regarding the Allende years, Guzmán has continued to make films regarding his homeland in the decades following his initial exile.

The Cordillera of Dreams is the concluding film in a trilogy exploring the natural lands of Chile and their relationship to physical remnants of the human past. The initial and most renowned film in the series, Nostalgia for the Light, centers the Atacama Desert and Chileans’ relationship to the geography as a gateway to revealing artifacts of Chile’s recent history of genocide …

Dear Maliha,, Na-Eela Djemil

Capstones

Dear Maliha is a short documentary film exploring the complexities of spiritual abuse through Maliha Fairooz. Spiritual abuse is a form of abuse that uses spiritual or religious beliefs to control or manipulate others. In some cases, spiritual abuse can be used to describe a religious leader who abuses their platform. But in Maliha’s story, we explore the concept of parental spiritual abuse. However, we learn more about this through Maliha Fairooz and the creative use of her journal.

For Maliha journaling is a form of therapy she uses to process her feelings and days. She also uses it as …

The Unheard Voices And Privilege Of A Killer: An Analysis Of Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, Allison G. Jones, Emma L. Mabe

Communication Studies

This analysis of Conversations with a Killer explores representations of Bundy’s victims and the depiction of Bundy himself. This paper will focus on how the documentary is an example of white male privilege and gender inequality through its erasure of the victims’ identities and perpetuation of a celebrity-like narrative of Bundy.

Artistry In Air: The Story Of The Younkins, Beth Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For sixty years, a Northwest Arkansas family has dominated the world of general aviation by drawing upon its wealth of expertise, innovation and exceptional talent. Jim Younkin, an electrical engineer, invented an autopilot series that revolutionized the industry. His son, Bobby became one of the top aerobatic pilots in the world and Jim’s grandchildren, Matt and Amanda, also became critically acclaimed performers in the air show business. Like his father, Matt is ranked among the best of pilots in the industry. Jim also received national recognition for his stunning recreations of and restorations of historical aircraft. Bobby operated Younkin Airshows, …

Exploring A Qualitative Approach To Arts Advocacy And Evaluation, Lycette C. Belisle

Undergraduate Theses

The quantitative impact of the arts has become an increasingly important factor in determining the overall value of a project, and is often used to determine acceptance of submissions, public recognition and funding disbursement. This project evaluates current understandings of how the arts function within society, popular methods for determining the value of the arts and explores how qualitative reasoning can be utilized to communicate the value of supporting artistic endeavors. While placing a numerical value on the arts based on data collection can be important, this project will aim to evaluate the implications of relying so heavily on facts …

Virtually Invincible: The Impact Of Social Media Presentation On Rock Climbing, Lilly Posner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rock climbing, a distinguished and culturally relevant ‘extreme’ sport, has experienced a remarkable increase in popularity and media attention. Sparse research has been conducted on the impact of social media presentation and how it may inspire athletes to intensify risks. This element introduces a paradox in the evolving nature of extreme sports that warrants a deeper examination; Can the authenticity of a private, individualized sport be retained in a social space dedicated to public spectacle? By method of documentary and inspired by a descriptive phenomenological approach, this research explores the meanings, motivations and risk perceptions of rock climbers to discover …

Counter Stories In Counterpublics: Exploring Documentary As A Form Of Activist Media To Counter Reinforced Stereotypes About The Criminalization Of Black Men, Tirrea S. Billings

Masters Theses

A story told can change the world. Storytelling has been around since the inception of human communication and has been used as a tool to educate, preserve cultural values, and make meaning of our existence. More recently, storytelling has been used in activist and social change movements. One approach to social justice storytelling is through filmmaking: creating films as a tool to disrupt, interrupt, amplify, organize, shift power and create lasting, transformative change in communities. Specifically, social justice-oriented documentary film and media can be used as a vehicle for those who are in counterpublic spaces to argue against mainstream discourses …

Producing A Documentary Film On Dish-Ability, A Local Organization, To Examine The Conversation Surrounding Empowering People With Disabilities In Butte, Montana, Emmy Keenan

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

People with disabilities are underrepresented, both in media and real life. Historically, they haven’t always been portrayed accurately and ethically on screen. In everyday life, they are sometimes overlooked, especially when it comes to the workforce. This project employs the core competencies of Technical Communication and uses documentary filmmaking to examine the conversation surrounding people with disabilities. This document serves as a meta-text that accompanies the film, Food for Good, created and produced by myself. It details how I used a lens of communication to follow a local organization in Butte, Montana that empowers individuals with disabilities to prepare …

They Soon Forgot Their Words - Documentary, Karen Paulk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This documentary film, They Soon Forgot Their Words, is about the language issues that threaten the Kaqchikel Mayan language spoken in Guatemala. It is one of 21 Mayan languages spoken in the country and is one of the most widely used with more than 500,000 speakers. Unfortunately, however, scholars have noticed that Kaqchikel is in a state of “shift” a process where one language combines with another in speech. As is the case with many Mayan languages in Guatemala, Kaqchikel is often combined with Spanish in speech. The colloquial name used for the combining of these two languages is “kaqchinol.” …

El Documental Como Recurso Educativo Una Aproximación Al Posconflicto Y A La Memoria Histórica En Colombia, María Alejandra Aponte Duque

Licenciatura en Español y Lenguas Extranjeras

El presente artículo se ocupa de evaluar la idoneidad del documental como recurso educativo frente almiento acerca sociopolítico que expone el panorama de Posconflicto y Memoria Histórica en Colombia. A partir de la concepción de la evaluación de recursos audiovisuales, se pretende valorar el documental comprendiendo Desde este panorama, se planteó la pregunta ¿Cómo evaluar la idoneidad de los documentales “La negociación” y “Rostros de las Memorias” como recursos educativos en el marco sociopolítico de Posconflicto y de Memoria Histórica en Colombia? Con base en este interrogante, el objetivo general fue: Determinar la idoneidad de los documentales “La negociación” y …

Revival, Anya Van Wagtendonk

Capstones

My hometown, Great Barrington, MA, has one famous former resident: NAACP co-founder W.E.B. Du Bois. For generations, his legacy in the predominantly white town was hardly acknowledged. People actively protested the landmarking of his birth site in the 1960s. When I was a kid, plans to name a new middle school after him were scrapped after the uproar grew too loud. Even in this supposedly liberal enclave in western Massachusetts, people continued to object to his membership in the Communist Party. As former NAACP president Cornell Brooks said recently, this would be like Princeton, N.J., ignoring that Einstein had ever …

In The Groove: A Documentary About Vinyl, Jared Endsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis project, ‘In the Groove’ is to tell the story of why vinyl records, a music format written off as a casualty to the digital age is experiencing a cultural resurgence. In the last several years vinyl records have been the only musical format to record positive sales growth.

For many musicians today, pressing their music to vinyl records yields the greatest return on investment. However, vinyl remains a niche market, supported by a devoted fan base.

This film focuses on a group of artists and vinyl enthusiasts as they navigate this new marketplace.

17 Days: Cross-Country With Social Media, Zachary Alvarado

Senior Theses

"Austin Prescott and Zach Alvarado travel from South Carolina to California using social media to find and communicate with hosts throughout the country..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8k6EQnW5D4

Costs of investment were weighed against capital contributions throughout our campaign. While the film serves to inspire, entertain, and inform, the paper dives deeper into the brand-building, cost-savings, and logistics of the trip. In the end, we more than doubled our initial investment and had an awesome time while doing it.

Mixed Feelings: Growing Up Biracial In America, Alexandra Boothe

Capstones

My mom is the daughter of 2^nd generation Swedish and Danish immigrants and my dad is the son of Jamaican immigrants, who settled in the segregated city of Baltimore just months before his birth in a black-only hospital. In the eyes of Americans, they were a white woman and a black man embarking on a relationship that was less than palatable to many in this country-- including my mom’s own family.

Growing up, society was constantly forcing me to question my identity, but it was also true within the context of my mom’s side of the family. There was …

Livestrong Or Lie Hard: A Pentadic Analysis Of Deception And Reputation Management In 'The Armstrong Lie', Harper D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Kenneth Burke's pentadic analysis has been a staple within the context of rhetorical criticism since the early days of critical communication studies. Throughout the years it has evolved from a heavy text criticism to application to film and documentary. The Armstrong Lie is another documentary that highlights the controversial actions of former seven-time Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong. This film provides an opportunity in which the pentadic analysis can be applied in order to really dissect the message that is being told. Through application of the pentadic analysis to The Armstrong Lie it is possible to identify the true …

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Waiting For Superman, Jordan L. Baxter

Communication Studies

This project analyzes the documentary Waiting for Superman in order to better understand the rhetoric surrounding public education in America. I perform a close textual analysis of the documentary and explore the rhetorical strategies the film uses to persuade its audience. Through my analysis I argue that Waiting for Superman employs rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to successfully characterize the public school system as a failing institution. This failure is largely blamed on teachers unions who are vilified throughout the film and shown to be preventing progressive reforms from passing. Lastly, through the use of identification Waiting for …

Steven Avery, A Case Study: Making A Murderer Or Making An Identity, Allison Grussing

Masters Theses

Steven Avery, a Wisconsin native, has spent the majority of his adult life in prison, once for a crime he was later exonerated from, and then again for murder. The Netflix series Making a Murderer documents Avery's murder trial, and uses only first hand accounts. Ultimately, this research had two goals: one was to better understand how the series utilized framing to engage in advocacy for Avery and the second was to uncover what identity was constructed by the producers and series for Avery. With a thematic analysis approach and open and axial coding this research revealed three themes that …

Institutional Influence On Documentary Form: An Analysis Of Pbs And Hbo Documentary Programs, Mark Joseph Irving

Theses and Dissertations

INSTITUTIONAL INFLUENCE ON DOCUMENTARY FORM - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PBS and HBO DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMS

by Mark Irving

The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, 2015

Under the Supervision of Professor Michael Z. Newman

Beginning in the 1980s, the documentary genre has undergone a transformation to accommodate modes of stylistic expression and subjective thematic exposition previously not evident in the genre. This deviation from the form’s traditional modes of expression typically associated with fact-based, journalistic pursuits can be attributed to the institutional underpinnings of media outlets that exhibit documentary programming. These institutional factors, a consequence of an evolving marketplace and shifts …

Watch And Learn: A Documentary Exploring The Effects Of Video-Based Pedagogy, Chris Matthew Noel

Theses and Dissertations

This 20 minute film explores the use of hybrid lesson plans, those consisting of traditional in-class teaching and interactive video outside of the classroom. Using six voluntary Graduate Teaching Assistants as participants, the documentary follows the participants as they give their ideologies on teaching, perform either a traditional lesson plan or the hybrid lesson plan, and participate in a focus group to give their opinion on the perceived benefits or drawbacks of having hybrid lesson plans in the classroom.

Womanhood: A Mini-Series, Maggie E. Solomon

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Jim Lindsey Story, Clinton Robert Fullen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The history of Arkansas Razorback football is composed of legends, and without a doubt, Jim Lindsey is one of its most successful players—on and off the field. Lindsey won a national championship, became an NFL captain and built a thriving real–estate empire across the South.

Narrated by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, “The Jim Lindsey Story” begins in the Arkansas Delta. Back then, Lindsey was simply a small boy who dreamt of playing ball. Weekdays were spent in the cotton fields, and weekends were used for cow–pasture baseball. In time, that boy grew up to be a very big man. …

Turpentine Creek: Arkansas' Refuge, Jacob Paul Bain

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this Master's thesis film project was twofold. First, I wanted to explore the problem, huge but relatively unknown, of the ownership of exotic pets in the United States of America. Second, in conjunction with that problem, I wanted to see how Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) approached it and what, as an organization, they do to help resolve this problem locally and nationally. In turn, the film also provides an in-depth look at a very unique refuge in the state of Arkansas. Using my own equipment, I shot and edited a short-form documentary about TCWR. The film …

Cameron Mcgill Dark Times: The Pursuit Of Objectivity In A Subjective Medium, Benjamin Bateman

College of Communication Master of Arts Theses

This thesis project discusses the issues of objectivity, truth, and reality in documentary filmmaking. This debate has been ongoing since the establishment of the genre. Scholars like Bill Nichols, Michael Chanan, and Jane Chapman argue that the filmmaker’s subjectivity inevitably corrupts any possibility for the attainment of objectivity and that no absolute truth or reality can be captured in documentary film; while scholars like Stephen Mamber and filmmakers who ascribed to the schools of cinema verite and direct cinema suggest that objectivity is attainable through filming real people in uncontrolled situations. By framing the discussion using Nichols and Mamber along …

Kicking The Can, Peter Ellis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kicking the Can is a video documentary that explores the financial crisis of 2008 and the socio-political factors that led to the collapse. The documentary was produced over the course of a year and a half, and contains interviews with economists, politicians, academics, and U.S. citizens. Kicking the Can ultimately reveals that the financial crisis is a complex issue that can be analyzed and interpreted from a variety of political and social perspectives. This paper documents the making of the film, the production involved, and the process of working with collaborators and other crewmates.

Feasting On Four Wheels, Mariel Patricia Rodriguez-Mcgill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The documentary film Feasting On Four Wheels explores the new wave of "gourmet" food trucks on the streets of Denver, Colorado. What started as a bigger movement across the country made its way to the Mile High city in 2010 and snowballed to the food-loving community portrayed during the summer of 2011. Interviews with food truck owners, a food truck fabricator and a blogger for DenverStreetFood.com, explore the nature of the movement and how its existence creates a feel of community and culture within the city. The evolution of street food history and the influence of new technology are also …

Kicking The Can: Understanding The Financial Crisis Of 2008, John Arthur Rutter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This thesis explores the processes of producing and directing a documentary film about the 2008 financial crisis. The paper follows the development of the team project as individual group members researched the crisis in literature and in film, and then discusses the filmmaking process required to direct such a film.

0300–0430, Jesus M. Sierra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Night, a time everyone experiences and few contemplate. It is a time of darkness both figuratively and literally. Darkness of the soul and of the mind, when some rest and others are restless. We live in an age of endless day where the night is nothing more than a time to be blinded by electronic light. With this in mind the question becomes how was our night seen in the past? Also, how was the night and the darkness represented throughout time? To answer these questions I researched the topic of night and made a film entitled 0300 - 0430. …

Cultural Diabetes, Keri E. Noll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes has become a cultural problem across America, but particularly in the Midwest and Southern regions. For my film, I explored these two areas and compared the food and exercise culture to one of the healthier regions, the West. Having moved from Indiana to Colorado, I used my own personal experiences to analyze why people in the Midwest struggle with diabetes and obesity at such a higher rate than those nearer to the Pacific Ocean. Through a series of interviews with close friends and observational analysis of each state, I came to learn something very important about health: our food …