Digital Commons Network^™

The Virtual Performer-Audience Relationship, Annika K. Larson

Ideas: Exhibit Catalog for the Honors College Visiting Scholars Series

The intimacy of the performer-audience relationship is timeless. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatre community has succeeded in creating many solutions to allow performances to fit into a virtual world. Julia Stemper and her theatre company, Stone Soup Shakespeare, provided a new lens into how virtual theatre has impacted the performer's ability to connect with their audience. I will explore how these relationships have changed in the midst of a global pandemic and the value that performers find in live performance.

Comic Books, Satire, And The American Police State: Lessons From The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, Jamie Michaels

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In the spirit of the #DefundThePolice and #BlackLivesMatter movements, protestors in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) declared sovereignty over 5½ city blocks. Emboldened by the potential for mass mobilization enabled by the COVID-19 pandemic protestors attempted to establish a racially egalitarian society that would exist without the police, the traditional enforcement mechanism of the white supremacist American state.

This paper explores how Alex Graham’s Dog Biscuits (2021) and Simon Hanselmann’s, Crisis Zone (2021) portray the ways CHAZ protestors utilized absurdity in the face of extreme violence to enact indiffernation—a unique affect comprised of indifference and determination. This affect …

Whose Protagonist Is It Anyway?, Ori Mckinney

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Favourite (2018), written by Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, transcends the traditional tropes associated with genre period pictures in its unique telling of the tale of two cousins vying to be in Queen Anne's favour during her monarchy. In this presentation I study the unique story structure of this film, which centers on three equally weighted characters. In contrast to the traditional single protagonist story structure, this film shifts the point of view making each lead character either the protagonist or antagonist depending on whose perspective you watch it from. The story is written …

Pirates Of The Caribbean: An Analysis Of The Curse Of The Black Pearl And The Adventure Genre On-Screen, Mezi Mulugeta

Symposium of Student Scholars

In Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee maintains that while action-adventure is “often dismissed as mindless fare, it is in fact the single most difficult genre in which to write today…simply because it’s been done to death.” Said death came swiftly for Cutthroat Island, the 1995 flop that sank the pirate subgenre—until Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl premiered in 2003. The film was a risk that paid off massively for Disney, the pirate subgenre, and arguably the adventure genre as a whole in the modern age. This article …

Analysis Of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, John Hunter Ray

Symposium of Student Scholars

In this study, I examine the ways in which Christopher Nolan developed the protagonist in Interstellar (2014). The protagonist, Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, is the audience’s window into the world Nolan creates in the film. Though typical Christopher Nolan screenplay structure is more complicated than the average feature film, I argue that it is the character development of the protagonist that engages viewers and ultimately allows us to connect with the story. The central conflict that cooper desires to be the best dad he can be he is forced to abandon his family to save the world. That is …

Godzilla (1954) Research Analysis, Cyrus Aldridge

Symposium of Student Scholars

Cyrus Aldridge

FILM 3105

Prof. Anna Weinstein

10/20/2021

Abstract Research Analysis: Godzilla (1954)

According to Michael Maher, two years after World War 2 the United States’ military presence attempted to control Japanese media including its cinema. Despite this fact, Japanese filmmaker Tomoyuki Tanaka was able to produce Godzilla (1954), symbolizing the horror of nuclear holocaust. In this presentation, I argue that Godzilla is one of the greatest monster movies of all time due to its cultural relevance and its use of musical scoring, set design and costume design. In this study I demonstrate how Tanaka implements its score, set …

The Impact Of Endings, Carolina Solis

Symposium of Student Scholars

This presentation explores the importance of movie endings, and how an ending can impact the audiences’ opinion of a movie. I look at Ronald Bass’ Sleeping with the Enemy, and how he developed Julia Roberts’ character in a way that made the audience believe that not only was she capable of killing her abusive husband, but that she should kill him. I also look at Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption and discuss how Andy’s eventual escape from prison was too much of a surprise to the audience, and how the movie should have ended with Norton’s suicide. Finally, I …

Marriage Story Screenplay Analysis, Kaitlyn Bauer

Symposium of Student Scholars

This presentation examines the story structure of the Oscar-nominated film, Marriage Story (2019), written and directed by Noah Baumbach. The film captures the dissolution of a marriage, following a couple as they navigate life with their son as their marriage unravels. In this analysis, I study how Baumbach crafts the screenplay to explore both subjective viewpoints in the story so the audience does not pick sides in the divorce. This differs from most single-protagonist divorce stories, where the writer tackles the narrative from one character's point of view, favoring one parent over the other. Marriage Story is a dual-protagonist film, …

Gifted Screenplay Analysis, Chloe Ford

Symposium of Student Scholars

Gifted, the film directed by Marc Webb released in 2017, details the story of a single man named Frank (Chris Evans) raising his young niece Mary (McKenna Grace), who just so happens to be a 7-year-old genius. He plans for her to live a normal life; go to public school, make friends, play sports, truly be a kid, but his mother has something else in mind. Mckenna’s grandmother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) threatens to rip Mary away from her little life in the suburbs, as well as her beloved Uncle Frank. This study analyzes the complexity of the characters in …

Analyzing The Symbolism Of Modern Racial Tension In Jordan Peele's Get Out, Kyra Hammond

Symposium of Student Scholars

In award-winning films, themes surrounding race and ethnicity are typically avoided unless regarded in a historical context. Though, Jordan Peele’s Get Out(2017) breaks these barriers by taking a satirical approach to comment on modern racial issues and stigmas that are prevalent in American society. Furthermore, the film pushes society to finally see and understand the anxiety and racial trauma that African Americans continue to experience. The hidden symbols and messages throughout the screenplay further add to the film’s theme by metaphorically expressing that racism can be covert. With the intention to analyze these symbolic elements, I will break down …

Native American Representation In Film, Matthew Mccadden

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract: This paper looks at the history of indigenous portrayals in popular culture and how it influenced future film makers to create the Native stereotype in film. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the representation of Native Americans in film and how it affects people’s perception of Native Americans. It looks at the negative associations with Native Americans that viewers tend to think of when viewing cinema, and it discusses the help and harm it has done to the Native American community. I used evidence from classic and contemporary films, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, older genre …

Native American Representation In Film, Matthew Mccadden

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract: This paper looks at the history of indigenous portrayals in popular culture and how it influenced future film makers to create the Native stereotype in film. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the representation of Native Americans in film and how it affects people’s perception of Native Americans. It looks at the negative associations with Native Americans that viewers tend to think of when viewing cinema, and it discusses the help and harm it has done to the Native American community. I used evidence from classic and contemporary films, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, older genre …

Ten 'Thorny' Data Collection Practices Of Research Use, Proshat Nouri

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

When conducting research, there are various ethical dilemmas associated with the practices researchers engage in and with. Once the notion of data privacy and collection are integrated into research, the ambiguity surrounding ethics and whether a practice is deemed ethical heightens. This research output presents ten scenarios of research use that demonstrate thorny data collection practices.

Forest City Memories: Rethinking London's Past And Present, Athena Nadalin, Kaity Adam

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

When The Legend Becomes Fact, Print The Legend, Michael Farinelli

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

For this paper, I talked about how directors John Ford and Howard Hawks impacted the acting career of legendary actor John Wayne. I discuss how Wayne rose to prominence in Ford's film Stagecoach in 1939, but how Hawks was the one to take his acting to another level by giving his characters more depth. Ford and Hawks essentially "talked" amongst each other through Wayne and made him into this greater idea with their westerns.

Faculty Sponsor: Brian Brems

A Feminist History Of The Roland Mc-505, Cameron Davis

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

A Feminist History of the Roland MC-505

Abstract

Roland’s MC 505 is a small portable music production instrument also known as agroovebox that functions as a programmable sixty-four note polyphonic synthesizer and drummachine with twenty-six interchangeable drum kits to use in various combinations. (1) The groovebox is equipped for both audio recording and live performance, both of which are analyzed in this research. The machine has many innovative elements that have carried over into modern music technology as well as some limitations that have since been left behind. This study acts as a historical evaluation of the growth and improvements …

The La Uprising On Camera: The Changing Mediascape And Its Influence On Conceptions Of Race And Poverty, Neave Carroll

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Using the LA Riots as a case study, this paper examines the impact broadcast journalism had on electoral politics in America by deconstructing the media discourse surrounding the event and reviewing the electorate’s response. Mainstream network broadcast transcriptions and archival footage represent the bulk of source material used. These sources suggest changes in journalistic methods, such as the adoption of the 24-hour news cycle and sensationalist reporting, as well as new technologies like the camcorder which led to the advent of eyewitness reporting, coalesced to influence politics in 1992. Urban crime was linked to an ailing economy, encouraging politicians to …

Storytelling As Inclusive Teaching Strategy, Novia Pagone, Kerri Morris, Deborah James

Research Days

No abstract provided.

Entertainment Media Perceptions Of Minorities In Young Adult Adaptations, Kynnadie Bennett

Scholars Week

This is an exploration of stereotypical and racist portrayals of minorities, specifically African-American, Latinx, and Native American communities, in film and television in the past and how that has affected representation in film adaptations of young adult literature. Young adult literature is one of the highest-selling genres in literature, purchased by both young adults and actual adults. In recent years, young adult literature has been adapted into film and television series and while representation has improved since the early years of entertainment history, there are still problems in the industry: many of the stereotypes remain, some minorities lack representation, and …

"To Live Deliciously": The Imaginary Father In Robert Eggers' The Witch, Charles Hicks

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

In this essay I re-examine the archetype of the witch, long viewed in scholarship as the antagonist of the Symbolic Order and phallocentric structures of oppression, through an analysis of Robert Eggers’ supernatural horror film, The Witch (2015). Bringing together Julia Kristeva’s work on primary narcissism and identification and Justyna Sempruch’s analysis of the witch as a trace of archaic, semiotic origins, I argue that the witch can be viewed as a representation of the Imaginary Father, the site of maternal desire that assists the child in its transition from the maternal body to the Symbolic. Specifically, this essay analyzes …

"Down To Gehenna Or Up To The Throne": Rudyard Kipling's Poem "The Winners" As The Key To Sam Mendes Film 1917, Richard Logsdon

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

"The Applicability of Rudyard Kipling's Poem 'The Winners' to Sam Mendes' Film 1917.

The key to Mendes 1917 lies in the early recitation of the last couplet of Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Winners": "Down to Gehenna or Up to the Throne,/ He travels fastest who travels alone." The key words are Gehenna and Throne. Gehenna was a valley near Jerusalem where, in ancient times, children were burned alive as sacrifices to the war god Molech. (Outraged by such blatant transgression, God renamed Gehenna "the tvalley of slaughter" where thousands would lose their lives in combat, not only in ancient times …

Selections From Divinatio Diver, Sculptural Antipathia In Atonement Transcendo, And Mechanika Momento: Creatio Forecaster, Antonie Frankie Aquino

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

It is fated inspiration which penetrates the heart, satisfies the collective soul, and offers its spirit to the vastness of ceremonial vision. Vision becomes sound and sound forms a poetic voice displaced— this displacement radiates a mythologized poetic voice serving as a lyrical object, theogonic lyre, and the genealogical muse. Selected poems from Divinatio Diver, Sculptural Antipathia: In Atonement Transcendo and Mechanika Momento: Creatio Forerunner, the collected poems orchestrate a tryptic voice that dismantles the outward magnitude of the self by subverting the antithetical self through spiritual and organic sensualness.This mythopoeic tripartism simultaneously interconnects with religion, theology, and metaphysics which …

The Rhetoric Of Spirituality, Gender, And The Environment In The Wicker Man (1973) And Midsommar (2019), Emma Frances Bloomfield

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

The Wicker Man (1973) and Midsommar (2019) are horror films that address dominant ideologies including the patriarchy, anthropocentrism, and Christianity. Both films have a nature-connected cult that sacrifices for the community and performs rituals informed by pagan eco-spirituality. I perform an ecofeminist rhetorical criticism to analyze how, despite these shared themes, spiritual, gender, and environmental messages differ between the two films. In The Wicker Man, the audience is invited to sympathize with Neil’s character, his Christianity, and his individualistic masculinity as he is sacrificed in the cult’s harvest ritual. Alternatively, the main character in Midsommar, Dani, gets revenge …

Lost & Found: Samuel Fuller’S Tigrero And Accidental Ethnography, Andrew Howe

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

In 1954, Darryl Zanuck commissioned Samuel Fuller to journey to the Amazon and shoot footage of the Karaja tribe, around which the director would construct a screenplay based upon the life of Sasha Siemel, a big game hunter of note. Zanuck had optioned Siemel’s best-selling autobiography, Tigrero. Although John Wayne and Ava Gardner were soon attached to the project, executives at Fox would not sanction a shoot in such a dangerous location. The project was set aside and forgotten.

Nearly 40 years after his visit to Brazil, Fuller would return to the Karaja tribe. Out of this experience came …

Out And Proud: The Significance Of Jojo Siwa’S Coming Out And Why Queer Representation In Children’S Media Is Important, Savannah Munholland

Capstone Showcase

Queer representation in the media is slowly improving but children's media still severely lacks diversity, especially LGBTQ+ representation. This paper explores JoJo Siwa, a popular children's influencer and entertainer, and how her coming out will effect the integration of queer representation into children's media.

Girls Can’T Like Star Wars: An Analysis Of Feminism Within Fandoms, Julia Neff

Capstone Showcase

Finding the intersection between feminist theory and fandom theory, this paper analysis how women are regarded within a fandom community by their peers and how they are dismissed in a societal context. This paper specifically compares what is "accepted" by society about young women being a fan of a boy band versus an adult man as a fan of a sports team.

Community Of Creation: A Documentary On Finding Community Through Art, Sidney Thompson

Student Academic Conference

Community of Creation is a documentary project created under the film production program. The documentary itself focuses on the ideas of local art, fellowship, and adaptability throughout a small community gallery located in Rochester, MN named SEMVA. This presentation will focus on the communal influence of local art and the impact it had on the unique production of the documentary.

Art Imitates Life: The Representation (Or Lack Thereof) Of Black Women In Video Games, Bug Gadson

Capstone Showcase

The key focus of this essay is to compare the representation of black women in media, primarily in television and film, to the representation of black female characters in video games. Using black feminist theory, this essay illustrates the treatment of black female characters in gaming. The particular and deliberate methods of writing black female characters in video games are used to highlight white video game characters and their narratives, instead of giving life and dimension to the black female characters themselves. The hostile and unsafe environments in gaming spaces are cultivated through upholding these harmful stereotypes of black women, …

Disney Princess Films And Their Effects On Gender And Body Image Through The Social Learning Theory, Jessica Yakubovsky

Capstone Showcase

Many of us grew up watching Disney Films and throughout the last decade and prior, the Walt Disney Company has created a variety of characters whom we grew up alongside. As we watched these films we found ourselves within the characters and learned things through them. This thesis paper aims to analyze Disney Princess Films and their profound effects on Gender and Body image through the theoretical perspective of the Social Learning theory. I will analyze Classic Disney princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella, and modern princesses such as Mulan(1998) and Merida (2011). My critical analysis indicates that Disney …

Stuart Hall & Theory Of Representation In The Media: Exploring Get Out And Candyman, Lashanna Bryant

Capstone Showcase

Media representation has aided in creating a toxic manifestation of what it means to be Black in America. More specifically, the exploration of Black characters in horror films has opened many doors to hidden racism, discrimination, and oversimplification of their culture and their value in society. In looking into the films Candyman and Get Out there is a clear progression throughout the early 1990s to the mid 2010s that detail a very rapid change from taking a Black character from a background role to the main character.