Digital Commons Network^™

Scripting The Docufiction: Combining The Narrative And Documentary Modes In A Social Issue Film, Joseph V. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis combines creative and academic efforts in an examination of the "hybrid" film. The question asked: in what ways can fiction be combined with non-fiction to engage with issues of social importance, is answered in analysis, and through practice. Traditional analysis is focused on films that blur the line between the documentary and the narrative-- the "hybrid film" or "docufiction." Analysis through practice is presented in an original feature length script that moves back and forth between the documentary and fiction film. This feature length script-- entitled Rigged, develops a fictional story while examining the issue of …

馬家寶之藝術, Ni Na, Camellia Ng

Theses & Dissertations

馬家寶（1925-1985）是1949 年後香港第一代油畫家，他活 躍於五十年代中至八十年代中的香港畫壇，以寫實風格的油畫著稱。 傳統藝術史一直關注代表不同地區及時代的主流藝術風格，而六十至 七十年代的港英政府和社會大眾均較為注重現代主義藝術的發展，馬 氏寫實風格的藝術創作與之相比有點守舊，所以他的藝術一直未能得 到研究香港史的學者和藝術家們足夠的關注和深入的研究。

雖然從傳統藝術史的角度來看，馬家寶的藝術只是六十至七 十年代少數、不具代表性的藝術創作，但是從藝術社會學和意識形態 學看來，驅使馬家寶畢生採用寫實的形式來創作藝術，和社會環境對 他的藝術創作所造成的影響，卻是個值得探索的問題。因此，此次研 究會將馬氏之藝術按時序分為三個階段，結合歷史、文化和社會背景 並進行對比，從而探索他堅持以寫實風格為終生藝術創作形式的原 因、藝術的觀點和藝術的追求。籍著對馬家寶藝術的個案研究，希望 本論文能為關注香港本地藝術發展史的學者和藝術家，提供一份參 考，從一個新的角度回顧及審視香港藝術史。

Filmmaker, Lawyer, Indian Chief: The Negotiation Of Identity In An Indigenous Film Festival, William Lempert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since colonial contact, indigenous peoples have been predominantly represented by community outsiders. As a result, native peoples have rarely had a primary, or even collaborative role, in the production of these representations. However, in the last two decades, there has been an unprecedented proliferation of indigenous created films and the festivals that feature them. The Denver Indigenous Arts and Film Festival is an annual festival that exclusively showcases films made by and with indigenous peoples. The festival’s 2009 theme of “Telling Our Stories” emphasized cultural control of representation and the transmission of traditional knowledge.

In this thesis, I show that …

A Person Of Interest, Jesse Lepre

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Presents a drama-based screenplay which explores the stereotyping of the modern Italian-American male in contemporary American society.

Physicians, Society, And The Science Fiction Genre In The Film Versions Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Or Doctors With A Serious Pod Complex, Brett S. Stifflemire

Theses and Dissertations

Close textual analysis of the four extant film versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers reveals that each film modifies the original story such that it reflects changing societal attitudes toward physicians and the medical profession, as well as depictions of military and government in the science fiction genre. The changing depictions of characters and events in these films respond to changes in medical history, social history, and the science fiction genre across five decades. Each film reflects the contemporary anxieties of its time and the perceived ability of physicians to relieve those anxieties. Doctors are important semantic elements of …

(Re)Imagining Taiwan: Taiwanese Cultural Nationalism In Film And Literature, 1970-1990s, Keith Goodwin

History

The study of Taiwan's history is permeated by questions of identity. Since 1600, the island has been, among other things, a Dutch colonial outpost, a refuge for Ming loyalists, a provincial frontier of the Qing Dynasty, a Japanese colony, and, since the end of World War II, the home of the Republic of China (ROC). However, sixty years after Taiwan's "retrocession" to the government of Chiang Kai-shek, questions of Taiwan's cultural and national identity persist.

This paper takes the 1970s to be an important turning point in Taiwan's identity discourse. Beginning with a discussion of the various political and diplomatic …

Selling True Stories: A Cultural Analysis Of Manufactured Realism In The Docudrama Crime Film, Jamie Schleser

College of Communication Master of Arts Theses

This paper examines the cultural function of docudrama crime films. The docudrama is a hybrid of the conventional Hollywood fiction film and the documentary. Blurring fact and fiction, these films manufacture an illusion of realism around the framework of the standard feature film using visual and narrative appeals to real life and real events. By asserting that they are "based on a true story," these films are able to shape and enhance a desired reading of the text in order to convey a particular social message to audiences. To understand the initial development of the docudrama crime form and how …

The Question Of Robin Hood, Jessica Kinkhorst

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Rhetorical Construction Of Gender: How Women Are Portrayed In Popular Music Today, Stephanie Colleen Yocum

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

In Living Color, Chappelle's Show, And Bamboozled: Decoding Representations Of Blackness, Genevieve Odette Owsowitz

Communication Studies

This paper investigates depictions of African-Americans in popular American television and film. It examines the social context and historical background of three mediated texts in an effort to decode the political commentary present within comedic images.

Print And Video Games, Rochelle Reyes

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to learn about and show the impact of downloadable games on the printing industry. With new technology comes time-saving convenience; however, the increase in “going digital” decreases a need for what would otherwise have been a point of sale purchase.

This study investigated the current trend of video game use and purchases and how much of a factor print, such as the game’s packaging, played in aiding with the game’s purchase. The study was conducted by creating a survey on SurveyMonkey.com and disseminating it via the Graphic Communication department at California Polytechnic State University, …

Digital Video Communication And Preservation For Educational Purposes, Chelsea Lyon

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of digital video to communicate and preserve scholarly work. This study asks the question: How can digital video benefit communication and scholarly work? Combining both visuals and audio, digital video has become a unique educational tool between scholars and students alike to communicate, teach, and learn. As technology advances, the creation, preservation, and viewing of digital video continues to increase; however, so do the challenges that arise as a result. Digital video currently faces challenges in defining and effectively managing metadata standards for media files, bridging a gap between traditional …

Attack Of The Fallen! Cinematic Portrayals Of Fallen Angels In Post 9/11 Science Fiction Film, Jessica Fitting

Pitzer Senior Theses

Abstract: The science fiction films which feature the angel Gabriel (The Prophecy (1995), Van Helsing (2004), Constantine (2005), Gabriel (2007), and Legion (2010)) represent a trend in exploring specific socio-cultural issues of America. All of these films explore fears over the loss of faith in American culture in a post 9/11 society. They are comparable to the ways in which science fiction films of the 1950’s addressed fears of the Cold War. By utilizing the alien invasion plot structure from the 50’s, contemporary plots have a pre-defined structure and film language in which to explore the themes of a crisis …

"Not For An Age, But For All Time": Shakespeare's Romantic Comedies On Film, Kelly A. Rivers

Doctoral Dissertations

From Sam Taylor’s 1929 Taming of the Shrew to Kenneth Branagh’s 2000 Love’s Labour’s Lost, nine comedies have been filmed and released for the mainstream film market. Over the course of the twentieth century a filmic cycle developed. By the late 1990s, the films of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies included cinematic allusions to films produced and distributed in the 1930s. This cycle indicates an awareness of and appreciation for the earlier films. Such awareness proves that the contemporary films’ meaning and entertainment value are derived in part from the consciousness of belonging to a larger tradition of Shakespeare comedy on film. …

A History Of The American Film Institute, Deborah Jae Alexander

Dissertations

The American Film Institute (AFI) is a highly politicized, powerful organization. To date, most historical documentation and recording of AFI events and activities has been disseminated to the mass media from within the organization through its own publications or in other historical documentation as incidental history in relation to another topic. This dissertation, written as an overview, is the first comprehensive, independent historical examination of the AFI. The examination begins with an exploration of the development, activities and decline of the American Council on Education‟s original AFI and other film organizations that existed prior to the present day AFI. It …

The Relationship Among Beginning And Advanced American Sign Language Students And Credentialed Interpreters Across Two Domains Of Visual Imagery: Vividness And Manipulation, Linda Stauffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the visual-gestural nature of ASL it is reasonable to assume that visualization abilities may be one predictor of aptitude for learning ASL. This study tested a hypothesis that visualization abilities are a foundational aptitude for learning a signed language and that measurements of these skills will increase as students progress from beginning ASL students to advanced language learners and, ultimately to credentialed interpreters. Participants in this study consisted of 90 beginning and 66 advanced ASL students in five interpreter education programs in four southern states along with 68 credentialed interpreters. Students and interpreters were administered the Vividness of Visual …

Homecoming, Sandra Appiah

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The media is a business, but unfortunately has the greatest impact on society. Today, most people get their information from the Media and tend to believe everything it presents without much of a critical analysis or reflection. Africa is a continent filled with many natural resources, a unique culture, a rich history, and more. However when one turns on the Television in the western society, all that is presented is the negative side of Africa. We see the starvation and aids epidemic, we see the tribal wars, corruption, and more. There is always the presentation of the need for charity …

Still Water, Louis Foglia

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Still Water is full-length feature screenplay with the driving premise that vengeance creates suffering. While the script might be characterized as a procedural in that relies heavily on the plot to create suspense and to sustain a dramatic momentum that keeps the audience engaged, I was also interested in adding a layer of provocative depth to the story. Consequently, Still Water explores the themes of guilt, redemption, vengeance, corruption, and Italian-American identity.

Still Water is the story of the Sippilini family. During his campaign for Manhattan District Attorney, the family’s patriarch, Richard, gets involved in a corruption scandal that ultimately …

Amanda Green, Alex Piliouras

Honors Capstone Projects - All

I have submitted for my Capstone Project three interactive scripts for the series Amanda Green. The series features a fourteen-year-old girl, Amanda Green, who solves mysteries with her friend Jerome relating to school and social life. In the pilot episode, submitted here, Amanda hopes to ask the school heartthrob to the dance, but is robbed of the opportunity when the principal announces that the dance is canceled due to an act of vandalism. After her grandmother regales her with an inspirational story, Amanda decides to head an investigation of the crime scene in the hopes of solving the mystery …

Red Rock: An Original Dramatic Tv Series, Jared Shalek

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The concept of my Capstone Project is a screenplay for an original, dramatic television series. The idea was conceived during the summer going into my senior year, as I examined the script I had just written for TRF 400: Dramatic Writing for Television, a class I took in spring 2009 with Tom Seeley. I had labored over the script for the second half of that semester, and Professor Seeley really liked the idea from the start, but ultimately I did not fare as well I wanted to in terms of the final grade. Thus, I decided that I would redraft …

'A Great Disturbance In The Force:' Thematic Dissonance Between The Two Star Wars Trilogies, Lauren Baiers

Honors Theses

All fans, scholars, and critics have their favorite films. Some support all of the films equally, some embrace the special editions, and others deny the existence of any movies other than the original versions of the first three films released. No matter what critics and fans say, all of the live-action movies are Star Wars movies: they follow the same mythology and bear the words "Star Wars" in their titles. However, the themes of the two trilogies of the Star Wars saga conflict. The prequel trilogy undermines the concerns of the original Star Wars trilogy by subverting the themes of …

This Is Sportscenter: Performance And Performativity In Sports Broadcasting And Punditry, Anthony C. Gunn

Theses and Dissertations

Within the discipline of Performance Studies there is a debate about what is included within the ontology of “performance.” Peggy Phelan suggests that performance can only be experienced in the here and now, and any recording of a performance makes it “something other than performance.” Phillip Auslander argues the exact opposite, claiming that mediatized performance is not only valid, but also preferable to the live. This thesis is about performance in sports broadcasting, and states that performance, like sport, can be valid in both live and mediatized forms. The thesis also details how sports broadcasters perform and how their performance …

Juvenescence: Photographs By Jordan Lutes, Jordan Lutes

Art and Design

Shot entirely on expired 35mm film, Juvenescence explores the life of youths on the central coast of California. Research was done on how to alter film and gain color-shifts to better depict moods and lifestyles in the images.

New England Patriots Vs The Carolina Panthers At The Super Boob?: A Deeper Look At The Media Surrounding Janet Jackson And Justin Timberlake's Wardrobe Malfunction At The 2004 Super Bowl, Philip Michael Ortez

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

7 An Interactive Installation: Explorations In The Digital, The Spiritual, And The Uncanny, Bradley Paul Lewter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the application of digital technologies in the creation of visionary or transformative artwork. The installation emphasizes number, color, symmetry, and the human form to create symbolic compositions patterned after ancient archetypes. Background research was done to inform the work through studies of the principles of visionary and transformative artwork as practiced by Ernst Fuchs, De Es Schwertberger, and Alex Grey. Connections between art and spirituality as explained by Kandinsky were studied to augment these principles. The sequence of artwork within the installation is comprised of both digital paintings and interactive triptych panels. To convey a sense of …

Evelyn Offscreen: An Application Of Interactive Performance Methodsin Alternate Reality Gaming, Dawn Borglund

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For my thesis project for the Masters of Fine Art in Film and Digital Media, I designed and produced Evelyn Offscreen, an alternate reality game (ARG) that was facilitated by interactive performance. The goal was to create an interactive experience that allowed several players to collaboratively create story across numerous media within the field of alternate reality gaming. The approach used in Evelyn Offscreen was intended to provide a degree of creative freedom to the players that has not been demonstrated in other ARG experiences and to use digital media to capture information about the relative effectiveness of the different …

Ecos Góticos En La Novela Y El Cine Del Cono Sur, Nadina Estefania Olmedo

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Latin American literary criticism has traditionally underestimated the significance of the Gothic aesthetic, in spite of the rich Gothic literary tradition of Latin America. Specifically in the Southern Cone - the focus of my research - there is a particular recurrence and consumption of this genre, not only in literature but also in cinema, which has not been deeply analyzed. I argue that a close examination of the Gothic and Fantastic elements in these novels and films unveils anxieties, repressions and manifestations of social decay that underlie common codes of social decency and the conventions of maintaining an oppressive social …

Red Tide: A Feature Length Motion Picture, Dino Gallina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following document provides insight into the uncharted process of producing a micro-budget feature length film. This paper aims to document my growth as an artist in terms of storytelling and filmmaking as well as the development and production process. Red Tide: A Feature Length Motion Picture includes elements from each phase of the production process, from story and script development to marketing and distribution. This document reflects on the obstacles we faced and the solutions we implemented during the process of creating a feature length motion picture on an undersized budget.

A Beautiful Belly: Toward An Intimate Cinema Through Microbudget Production Techniques, Andrew Gay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Beautiful Belly is a feature-length, microbudget, digital motion picture produced, written, and directed by Andrew Kenneth Gay in pursuit of the Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of Central Florida. The guiding question behind the production of A Beautiful Belly was whether digital "no budget" production was particularly suited to the telling of a particular kind of cinematic story - the interior journey. The pursuit of an intimate cinema shaped every decision by the filmmaker and his collaborators, and this thesis is a record of their production experience.

The Immigrant, The Native Son, And The Ambassador: The Transnational Travels Of "Godzilla", "Speed Racer", And "Akira", Amber Shandling Cohen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.