Nomadland: The New Frontiers Of The American Dream At The Periphery Of The Market, 2021 University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Nomadland: The New Frontiers Of The American Dream At The Periphery Of The Market, Aleksandrina Atanasova, Giana Eckhardt
Markets, Globalization & Development Review
This Dialogue contribution is based around the film Nomadland, which won five Oscars, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress. Nomadland, a captivating ode to resisting market logics of accumulation, delivers a gripping image of what life looks like in the absence of possessions. Navigating between the extremes of lack and social displacement, and community and newfound ability to live life with little, the nomads find ways to live in the face of despair and disenchantment. Nomadland is a critique of the death of the American dream while at the same time a story of solidarity amongst the dispossessed.
"Never Forget": Embodied Absence And Extended Relations Of Care After 9/11, 2021 The Graduate Center, City University of New York
"Never Forget": Embodied Absence And Extended Relations Of Care After 9/11, Sophie L. Riemenschneider
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation is a reflection on how loss was articulated in the wake of 9/11. The terror attacks engendered a memorial style that sought to give shape to grief, acknowledging it without filling it in or erasing it. This new style, which I term embodied absence, exists across a range of mediums, from literature to architecture. It is such a potent memorial form because it also captures the traumatic process, which is prolonged, layered, and potentially open-ended. However, despite their ability to mirror the nature of trauma, instances of embodied absence never verbalize the attacks’ root trauma—the disconnect between our …
Film Review: Mulan (2020), 2021 CSUSB
Film Review: Mulan (2020), Josefine Pettit
History in the Making
No abstract provided.
Film Review: The Trial Of The Chicago 7, 2021 CSUSB
Film Review: The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Moises Gonzales
History in the Making
No abstract provided.
"Knowing It's Real Means You Gotta Make A Decision": Depictions Of Post-Traumatic Disorders And Coping Mechanisms In The Punisher And Jessica Jones, 2021 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
"Knowing It's Real Means You Gotta Make A Decision": Depictions Of Post-Traumatic Disorders And Coping Mechanisms In The Punisher And Jessica Jones, Megan M. Rutter
English Department Masters Theses
Post-traumatic disorders have been included in some of the most popular narratives in mainstream culture. Though the early decades of movies included 1948’s The Best Days of Our Lives is an award-winning movie that follows three veterans home from World War II and depicts their struggles with reacclimating to society it became more popular after Vietnam veterans and their allies fought and protested for an appropriate diagnosis for PTSD after decades of it not being seen as a legitimate psychological disorder. Since then, post-traumatic disorders have been included in media as popular as the series finale of M*A*S*H in 1983, …
An Analysis Of Forty Years Of Gender Archetypes On The American Silver Screen, 2021 University of Rhode Island
An Analysis Of Forty Years Of Gender Archetypes On The American Silver Screen, Xaviera I. Valencia
Senior Honors Projects
Hollywood has come under fire recently from producer Harvey Weinstein’s role in sparking the #MeToo movement to the predominantly white, male composition of the Academy Awards’ voting members. Yet the film industry also provides a platform to actors, directors, and other crew members -- through acceptance speeches and movies themselves -- to spread awareness about pressing societal issues, including climate change, sexual assault, racism, and homophobia.
Art, especially film, has a tremendous effect on society and can either perpetuate stereotypes or dispel myths. For instance, Philadelphia (1993) brought into the mainstream the story of a man who was HIV+ and …
A Film Of Many Colors : Neoliberalism, Capitalism, And Climate Change In Rango, 2021 Montclair State University
A Film Of Many Colors : Neoliberalism, Capitalism, And Climate Change In Rango, Sierra Javras
Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects
Although largely ignored by ecocritics, Gore Verbinski’s Rango is undeniably a valuable film in the debates about climate change. It follows the story of a chameleon who accidentally falls out of his owner’s car and travels to Dirt, a town populated by anthropomorphized animals in the Mojave Desert suffering from a drought caused by neoliberal water privatization. Through various filmmaking techniques, such as the use of mise-en-scene, character design, and narrative style, Verbinski exposes the detrimental impacts the artificial water shortage and various other capitalist endeavors have caused to the desert environment. In doing so, I argue that he not …
Grappling With The Aftereffects Of Modernism In American Literature And Culture: Spiritual, Political, And Ecological, 2021 Bowling Green State University
Grappling With The Aftereffects Of Modernism In American Literature And Culture: Spiritual, Political, And Ecological, Joseph Neary
Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects
In this portfolio, Joe Neary examines various texts within contemporary American culture, including David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Good Old Neon,” Harmony Korine’s film, Spring Breakers, Richard Powers’ novel, The Overstory, and Bruce Holsinger’s book of criticism, Neomedievalism, Neoconservatism, and the War on Terror.
Look At Her: The Subversive Spectacle Of Grande Dame Guignol Cinema, 2021 Belmont University
Look At Her: The Subversive Spectacle Of Grande Dame Guignol Cinema, Michelle Smith
English Theses
While the Grande Dame Guignol films of the early 1960s served in their time to capitalize on the reputations of aging female stars and the growing popularity of the horror genre, an updated reading of this subgenre proves that it is rich with social critique regarding the feminine experience, social performance, and the tendencies of classical Hollywood cinema that promote a dominant, patriarchal social narrative. While many popular and critical responses diminish them as “psycho-biddy” or “hagsploitation” films, the Grande Dame Guignol tradition’s transformation of its actresses from glamorous icons to unrecognizable villains rejects such limiting appraisals by focusing on …
Found Media: Interactivity And Community In Online Horror Media 2021, 2021 SUNY College Cortland
Found Media: Interactivity And Community In Online Horror Media 2021, Jax Mello
Master's Theses
Being isolated is a common fear. The fear can take many forms, from the fear of being the last one alive in a horrific situation to being completely deserted by everyone you love. This is a fear that has been showcased many different times in movies, novels, and every other piece of media imaginable. Although not always tied to the horror genre, the fear of being isolated is tightly intertwined with many horror stories. Therefore, it is interesting when a horror production goes out of their way to encourage interactivity within its audience. This goes beyond an artist’s desire for …
Scripted Realities: Representations Of Autism In Hollywood And Their Effect On Public Discourse, 2021 Trinity College
Scripted Realities: Representations Of Autism In Hollywood And Their Effect On Public Discourse, Jessica Jones
Senior Theses and Projects
No abstract provided.
“He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, And Jokers, 2021 University of California Santa Barbara
“He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, And Jokers, William S. Chavez, Luke Mccracken
Journal of Religion & Film
Since his debut in 1940, the Joker, famed adversary of the Batman, continues to permeate the American cultural mediascape not merely as an object of consumption but as an ongoing production of popular imagination. Joker mythmakers post-1986 have reimagined the character not as superhuman but as “depressingly ordinary,” inspiring audiences both to empathize with his existential plight and to fear his terroristic violence as an increasingly compelling model of reactionary resistance to institutionality. This article examines the recent history of modern terrorism in conjunction with the “pathological nihilism” diagnosed by Nietzsche in order to elucidate the stakes and implications of …
Stanley Kubrick, Jewish Filmmaker: A Review Essay, 2021 Peter Lang Academic Publishers
Stanley Kubrick, Jewish Filmmaker: A Review Essay, Michael Gibson
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a review of two books: Nathan Abrams, Stanley Kubrick: New York Jewish Intellectual (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2018), and David Mikics, Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020).
Over The Edge: Suburban Planned Communities, The Second Frontier, And The Rise Of 80s High School Films, 2021 Fort Hays State University
Over The Edge: Suburban Planned Communities, The Second Frontier, And The Rise Of 80s High School Films, Daniel Mcclure
Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference
While many 1980s youth-oriented films often sold various images of consumption, Over the Edge was one of the early prototypes of the genre, offering a more sober—a more 70s—outlook on youth attempting to find meaning and identity in a corporate-driven, materialistic space called American suburbia. Both a setting for paradise as well as an existential hell for the youth growing up amidst it, the film mobilizes the West and its frontier-like majesty haunting the characters’ space in the planned development of New Granada—a place where families are safe and entrepreneurs can thrive. Specters of the West haunt the film—from the …
Dancing Through Time: A Biographical Look On The Evolution Of Tap Dance, 2021 The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Dancing Through Time: A Biographical Look On The Evolution Of Tap Dance, Jaimie Cranford
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
A uniquely American art form, tap dance has often been misrepresented and under-appreciated when positioned alongside other dance forms. This is largely due to the form’s racialized history, which builds upon contributions from African-American culture. Unlike other dance forms, which stem from white European traditions, tap dance evolved out of a necessity for cultural preservation as enslaved Africans adapted to life in America. As tap dance evolved, its association with slave culture led to it not being taken seriously; if anything, tap dancers were viewed simply as “entertainers” – certainly not as artists. Using a biographical lens, this work looks …
Hollywood Imagines Revolutionary Haiti: The Forgotten Film Lydia Bailey (1952), 2021 University of Massachusetts Boston
Hollywood Imagines Revolutionary Haiti: The Forgotten Film Lydia Bailey (1952), Judith E. Smith
American Studies Faculty Publication Series
This essay explores the history of Lydia Bailey, the only US studio-made film to depict the Haitian Revolutionary period. It asks why, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such an unlikely project might have seemed commercially promising enough to justify a significant production budget. The essay draws on private studio memos as well as public press discussions to shed light on the high stakes in debates over racial representation and colonialism/decolonization in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and to illuminate everyday assumptions of white supremacy as these shaped the making of the film and its promotion. Production files …
What Is Jazz?: Exploring The Question, 2021 CUNY College of Staten Island
What Is Jazz?: Exploring The Question, Dominick Tancredi
Open Educational Resources
This writing assignment begins a semester-long exploration addressing the question “What Is Jazz?” Being introduced by film to two New Orleans jazz musicians, George “Kid Sheik” Colar (1908-1996) and Emanuel “Manny” Sayles (1907-1986), students will get a firsthand perspective of the various levels of commitment to the music these two individuals maintained as working musicians. They dedicated themselves professionally, personally, emotionally, and spiritually. They took inspiration from their life experiences. The films convey the message that jazz goes beyond the notes we hear.
Distribution, Bars, And Arcade Stars: Joe Anthony’S Entrepreneurial Expansion In Houston’S Gay Media Industries, 2021 University of Louisville
Distribution, Bars, And Arcade Stars: Joe Anthony’S Entrepreneurial Expansion In Houston’S Gay Media Industries, Finley Freibert
Faculty Scholarship
This article develops the concept of "gay useful media" to explore a case study of gay entrepreneurship in Houston, Texas, of the 1970s. A father and son developed a gay media empire in the city, which spanned bars, bookstores, distribution, and vending. One of the pair's key establishments was Houston's legendary gay bar Mary's at 1022 Westheimer (also known as Mary's Lounge, Mary's, Naturally, and Mary's…Naturally).
Stuart Hall & Theory Of Representation In The Media: Exploring Get Out And Candyman, 2021 Arcadia University
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.
Remembering The Experience Of War: A Sensory Study Of The Vietnam War And Collective Memory, 2021 Fort Hays State University
Remembering The Experience Of War: A Sensory Study Of The Vietnam War And Collective Memory, Jacob Randolph
Master's Theses
The Vietnam War is remembered in a variety of ways. It is remembered as a war against communism, yet one that was also against American ideals of freedom. It is remembered as a war of patriotism, yet one that was also against the numerous military members who fought in it. It is remembered as a war for integration and unity among black and white, yet many African-Americans remember the time period as a war being fought abroad and at home. Memory of the war is obviously contradicting, but then again the 1960s and 1970s oftentimes were.
This thesis examines how …