Other Film and Media Studies Commons^™

The Movie Is On!: Pragmatics Of The Video Joker In Who Killed Captain Alex?, Hunter Hulett

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

The film Who Killed Captain Alex? (WKCA) is a Ugandan film that provides an opportunity to examine the use of pragmatic and specifically deictic features to study the manipulation of borders between the film and reality. A commentator called the Video Joker (VJ) is the film’s deictic center, constantly destabilizing deictic relations and orienting the internal and external pragmatics of the film around themself. As the film’s ultimate pragmatic force, they occupy a position blurring diegesis and non-diegesis due to originating as real-time film commentators before being edited into the text. In this unique position, they shift the deixis’s organization …

"Sit Still, Look Pretty To Survive": An Analysis Of The Hunger Games Trilogy, Bryleigh Sharon De Jong

Honors Program Theses

In this thesis, it emphasizes that the analysis of this topic was done through an extensive literature review. Throughout the research process, academic and scholarly articles were reviewed and quoted from previous studies. From previous literature, results express the idea of varying ideals and needs for the “perfect” film adaptation; additionally how the people researched the workers within the film and seeing the differences involving work with the script and actors. Screenwriting theory was also taken into account through previous research.

At the end of a decade, a literary trilogy became a new pop culture phenomenon, The Hunger Games. The …

Loneliness, Superheroes & The Uses And Gratifications Theory, Jason Kramer

Capstone Showcase

This paper tries to analyze the appeal of superheroes through the uses and gratifications theory, and takes a look at how the audience reacts to superhero media that portrays loneliness within it's heroes.

Comedy Is Manipulative And I Can Prove It: Laugh, Now!, Eleanor Henderson

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper examines whether comedy is a manipulative form of interaction. Through defining manipulation and establishing a practical definition of how jokes function, it applies the definition of manipulation to the performance and experience of comedy by assessing a joke's deliberate and powerful verbal structure. It closes with a brief discussion of the ethics of comedy, within context of it being a manipulative influence.

Stage And Discharge Prediction From Documentary Time-Lapse Imagery, Kenneth W. Chapman, Troy E. Gilmore, Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Christian D. Chapman, Aaron R. Mittelstet, John E. Stranzl Jr.

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Imagery from fixed, ground-based cameras is rich in qualitative and quantitative information that can improve stream discharge monitoring. For instance, time-lapse imagery may be valuable for filling data gaps when sensors fail and/or during lapses in funding for monitoring programs. In this study, we used a large image archive (> 40,000 images from 2012 to 2019) from a fixed, ground-based camera that is part of a documentary watershed imaging project (https://plattebasintimelapse.com/). Scalar image features were extracted from daylight images taken at one-hour intervals. The image features were fused with United States Geological Survey stage and discharge data as …

Divided Crowns: An Ideological Criticism Of Self-Black Determination And Conflicting Visions Of Wakanda In Black Panther, Alaya E. Hubbard

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Using an ideological criticism of Hollywood’s Black Panther (2018), this paper analyzes the differing portrayals of the self-Black determination of the film’s main characters, T’Challa and Killmonger, as it relates to their backgrounds, cultural connections, racial identities, power dynamics, and their fights for social justice. Aspects of the film that were analyzed included characters’ actions, dialogue, lore, and presence. Digging deeper into the film’s story once key themes were revealed. This examination included parallels to the real-world, including locations, social movements, and social reformation leaders. The goal of the paper is to show how the film offers insights into broader …

The Regenarrative: How To Change The Story In Order To Change The Future, S. Rose Bigheart O'Leary

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Abstract

In the era of Climate Change, many are concerned that the end of the Anthropocene, or the end of the era of human life on Earth, is upon us. Western European colonialism and its subsequent systems (settler-colonialism, colonial-capitalism, and globalization - sometimes termed “neocolonialism”) have all been implicated in contributing to unsustainable behaviors linked to accelerating climate change. In searching for possible solutions, some have called for listening to Indigenous Peoples, citing ethics of sustainability found among many Indigenous cultures. However, the cultural products of settler-colonialism are still dominant in ways that do not allow for Indigenous worldviews to …

Expect: A Speculative Documentary Filmed In Vr Utilizing The Role-Playing Method To Explore Disabilities And Ableism In Science Fiction, Leilei Xia

Theses and Dissertations

Expect is a speculative documentary filmed in Virtual Reality (VR) that features Chinese actors with disabilities to explore, challenge and reimagine the conventional ableist Sci-Fi tropes and the transhumanistic tendency to “fix” or eradicate disabilities through technological enhancement. I invited people with disabilities who are interested in Sci-Fi to do a Role-Playing with me in Virtual Reality (VR), in which they imagine themselves to be living in a future civilization, an alien planet, or an alternate universe. The participants came up with their own fictional characters and built their own world views. I interacted with them by asking questions and …

Notes Toward A Personal Afrofuturism, Jalen T. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is penned by a young adult who is generally confused about a lot of things regarding life, but has one singular focus that is perhaps larger than life—trying to find the bridge between a future already lived, and a past yet to happen. These are his findings so far.

A Podcasting Series On The Historical Event Of Hawk’S Nest Tunnel Disaster, Hannah G. Morgan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This professional project will look into the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel Disaster – a disaster that was birthed due to extreme capitalism and exploitation during the 1930s. This project will explore historical documents, books and interviews with those who are passionate about the event. With that research material, I will produce an educational narrative podcast with a cohesive storyline detailing the event, including a beginning, middle and end. The podcast series will be uploaded to Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This professional project can be replicated and used for other similar projects.

Dishes Of Yesteryear: Memories, Stories, And Representations Of The Past Within Food Media, Diana Willis Bottomley

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In 1963, Julia Child revolutionized cooking television. Child’s The French Chef, which ran for ten years on the Boston public television station, WGBH, changed how American’s viewed, produced, and consumed food. And in the sixty years since Child’s debut, food media has grown in scope and popularity, increasingly altering how we communicate identity in and through food and foodways. In this dissertation, I examine the relation between food, media, and memory, with particular attention to: how the past moderates the connection between food and identity; how food media produce a sense of place integral to identity; and how food …

Neurocinematics And Empathy: How Cognitive Neuroscience Enhances Our Understanding Of Emotional Responses Of Film, Kira Trinity

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Cinema is a medium that is beloved around the globe since its inception over a century ago. There have been speculations on how it is that cinema works, from editing to emotional processing of the story, but only recently have we begun to explore the inner workings of cinematic impact on the brain. In this paper we will review research on cinematic impact and define cinematic editing, discuss the birth of “neurocinematics”, highlight what we have observed with regards to neuroimaging and empathy when viewing films, and speculate on how our responses to cinema may be driven by the Mirror …

Disney Adult Or Disney Cult?: Observing The Effects And Perceptions Of Transmedia Storytelling Onto Fandom, Sara Spradley

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Transmedia storytelling is the vehicle for narratives to become immersive to their audience through different modalities. The Walt Disney Company employs this form of storytelling by placing any one of its films in the context of attractions and live-action performances, or vice-versa, creating a convergent culture that will follow these products through every medium. This project views transmedia storytelling used by the Walt Disney Company as the reasoning for the Disney Adults' fandom interest in interacting with Disney products. Through the use of discourse analysis, and digital ethnography I will observe this relationship between the use of transmedia storytelling, fandom …

Mula Sa Editor (Disyembre 2023), Rowell Madula

Malay Journal

Nilalaman nito ang pambungad na mensahe ng mga editor para sa isyu.

Recontextualization Of Sun Wukong’S Heroism In The Monkey King Film Trilogy 2014–2018, Adi Kristina Wulandari, Manneke Budiman, Nurni Wahyu Wuryandari, Suma Riella Rusdiarti

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, written by Wú Chéng’ēn in the 16th century of the Ming Dynasty, is an influential work in Chinese culture. The main character of the novel, the Monkey King Sun Wukong, has become a highly popular character and been adapted into various cultural products. Sun Wukong’s popularity was adapted into three films directed by Cheang Pou-soi, namely Monkey King 1 (2014), Monkey King 2 (2016), and Monkey King 3 (2018). This article analyzes the reconfiguration of Sun Wukong in the films based on the monomyth schemes by Joseph Campbell, focusing on the construction …

(De)Humanization Of Physically Disabled Bodies In Borderlands 3, Natasha Talitha Anindya, Lastiko Endi Rahmantyo

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The video game industry has played a role in both affirming and erasing stereotypes surrounding minorities, especially those with disabilities. This study aims to analyse Borderlands 3’s in-game narrative that represents physically disabled characters through their characterization, visualization, and individual character development in the main plot campaign, illustrating how positive representation helps fight common stigmas and negative stereotypes. By using Shakespeare’s social model of disability as a theoretical framework, the analysis will view the game as text to identify physically disabled characters and determine if they face discrimination in the in-game universe. Results show that characters with prosthetics are considered …

Video Art In The Gallery Space, Juliet Wang, Matthew Thompson

Honors Thesis

The gallery space poses several challenges for incorporation of audiovisual or video elements, including offset entrances, lack of time investment, sound bleed, and light bleed. In order for an audiovisual work to be well optimized for the gallery space, ideally the artist should not only find ways around as many of these “challenges” as possible but also to embrace them and have the work be stronger because of these challenges.

Sharp Stick Grasps At Autistic Women’S Liminal Vulnerability, Meaghan Krazinski

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This film analysis of Sharp Stick by Lena Dunham critically explores how the film uptakes representations of the ideas around the vulnerabilities of Autistic women in popular culture, and yet does not explicitly name them as such. This liminality is critical and plays into the intersectional analysis that the author engages around the way vulnerability and Autistic identity is interpreted and read. The author draws upon McDermott's (2022) "neurotypical gaze" in an analysis that shows how traditional tropes around Autistic women’s vulnerability are social constructions that are brought into relief by stereotypes around race, gender, and ability. The author uses …

Pop And Indie: What Do They Mean And Why Does It Matter? Genre And Marketing From Within The Uk Music Scene, Maggie Malin

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

This paper aims to explore the evolution of “pop” and “indie” as words and as genres from within the London music scene, and to suggest the most appropriate or effective marketing techniques based on a standard understanding of each genre and its implications. For each of these genres, I establish two definitions: a semantic definition, based on the etymology of the word and the cultural implications of the genre’s origins and history, and a sonic definition, based on any overarching standards of how the genre’s music sounds. In defining each genre’s sound, its history and evolution are considered, as well …

Sounding Ethics: Musical Signification Of Moral Choices In Video Games, Hayden Mesnick

Honors Projects

Interactivity is what distinguishes video games as a medium. In “moral choice video games,” or games in which the moral alignment of player choices affects plot and gameplay, the music often reflects the branching storylines. While scholarship exists that explores musical signifiers in video games, and scholarship alike exists that investigates moral choice video games, a gap in literature exists at the juncture of these two topics. This paper explores two moral choice video games—Undertale (Toby Fox, 2015) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games, 2018)—in order to identify musical signifiers used by each game’s composer to represent these levels …