Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Strong, Independent, And In Love: Fighting Female Fantasies In Popular Culture, Allison P. Palumbo

Theses and Dissertations--English

During the late 1970s and 1980s, feminist critics like Janice Radway began to reconsider so-called women’s genres, like romance novels and soap operas and melodramas, in order to address the forms of subversion and expressions of agency they provided female audiences. However, in spite of greater willingness to consider the progressive potential in romance narratives, there has been little such consideration given to stories of romance for the fighting female character—defined as a protagonist who uses violence, via her body or weapons, to save herself and others. The fighting female has received a good deal of attention from critics like …

¿Pero Tú Qué Te Has Creído, Que La Guerra Es Una Broma? La Seriedad Del Humor En Diferentes Representaciones Culturales De La Guerra Civil Española, Maria Jesus Lopez Soriano

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

This dissertation analyzes selected pieces of work related to the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) produced during the twenty-first-century as cultural artifacts to be considered in their historical and socio-political context. Specifically, my dissertation focuses on the relationship between the way the conflict is depicted and the message it conveys. Parting from the premise that there has been an overproduction of lieu de mémoire that has transformed the Spanish war into a cultural trend, the civil war-esque, I study a number of humor works. Precisely, these humorous works deconstruct such trend by considering its most common characteristics: the use of metafiction …

Blancura Situacional E Imperio Español En Su Historia, Cine Y Literatura (S.Xix-Xx), Jose Maria Perez Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

This dissertation studies identity formation and race informed by the discipline Whiteness Studies. As such this dissertation conceptualizes Spanish Whiteness historically and analyzes its representation in Spanish narrative in prose and film. This research responds to two questions: 1) How has Spanish culture historically instrumentalized Blackness thus contributing to the creation of the Western’s conceptualization of Whiteness? 2) What does Spanish representation of Empire say about its Whiteness? In an effort to answer these questions, this study is divided into two parts that correspond to the conceptualization and representation of what are termed ‘Situational Whiteness’ and ‘Imperial Spanish Orientalism.’ I …

The Value Of Attending University: An Analysis On The Novels Of Evelyn Waugh And Their Adaptations, Evan J. Molineux

CMC Senior Theses

An analysis on Evelyn Waugh's novels: Brideshead Revisited, Decline and Fall, and Vile Bodies as well as their film and television adaptations. The paper relates all of these works to Waugh's idea that the true value and reason why students should attend university is not because their degree will earn them a massive salary, but because it allows for another four years of sequestered development away from adult society. Waugh stated that the true value of his time as an undergraduate at Oxford was because it provided him with the opportunity to drink, throw parties, discover art, etc...which therefore …

“Nobody Speaking His Native Language:” The Problem Of The Post-Western In Contemporary American Cinema, Tamas Hever

CMC Senior Theses

This senior thesis has two major purposes: One, to investigate and critique how experts characterize contemporary American post-westerns, second, to demonstrate, and suggest a more inclusive perspective through an analysis of Jim Jarmusch`s Dead Man (1996).Experts from the fields of film and American studies claim that there is a new phase in the genre’s development where post-western films move away from the conventions of the old, racist westerns. Accomplished authors have suggested that these films do not rely on the mythical west or on the regionalist culture but examine the west closely to determine the ways in which it differs …

#Iftheygunnedmedown: Postmodern Media Criticism In A Post-Racial World, Christopher P. Campbell

Faculty Publications

After the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American man, by a White police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, some news organizations included in their immediate coverage a photo of Brown taken from his Facebook page. In a now iconic image, Brown stands in a Nike tank top, unsmiling, and flashing a peace sign (misidentified by some news organizations as a gang sign). Later, less incendiary photos from Brown’s Facebook page surfaced. Within a few days of Brown’s death, the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown appeared on social media. Young African Americans posted two photos of themselves, representing positive and …

Unbound: Dismantling The Genre Of Female Coming-Of-Age Films, Megan Edwards

Scripps Senior Theses

This is a reflection paper on the process of creating a multi-media art installation that dismantles traditional, patriarchal notions of female coming-of-age stories in film and presents alternative, feminist narratives to these stories through the voices of the women present within the author's own life.

Killer Feminism, Patricia White

Film & Media Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Beefing Up The Beefcake: Male Objectification, Boy Bands, And The Socialized Female Gaze, Dorie Bailey

Scripps Senior Theses

In the traditionally patriarchal Hollywood industry, the heterosexual man’s “male gaze,” as coined by feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey, is the dominant viewing model for cinematic audiences, leaving little room for a negotiated reading of how visual images are created, presented, and internalized by male and female audiences alike. However, as Hollywood’s shifting feminist landscape becomes increasingly prevalent in the mainstream media, content incorporating the oppositional “female gaze” have become the new norm in both the film and television mediums. Through an extended analysis of the gaze as socialized through gendered learning in children, the “safe space” afforded through the …

Judgment And Choice: Moral Judgment, Enjoyment And Meaningfulness In Interactive And Non-Interactive Narratives, Daniel M. Shafer, Sophie Janicke, Jonmichael Seibert

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study extends Affective Disposition Theory (ADT) and the Integrated Theory of Enjoyment (ITE) to interactive television/film narratives. In the study, 168 participants were randomly assigned to experience one of two originally-produced films; one with interactive components, the other without. Participants in the interactive condition made choices for the protagonist throughout the films. Path analysis was used to examine hypotheses based on the ITE (using the recent perspective of enjoyment and meaningfulness as outcomes). Results indicate that the principles of ADT and ITE can be applied to interactive narrative forms. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Grant Application: Compassionate Touch Short Film, Jessfor Baugh, Riddhi Daftary

Compassionate Touch

IPEC Mini-grant application for funding of UNE student project Compassionate Touch.UNE Dental Medicine students collaborated with Creative and Fine Arts faculty and Dental Medicine faculty to create the film Compassionate Touch, focusing on five stages associated with anxious dental patients, as depicted through artwork, interprofessional interviews and scholarly sources. The film highlights the current understanding and management of the dental needs for high fear patients before, during, and after their visit to the dentist, and how interprofessional health care providers can assist patients to achieve quality patient-centered care.

Compassionate Touch Artworks: Listen To Identify, Validation, Everyone Has A Story, Not Alone, The Compassionate Touch, Jessfor Baugh

Compassionate Touch

Artworks created during the course of UNE student project Compassionate Touch. UNE Dental Medicine students collaborated with Creative and Fine Arts faculty and Dental Medicine faculty to create the film Compassionate Touch, focusing on five stages associated with anxious dental patients, as depicted through artwork, interprofessional interviews and scholarly sources. The film highlights the current understanding and management of the dental needs for high fear patients before, during, and after their visit to the dentist, and how interprofessional health care providers can assist patients to achieve quality patient-centered care.

Artwork Descriptions

First image is a photograph of the five artworks …

Transformation Of Heroes In Film, Allison Connelly Toner

Honors Theses

Heroes research is not a new field, and it is widely accepted that in order for a hero to be accepted as such, he or she must undertake a journey during which he or she transforms in some marked way. The aim of this research is to understand the nature of that transformation in terms of 24 character strengths. This was achieved by watching the top grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation and coding for the transformation of the protagonists on a 1-5 scale. Ten traits were found to have a mean transformation of 1 point or greater, …

Effect Of Mass Media On Family Planning Choices In Indonesia, Beta Ardiansyah

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Realizing the necessity of family planning, the Indonesian government started family planning programs in the late 1960s, long before the global Program of Action from the International Conference of Population (ICPD) in 1994.

Many studies have tried to draw plausible explanations for the prevalence of family planning focused mainly on socio-economic factors but few studies have approached the issue from the perspective of mass media influence as the variable of interest. This study attempts to fill this gap created by the lack of empirical evidence about mass media effects of family planning choices by examining the contraceptive behavior of Indonesian …

“Why Can’T Run ‘Like A Girl’ Also Mean Win The Race?”: Commodity Feminism And Participatory Branding As Forms Of Self-Therapy In The Neoliberal Advertising Space, Katherine B. Marcus Reker

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis proposes a critical study of the techniques and motives behind modern commodity feminist advertising, focusing on the appropriation of the “young girl” as a symbol of the feminist cause. This evolving trend in advertising, building upon new movements of empowerment and the recent proliferation of the online feminist space, is shifting the logics of consumption by marketing feminist ideology and activism through consumer purchasing power. By prompting consumers to believe that their purchases can make a significant change, companies are developing brand loyalty in their key marketing demographics by using the image and rhetoric of the “young girl” …

Dark Humor And Suicide: Exploring Viewer Suicidality In "The Long Way", Sarah M. Rosen

Scripps Senior Theses

Death, dying, and the actual loss of life are some of the broadest sweeping concepts that typically evoke a wide array of emotions from sadness and anger to fear and despondence. It is unlikely that the first words associated with death are comedy, humor, or laughter. However, that is precisely what creators and comedians of dark, death, and gallows humor seek to achieve. For my senior capstone project, I have created a short fictional narrative film encompassing the traits of a dark comedy. However, noticing that few dark comedies delve into topics surrounding suicide, I wondered if it was possible …

Our Sound Our Silence: Self Care In Student Of Color Activism, Alexa S. Muniz

Scripps Senior Theses

Our Sound Our Silence is a performative documentary about student of color activists at Scripps College. This video project attempts to highlight the fatigue, emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion these students experience from having to work within the institution to advocate for their survival. This video project also attempts to speak to the importance of self-care for students of color and especially for those involved in activism and organizing on campus. I wanted to use the creation of this video as a means of self-care and process of healing for myself, my collaborators, and my community.

"You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive": Using Fx's Justified To Form A Cultural Understanding Of Crime In Harlan County, Kentucky, Morgan Stone

Online Theses and Dissertations

Rural southern violence has long been a sensationalized issue. From the Hatfield and McCoy feud to Deliverance, social issues unique to the rural south have received a significant amount of focus within modern popular culture. One of the most recent and popular examples of southern culture and violence is the television network FX’s Justified, set in Harlan County, Kentucky. The storyline follows US Marshal Raylan Givens as he is sent back to Kentucky after a misstep during his tenure in Miami. After arriving in his home state, he finds himself constantly drawn back to his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky, whether …

Grizcode: A Web Series About The University Of Montana From The Student Perspective, Darien W. Gostas

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The point of this paper is to explore the development, purpose, and challenges of making the web series, GrizCode. It is not as scientific, as it is a narrative of what came to be. The goal of GrizCode was to paint a picture of what student life is like at the University of Montana, giving tips and life advice while celebrating and parodying what it means to be a “Griz.” It consisted of floating head type interviews of students over a green screen background of animations, with fun upbeat music that would keep the audience engaged and promote a joyful …

Trauma, Migrant Families, And Neoliberal Fantasies In Last Train Home, Yanjie Wang

Asian and Asian American Studies Faculty Works

This paper examines the traumatic experience of migrant workers through a reading of Lixin Fan's award-winning documentary film Last Train Home(2009). I am not primarily concerned, like most trauma-studies-based research, with grand, clearly recognizable catastrophes. I also avoid generalizing about human suffering in the age of global capitalism. I focus rather on post-Socialist China's more hidden social violence and its traumatizing effect on the quotidian life of migrantworkers-a subaltern group on the periphery of society. I argue that the trauma of the marginalized population must be socially and politically contextualized. The first section of the essay investigates the traumatic sense …