Digital Commons Network^™

Twilight Follows Tradition: Analyzing "Biting" Critiques Of Vampire Narratives For Their Portrayals Of Gender & Sexuality, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Vampires have dominated print literature since the 18th century, eventually becoming more visible as they crossed mediated boundaries and genre divides. Now flourishing in neo-gothic realms like science fiction and fantasy, in print genres like chick-lit and young adult, and in the visual realm (from Hollywood’s big screen to daytime television’s sudsy small screen), vampire narratives are finding increased popularity. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series has shined a new spotlight on the all-encompassing umbrella genre that is “vamp lit,” and with it has come renewed attention to the so-called anti-feminist messages present in such narratives, such as the perceived negative characterization …

Ua68/6 Much Ado About ... Quite A Lot: An English Department Newsletter, Department Of English

English Department Publications

In the areas of research, scholarship, creativity, and teaching excellence, the English faculty has enjoyed a rich and varied year. The quality of the faculty’s work is evident in the public recognition and honors they have received. We are pleased to share some of our achievements

Narrative In Live Visual Performance, Henry Lenz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For purposes of this thesis, live visual performance is defined as the accompaniment of music using projected or televised visual stimuli to achieve a supplemental interpretation of the music to tell its 'story' in a visual way. In my research I have found that, while complex narrative in a song can be conveyed through various means, the attention span of those listening and watching in a club setting is not conducive for patrons to sit down and engage in watching the visuals for a protracted period of time. Most patrons are dancing and socializing and do not choose to watch …

‘Killer Vacations’ And ‘Murder Music’: The Discourses Of Gay Identity, Consumerism, And Race In The Gay-Dancehall Confrontation, James Rogers

Digitized Theses

Using Foucaultian discourse analysis, this thesis examines the discursive practices of AngloAmerican gay activists who respond to the homophobic lyrics and violence of Jamaican dancehall music and culture. Since the early 1990s, gay activists in North America and the United Kingdom have mobilized in opposition to the graphic anti-gay violence in Jamaican popular culture. While much has been written about the metaphor, performativity, and symbolic violence in dancehall music, there is a paucity of scholarship that analyzes the discourse of gay activists who, in taking aim at dancehall homophobia, arguably produce the framework in which dancehall is meaningfully discussed. My …

True Blood: The Vampire As A Multiracial Critique On Post-Race Ideology, Nicole Rabin

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

The Fear Of Castration And Male Dread Of Female Sexuality: The Theme Of The “Vagina Dentata” In Dracula, Laura Linneman

Journal of Dracula Studies

Bram Stoker’s Dracula reflects the Victorian fear of reverse colonization by the “Other” or the encroachment of the outsider on the British Empire as well as the repression of sexuality in Victorian England; however, there is one facet of the text that has never been fully explored: the inherent male fear of castration and feminine sexuality as well as its relationship to the “vagina dentata” motif. Furthermore, this dread of female sexuality has not been adequately explored in light of the novel’s historical context. Written during the rise of the New Woman, Stoker crafts a response to the increasing independence …

Vampirism, And The Visual Medium: The Role Of Gender Within Pop Culture’S Latest Slew Of Vampires, Kristopher Broyles

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Our Lady Of The Telegraph: Mina As Medieval Cyborg In Bram Stoker’S Dracula, Eric Brownell

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Vamping Up Sex: Audience, Age, & Portrayals Of Sexuality In Vampire Narratives, Melissa Ames

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

All In The Family: A Retrospective Diagnosis Of R.M. Renfield In Bram Stoker’S Dracula, Elizabeth Winter

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Review: Karen Ward Mahar (2008): Women Filmmakers In Early Hollywood, Sara Ross

Communication, Media & The Arts Faculty Publications

Book review

Mahar, Karen Ward. Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.

This book will be a useful reference for feminist and film historians looking to expand their understanding of how film and business history can help to explain the gendering of filmmaking.

Screening The Modern Girl: Intermediality In The Adaptation Of Flaming Youth, Sara Ross

Communication, Media & The Arts Faculty Publications

In November 1923, First National Pictures released a film adaptation of a scandalous bestselling novel, Flaming Youth, in which three upper-class sisters flout the conventions of proper courtship and girlish chastity held dear by the previous generation. The novel presents the sisters as examples of the revolution in sexual behavior of the modern girl happening in the United States and around the world. Record crowds flocked to the theater to see the wild partying, nudity, and sex of the book brought to life on screen.

Of course, texts such as these were under close scrutiny for the effect that …

Remember The Titans, Historical Fact Or Fiction?, Amy S. Tate

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

In the late 1990s, screen writer Gregory A. Howard wrote a screen play called Remember the Titans, based on the true story of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures bought the script based on the fact that it is a true story, but much of the film‟s content is fictional. Gregory Howard admitted to ESPN writer Jeff Merron that “he made some big assumptions when writing his script” (qtd. in Merron 5). Though the film is not entirely historically accurate, it is successful because it appeals to Americans through its intense emotional …

Identidades Por Negociar: La Presentación De La Piel Humana En La Fotografía De René Peña., Ilka Kressner

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

This paper analyzes several works by Cuban photographer René Peña from the point of view of his depiction of the human skin. Peña, one of Cuba’s most renowned photographers, with an impressive list of exhibits in Cuba, the US, and Europe, became known as an artist of sharp and formalistic black and white photographs, mostly focusing on the human body. Through his idiosyncratic staging and estranging juxtapositions on the photographic paper, Peña’s work is never solely artistic: it challenges for instance the binary opposition between black and white, the concept of fixed sexualities, or the process of aging.

In many …

Research Report: Violence In Children’S Films, Ann Wheeler, Kristyn Birkeland

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

The goal of this research is to find out if violence in children’s films has increased within the past five decades. In order to achieve this goal, 22 children’s films were given multiple reviews by college students, who carefully analyzed them using the same questionnaire. Using a simple random sampling method of research, films were chosen within clusters of decades and were analyzed using variables that depict violence. After collectively studying the results of the twenty-two children’s films, we discovered that violence in children’s films has increased over the past five decades.

Rationale For Pride Of Baghdad, Crag Hill Ph.D.

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

A rationale for teaching the graphic novel Pride of Baghdad at the secondary level.

Sequential Art, Graphic Novels, And Comics, Brian Kelley

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The first global distribution of a paper prepared for the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Graphic Novels Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association,the Executive Board of the New Jersey Reading Association, and the Legislative and Professional Standards Committee of the NJRA.

Review Of Teaching Graphic Novels, By Katie Monnin, Susan Spangler

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

No abstract provided.

Rationale For Magneto: Testament, Brian Kelley

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

A rationale for teaching the graphic novel Magneto:Testament in secondary schools.

Comic Vision, Gale Acuff

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

A narrative, rhetorical poem

Para-Romantic Love And Para-Friendships: Development And Assessment Of A Multiple-Parasocial Relationships Scale, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Parasocial-relationships (PSR) are viewers' imaginary relationships with media personae. Despite the growing body of research on PSR, the field is still lacking a clear conceptualization and precise measure of this phenomenon. The present study suggests a novel theorization of PSR as para-friendship and para-love. Study 1 demonstrates construct validity of a new Multiple-PSR scale using the logic of a multi-trait multi-method approach. Study 2 replicates the factorial solution using confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, Study 3 provides evidence for the criterion validity of the scales. Together, these findings suggest that PSR encompass several types of relationships that might mediate different media …

Towards An Ontology Of Bob Dylan, William J. Richardson

Research Resources

No abstract provided.

The National Imagination (Spring 2010), Robert D. Tobin, Belen Atienza, Alice Valentine

Syllabi

What images make people think of the United States of America? Cowboys? The flag? And are there similar icons in other cultures that help define cultural identity? The National Imagination explores the concept of a national community as constructed and critiqued through literary and cinematic narratives, as well as other cultural texts.

Our underlying premise is that national languages and cultures promote the identity of particular communities. We are interested in examining those subjective expressions of culture—images, symbols, narratives—that lead people to feel that they are members of the communities we call nations. We are also interested in discovering points …

Profits, Prestige, And A Little Bit Of Sunshine: American Independent Cinema Enters The Mainstream, David A. Landay

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the recent developments that have occurred in the independent film market after the major Hollywood studios created their own specialty divisions to produce and distribute independent films. Due to the involvement of the major studios, independent films became more mainstream while their various costs were also driven up due to the increased amount of independent films that were released by the studios. The financial crisis of 2008 forced the major studios to contract their production of independent films and this contraction allowed the prices of independent films to return to more stable levels.

All's Right With The World = 歌舞昇平, Ka Kit Chu, Suet Yi Chung, Man Man Wong, Po Yi Yeung

Nine must-see Chinese documentaries: worksheets for secondary schools

Film Director: Cheung King Wai (張經緯)

Film Release Year: 2007

Queer China = 誌同志, Lin, Faye Chen, Chi Wing Ho, Hui Ma

Nine must-see Chinese documentaries: worksheets for secondary schools

Film Director: Cui Zi’en (崔子恩)

Film Release Year: 2008

In Search Of Lin Zhao's Soul = 尋找林昭的靈魂, Chiu Cheuk Cheng, Ching Man, Rachelle Chuen, Wai Lan Chung

Nine must-see Chinese documentaries: worksheets for secondary schools

Film Director: Hu Jie (胡杰)

Film Release Year: 2004

To Live Is Better Than To Die = 好死不如賴活著, Wai Man Chan, Wan Yu Chau

Nine must-see Chinese documentaries: worksheets for secondary schools

Film Director: Chen Weijun (陳為軍)

Film Release Year: 2003

Senior Year = 高三, King Yu Chan, Ka Man Choi, Sin Yi Wong

Nine must-see Chinese documentaries: worksheets for secondary schools

Film Director: Zhou Hao (周浩)

Film Release Year: 2005

Blowing The Whistle On Bullying In The Workplace:The Aftermath Of Insider Research, Tom Clonan

Conference Papers

From 1996 to 2000, the author of this paper – then a Captain serving in the Irish Army - conducted doctoral research into the status and roles assigned female personnel in the Irish Defence Forces – Army, Navy and Air Corps. An unanticipated outcome of this equality audit of the Irish Defence Forces was the revelation of the widespread bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape of female soldiers by male colleagues. As a result of conducting this feminist research, the author was ostracised by his military colleagues and suffered from a campaign of vilification in the private and …