Film and Media Studies Commons^™

"A Life And Death Dilemma", Christy Lester

Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture

No abstract provided.

“Son Of Man (Of Steel): Messianic Imagery In Zach Snyder’S Man Of Steel (2013)", Jordan Upton

Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture

No abstract provided.

Multimedia Reporting: Creating Unique Content That Spans Multiple Platforms, Joshua Carl Holland

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

With the continued ease of access to the internet, it has become a vital medium to distribute news and sports information. This study documents the process of starting from a relatively absent online product to developing daily web content. Trial and error of different original content ideas for online as well as experimentations with translating broadcast content into a web product are coupled with interviews from professionals to create a framework of how to go about establishing an internet presence in an age of instant news. The case is generally focused on sports media due to the nature of my …

Seeing The Sacred, Emily Potter

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Seeing the Sacred is a multidisciplinary arts project exploring the purposes of sacred art and its relationship with community identity. The project highlights three common purposes of sacred art: to represent a worldview, to express identities as members of a community, and to connect with something bigger than ourselves. This Capstone Experience/Thesis Project developed through an intersection of three primary interests: visual art, community engagement, and religious studies. This project includes an overview of the CE/T’s origins and evolution, a written analysis of research goals and experiences, a review of relevant literature, a series of related artwork, and a collaborative …

The Assignment: How The Videographer's Role Is Shaped By The Job Assignment, Ian J. Dowty

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

I am a videographer. Yes, my degree will qualify me as a reporter, someone familiar with the inner workings of a news station. However, I posit that the School of Journalism and Broadcasting does not give you a career, but rather a skillset that prepares you for a range of jobs. My discipline taught me how to articulate my thoughts in a clear, concise manner, which translates well to script or track writing. In addition, I have technical abilities that enable me to handle video and audio equipment proficiently. Combining these capabilities with soft skills I honed over the past …

They're Watching Us: Conspiracy Theorists In Popular Media, Parker A. Hanna

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The term “conspiracy theorist” is often used in discussions as a rhetorical device to discredit a speaker on the basis of their opinions. The effect of this has been to turn attention away from the speaker’s stated opinions towards the speaker himself and his character as a “conspiracy theorist.” These negative connotations are recognized and understood by many thanks to archetypes of the “conspiracy theorist” character found in popular media, making the accusation an effective tool for muting the “conspiracy theorist’s” opinion in mainstream public forums, whether that forum is the news, politics, or real life. This paper examines stereotypical …

Gather, Katie M. Meek

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Food is both basic and multifaceted. It nourishes satisfies, levels, defines and gathers us. Food unifies and brings people together as part of the human experience. When people embrace food and make it their own, it can shape and define their lives in big ways.

Food can cultivate a lifestyle, preserve cultural identity, foster a small business, nurture relationships and serve a community.

This project is a documentation of five different groups of people that experience food in uniquely different ways. Through photo essays and written stories I strive to capture what how food brings people together in specific ways …

Launching And Maintaining A Wedding Photography Business, Shelley D. Owens

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

With the popularity of the wedding industry in America perpetuated by social media, blogs, and other networking sites, thousands of self-employed photographers have set out to make a living documenting the most important day of some people’s lives. Digital photography appeals to many for its convenience, but having a camera does not make one a professional photographer. What separates the hobbyists from the professionals is the development of skills and creative vision and the proper legal and business licensing to make a profit off of their wedding photography. Shelley Owens provides her own experiences as a professional wedding photographer as …

A Miniseries Of Unfortunate Events: Realizing The Full Potential Of Lemony Snicket's Book Series Through Television Adaptation, Ryan T. Pait

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, a series of 13 children’s books, seemed like it had the potential to become a massive franchise in a similar vein to the Harry Potter film series. Snicket’s books feature three plucky protagonists, a sinister villain, and constantly-shifting settings—all elements that could make a successful movie series. A film adaptation, titled Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events was made in 2004. It adapted the first three books in the series, and became a moderate financial and critical success. Despite the success, no further films were made.

As a fan of Snicket’s …

Viral Hollywood: How Social Media & Other Emerging Technologies Have Molded The Modern Moviegoing Landscape, Benjamin P. Conniff

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

There’s no denying that the rise of the internet has brought about change in the Hollywood landscape. Fans now use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to share word-of-mouth about movies both good and bad. In a sense, anyone can use these new “spreadable media” to be a critic. I myself took it one step further and started my own film review blog. I was even published in the College Heights Herald student newspaper for over a year! In gauging my audience’s tastes in social media usage and in film, I have uncovered the fact that the hot-button marketing issues …

Goodman, Julian, 1922-2012 (Mss 489), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 489. Correspondence, press releases and speeches of Julian Goodman related to his work as a news journalist and later as president of television network NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation). A number of the speeches relate to, or comment on, Goodman’s negative opinion of the “Fairness Doctrine.”

[Sabbatical Report], Joon Sung

Sabbatical Reports

The primary purpose of this sabbatical project was to film. edit and produce short video pieces based on the footage collected in Tokyo, Japan.

The Draftsman, Hannah Bowman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Draftsman is a 50 minute narrative film which explores the themes of forgiveness and commitment in relationships with those who have mental illnesses. The plot for the narrative was inspired by the dedication I have witnessed between my grandpa and grandma throughout their married life.

This level of dedication began early in their relationship. My grandparents, Bill and Eleanore, had a difficult marriage. My grandmother most likely suffered from undiagnosed depression for most of her adult life. This illness probably stemmed from traumatic events in her childhood including her mother's death and her father's choice to abandon her, as …

Ua51/1 Collections & Connections, Jennifer Wilson

Collections & Connections

This spring/summer 2013 issue features Al and Jeane Baker honored for their in-kind gift to the libraries' centennial mural as well as Dr. Nicholson who won this year's Kentucky Literary Award for his book about Derby. The issue also highlights the 2013 SOKY Book Fest that brought in 130 authors. It reports the newly renovated Commons at Cravens and the just installed web-based service StackMap, which can visually guide users to the stacks of books in Cravens Library using their smart phones. As usual, all of the Libraries’ literary events have been mentioned in the issue, particularly the new grant-supported …

Jesus, I Trust In You: St. Thomas Aquinas' Jubilee, John A. Sohl

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The concept of “Life Reporting” is a completely new idea, at least in terms of how I have experienced it. In today’s world of blogs and social networking, it is essential for broadcast journalists to embrace their own lives in the same world of professional and ethical reporting. As I describe my experience of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jubilee, I have no choice but to provide the context and build-up of this intense passion toward my overarching point. Working through all the communities of which I have been a part, from attending St. Luke Catholic Church all the way to the …

Engagement Media - The Fusion Of Journalism And Museum Experience Design, Brieonna L. Logsdon

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

News organizations struggle to find the balance between audience and content, but there are large amounts of untapped research in a field that would not often be compared to journalism — museum exhibit design.

Museums specifically study how to best engage an audience, to make them willing to leave their homes, buy tickets and return multiple times to see exhibits. What journalism can learn from museum engagement design may alter how newsrooms plan interaction and even their content.

Western iMedia, a student news operation at Western Kentucky University, gathered and formatted content based on these lessons from museum design. The …

A Clean Slate: Tablet Publishing For College Yearbooks, Samaul J. Oldenburg

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Universities are a training ground for the people who will go on to revitalize and reinvent the industries that they enter. Journalism is one of many industries rapidly changing with the pace of technology growth and is susceptible to influence from young, energetic professionals as they leave school. That influence is especially needed on forays into digital publishing, especially publishing on iPads and other tablet computers.

Student publications on university campuses are a key part of preparing students for that responsibility. By exploring readership habits, effective multimedia use, and successes and failures of other digital publications, students can learn to …

In Defense Of Adaptation: Aestheticism Versus Functionalism In The Wicked Franchise, Amanda S. Adams

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This project serves as an extended case study on the adaptability of an aesthetic text into a popular text. It focuses on Gregory Maguire’s original novel Wicked, which drew its inspiration from the universally known land of Oz, and the subsequent stage adaptation by the same name. The first half of the project involves an extensive text-to-stage analysis, delineating the differences between the two mediums. The second half of the project involves an examination of the sequels to the original novel as commodities. Each of the novels is a literary text created for a narrower audience, while the popular …

Ua68 Arts & Letters :The Magazine Of Potter College At Western Kentucky University, David Lee, Dean

PCAL Publications

No abstract provided.

A Virtual Tour Of Wku’S Main Campus, Zachary Ryle

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In my WKU Honors College Capstone Experience entitled “A Virtual Tour of WKU’s Main Campus,” my task was to create a virtual tour students across the state, country and even around the world could use to view WKU’s campus without ever setting foot in Bowling Green. Throughout this experience, I filmed myself giving individual tour of over 60 different locations on WKU’s campus, with a total of 72 buildings and locations earning markers on the campus map. This virtual tour was created during the summer of 2011 and was completed by November of that same year. Once completed, Admissions Counselors …

(Don't) Stop Playing That Game: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Video Game Addiction Stereotype, Chet Daniel Breaux

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The growing popularity of game addiction discourse has necessitated study of how video game critics rhetorically construct addiction. In the following thesis, I analyze contemporary examples of texts that link game addiction to drug abuse. I use Robert Cover’s analysis of how game addiction stereotypes form in conjunction with Aristotle’s rhetorical principles to isolate the persuasive appeals used by authors to rhetorically construct game play as addictive. These addiction arguments, however, are rooted in a larger historical context, and I present examples of game guidebooks and comic books published in the late 1970s and early 1980s to illustrate their rhetorical …

Goodman, Julian, B. 1922 (Ct 1968), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Cassette Tape 1968. Recording of a speech delivered by Julian Goodman to the Kentucky Broadcasters Association on 23 October 1975. He outlines his life story and his rise to the presidency of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the history of broadcasting with particular emphasis on the de-regulation of the radio industry and lessons learned from it.

Parel-Sewell, Amethel (Fa 280), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 280. Paper: "Genres of Children's Folklore Found in Advertisements of Three Popular Magazines..." written by Amethel Parel-Sewell for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Teegarden, Mike (Fa 499), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 499. Paper: "Folklore in the Media," by Mike Teegarden, which examines folklore elements found in advertisements from 'Sports Illustrated.' This paper was done for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Mendelsberg, Joanna (Fa 498), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives project 498. Paper: "Folk Speech in Advertising: Proverbs and Sayings," by Joanna Mendelsberg, which examines these folklore elements in advertisements from 'Sports Illustrated' and 'Mademoiselle' magazines. This paper was done for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Biggs, Amy (Fa 494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 494. Paper: "Ads in the Media," by Amy Biggs, which documents folklore elements in magazine advertisements. Produced for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Gilkison, Tamara (Fa 497), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 497. Paper: "Folklore in Advertising: A Collection of Ads From Various Magazines," by Tamara Gilkison, which examines how folklore elements were used in print advertising. This paper was done for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Mathews, Cynthia M. (Fa 501), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 501. Paper: "[Mass Media and 'The Far Side']," by Cynthia M. Mathews, which examines folklore elements from "The Far Side" comic strip. This paper was done for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Hall, Timothy W. (Fa 500), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 500. Paper: "Folklore in Cinema," by Timothy W. Hall, which examines urban legends found in popular movies. This paper was done for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Phillips, Noelle (Fa 496), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 496. Paper: "Tempting by Association: The Use of Folklore in Selling Liquor," by Noelle Phillips, which discusses folklore elements found in liquor advertisements from various magazines. This paper was done for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Project does not contain supporting material.