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Full-Text Articles in Film and Media Studies

Chile: Cinema In Exile, Hannah Lynch Dec 2015

Chile: Cinema In Exile, Hannah Lynch

Cinesthesia

Executions, disappearances, and exile are not the first words that come to mind when picturing the long, versatile landscape of Chile. Nonetheless, Chile was under the harsh control of Augusto Pinochet from 1974 until 1990 and experienced a high level of political oppression during that time. Though Chile had only a short film history before the rule of Pinochet, cinema remained relevant despite the exile and hardships experienced by several prominent Chilean filmmakers. Ironically, under the hostile dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chile developed a stronger national cinema, producing politically and historically motivated films made by the exiled filmmakers, who persevered …


An Interview With Barbara Roos, Joe Hogan Dec 2015

An Interview With Barbara Roos, Joe Hogan

Cinesthesia

Barbara Roos started teaching when Grand Valley was just a few buildings erected on a slab of midwestern prairie. Nixon was in office then, and young draftees were still being sent to Vietnam. In those days, Grand Valley – not yet a university but a cluster of colleges – was alive with the spirit of the counter-culture. William James College, among the most pedagogically experimental of the colleges, was interdisciplinary and non-departmental – it emphasized harmony between theory and practice, thought and action. At James, Roos co-founded the film and video program. In the following interview, she talks with guest …


Formalism Exemplified In The Wolf Of Wall Street, Jillian S. Mccafferty Apr 2015

Formalism Exemplified In The Wolf Of Wall Street, Jillian S. Mccafferty

Cinesthesia

In an essay titled “Film and Reality” formative film theorist Rudolph Arnheim poses a list of "limitations" that a film must adhere to in order to be considered art. "Formalism Exemplified in The Wolf of Wall Street" uses the lens of formative theory to examine Martin Scorsese's sprawling 2013 masterpiece to determine whether or not the film adheres to Arnheim's theory and can be considered film art.


Egyptian Film And Feminism: Egypt’S View Of Women Through Cinema, Wesley D. Buskirk Apr 2015

Egyptian Film And Feminism: Egypt’S View Of Women Through Cinema, Wesley D. Buskirk

Cinesthesia

This essay analyzes the history of Egyptian film in relationship to the common perception of women in Egypt. From the early stages of Egyptian cinema, women assumed leadership positions, helping build the undeveloped industry to its height in the mid-1900's. An increasingly state-led and male-dominated film industry, however, adopted women as a symbol of nationalism, while neglecting them as equals through traditionalist film content. Furthermore, in the last quarter of the 20th century, governmental influences resulted in a shortage of production resources. Although commercial motion pictures suffered, social-issue, realist movies have reignited feminist initiatives and provided hope for a recovering …


That’S Why I’M Lonely: Ideology Of The Absurd, Jeremy D. Knickerbocker Apr 2015

That’S Why I’M Lonely: Ideology Of The Absurd, Jeremy D. Knickerbocker

Cinesthesia

Ideological film theory is enjoying somewhat of a resurgence in contemporary film criticism. Most notably, filmmaker Sophie Fiennes' recent collaborations with Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006) and The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012). In this essay I attempt to grapple with Harmony Korine's delightfully enigmatic and underrated masterpiece Mister Lonely (2007) through the methodological lens of Ideological film theory. I doing so, I seek to provide insights on the complex nature of ideological categories and the necessity of a more nuanced approach to ideological analysis.


Nollywood: Rooted In Yoruba, A. Evan Kresta Apr 2015

Nollywood: Rooted In Yoruba, A. Evan Kresta

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


"If You Have No Men, You Have No War!”: A Critical Overview Of Edgar Selwyn's Men Must Fight (1933), Ryan R. Copping Dec 2014

"If You Have No Men, You Have No War!”: A Critical Overview Of Edgar Selwyn's Men Must Fight (1933), Ryan R. Copping

Cinesthesia

ABSTRACT: Edgar Selwyn’s Men Must Fight (1933) is an obscure yet culturally relevant science fiction drama. An atypical film from its era, the movie has an unusual subject for a Classical Hollywood film- gender socialization. The film didactically argues that wars are inevitable because men are inherently violent, and that, conversely, world peace world occur if women were in power, a possibility that appears to be regrettably impossible. It is also remarkably prescient in predicting that World War II would begin in 1940, only one year off from the German invasion of Poland. This paper combines a close content analysis …


The Zone: James, Tarkovsky, And Understanding Reality, Travis Wheeler Dec 2014

The Zone: James, Tarkovsky, And Understanding Reality, Travis Wheeler

Cinesthesia

Using the philosophy of William James as comparison, this essay attempts to understand Andrei Tarkovsky's view of reality and the strategies his characters use to experience it.


An Apartment Of One’S Own: Personal Initiative And Private Ownership In Frances Ha, Anna Bowles Dec 2014

An Apartment Of One’S Own: Personal Initiative And Private Ownership In Frances Ha, Anna Bowles

Cinesthesia

In “Ideology, Genre, Auteur,” Robin Wood says that by approaching film through the framework of ideological theory, we can become sensitized to “the opposing pulls, the tensions, of one’s world (593).” Even in a film that is not explicitly political, these tensions can find expression. In Frances Ha (Baumbach 2012), a young woman struggles to chase her dream while also staying afloat in the harsh landscape of New York City. Until near the end of the film, it seems that Frances might float forever. The supports that Americans used to take for granted are no longer apparent. Having lost her …


Moral Anxiety, Mortal Terror: Considering Spielberg, Post-9/11, Jake T. Bart Dec 2014

Moral Anxiety, Mortal Terror: Considering Spielberg, Post-9/11, Jake T. Bart

Cinesthesia

In the wake of 9/11, a defining moment in the young 21st century, Spielberg’s thematic concerns undergo a marked evolution. As film historian Joseph McBride noted, “(n)o other American artist confronted the key events of the first decade of the century with such sustained and ambitious treatment” (450). Together, Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (2005), Munich (2005), and Minority Report (2002) create an informal trilogy, each exploring a different facet of American shock and anxiety in the War on Terror era.


The Cinema Of Spain: An Overview, Shae Spencer May 2014

The Cinema Of Spain: An Overview, Shae Spencer

Cinesthesia

In spite of difficult circumstances throughout the history of Spanish cinema, Spain's filmmakers have kept the industry alive and relevant.


Once Upon A Time In Louisiana: The Complex Ideology Of Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Jake T. Bart May 2014

Once Upon A Time In Louisiana: The Complex Ideology Of Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Jake T. Bart

Cinesthesia

On the face of it, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild is an intimately scaled production that aims to tell the story of a young girl’s coming of age. However, despite its tight focus, the film brushes up against many explosively political issues—post-Katrina disaster relief, climate change, and poverty among them. Yet, extrapolating from the theories of writers like Robin Wood, Jean-Louis Comolli, and Jean Narboni reveals that all films are created from some sort of ideological basis, whether that basis is intentional or unintentional, conscious or unconscious. Viewed through a theoretical framework, Beasts of the Southern Wild possesses …


An Interview With Annette Insdorf, Joseph T. Hogan May 2014

An Interview With Annette Insdorf, Joseph T. Hogan

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


All There Is To See: Film Restoration And Access In The Digital Age, Robert Peters May 2014

All There Is To See: Film Restoration And Access In The Digital Age, Robert Peters

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Exploring Time And Space In Frame By Frame Animation, Daniel L. Ketchum Jan 2014

Exploring Time And Space In Frame By Frame Animation, Daniel L. Ketchum

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Postmodern Funhouse: The Sly Underpinnings Of Hitchcock’S Psycho, Jacob T. Bart Jan 2014

Postmodern Funhouse: The Sly Underpinnings Of Hitchcock’S Psycho, Jacob T. Bart

Cinesthesia

Although his filmography is studded with gems, no other Hitchcock film has lodged itself in the popular consciousness as firmly as Psycho. It provides chills as a ripped-from-the-headlines slasher flick, but the macabre surfaces conceal its deeper, mordant cultural resonances. In Psycho, many of Hitchcock’s major tactics fall under the umbrella of postmodernism. These methods include, but are not limited to, Hitch’s specific focus on developing a playful mood, his exploration of levels of audience participation within the confines of a film, and his preoccupation with surfaces. Although made within the confines of the last vestiges of the classic Hollywood …


The Realism Of Space In Black Swan, Raquel Bordin Jan 2014

The Realism Of Space In Black Swan, Raquel Bordin

Cinesthesia

The camera pans from the shattered pieces of a mirror to blood pouring from under the bathroom door. The sight of blood comes as no surprise to the audience, who has just witnessed Nina murder Lily in that very dressing room. It is later revealed that there is no blood and that the murder never occurred. Yet, the audience believes these scenes from Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010) to be real because director Darren Aronofsky effectively evokes the story's illusions out of reality itself. An analytical study of Andre Bazin's realist theory demonstrates how Aronofsky is able to consciously manipulate mise-en-scene, …


The Cinematic Power Of Night And Fog, James M. Christie Jan 2014

The Cinematic Power Of Night And Fog, James M. Christie

Cinesthesia

A contemplative camera glides fluidly through a vacant field, one that appears like any other. As it glides, somber images of barbed wire, dilapidated barracks, and rusted railroad tracks beckon the audience to witness the ruins of the Aushwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. “Going slowly along the tracks, seeking what?” asks narrator Michel Bouquet. These questions are more rhetorical than anything, allowing the audience to question their own moral and social obligations to the unfathomable. For the sake of humanity, it is crucial to remember the events of the Holocaust and deny them from happening again. Released only ten years after the …


Back To Basics: The Dogme 95 Movement, Travis Blake Apr 2013

Back To Basics: The Dogme 95 Movement, Travis Blake

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Epistemology In "Stalker", Travis Wheeler Apr 2013

Epistemology In "Stalker", Travis Wheeler

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" And The Japanese Art Form, Dave Chaness Apr 2013

Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" And The Japanese Art Form, Dave Chaness

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


For Country, For Women: Women Directors In The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, And Romania, Kathleen Mceneaney Apr 2013

For Country, For Women: Women Directors In The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, And Romania, Kathleen Mceneaney

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Masculinity, Audience, And Narrative Structure: A Comparison Of "True Blood" And "Dead Until Dark," And Of Jason And Lafayette In The Tv Series, Dan Ketchum Apr 2013

Masculinity, Audience, And Narrative Structure: A Comparison Of "True Blood" And "Dead Until Dark," And Of Jason And Lafayette In The Tv Series, Dan Ketchum

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Formal Elements Of Art: Analyzing The Dreamy Nature Of Film, Adam Duke Apr 2013

Formal Elements Of Art: Analyzing The Dreamy Nature Of Film, Adam Duke

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Sound In "Blue Velvet", Shae Spencer Apr 2013

Sound In "Blue Velvet", Shae Spencer

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Cinematic Realism In Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker", Kelly Meyer Dec 2012

Cinematic Realism In Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker", Kelly Meyer

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Illuminating Realism: A Bazinian Analysis Of Spike Lee's "Inside Man", Joseph Hogan Dec 2012

Illuminating Realism: A Bazinian Analysis Of Spike Lee's "Inside Man", Joseph Hogan

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


"Little Miss Sunshine" And Its Basis In Reality, Danica Butkovich Dec 2012

"Little Miss Sunshine" And Its Basis In Reality, Danica Butkovich

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


An Asymptote Of Reality: An Analysis Of Nolan's "Inception", Carson Ratliff Dec 2012

An Asymptote Of Reality: An Analysis Of Nolan's "Inception", Carson Ratliff

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.


Little Miss America: An Ideological Analysis Of "Little Miss Sunshine", Nikki Martin Dec 2012

Little Miss America: An Ideological Analysis Of "Little Miss Sunshine", Nikki Martin

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.