Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Christian Values Guide Generation Z To A Better Future In Post-Apocalyptic Screenplay, Charlotte Ashleigh Rice

Masters Theses

Echo’s Calling is a screenplay written with the intention to relate to modern teenagers and young adults (Generation Z) and teach them the Christian values of forgiveness, love, and acceptance. According to research, Generation Z relates to post-apocalyptic narratives because they feel as if they are currently living in the apocalypse. Their dismal worldview is perpetuated by negative news, “cancel culture,” and the media. Despite all this, Generation Z strives for a better future free from hate. In order to produce such a future, the Christian values of forgiveness, love, and acceptance need to be relatable and teachable to Generation …

Seeing Beyond: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Approach To The Politics Of The Cinematic Gaze, Sofia Koukia

Masters Theses

This essay presents a feminist psychoanalytic approach to the cinematic gaze which employs late Lacanian film theory in order to construct a conception of the gaze that allows for its political significance to emerge. The gaze is hereby understood as something that the subject (the spectator) encounters in the object (the film) and, also, as what constitutes the epitome of the cinematic experience. It is regarded as being inherently political, existing within the realm of the Lacanian real in the form of an objet petit a (or object-cause of desire), and exhibiting itself in the world(s) of fantasy and/or desire. …

Aesthetic Implications Of Using The Computer Medium In Music, Rodrigo Valente Pascale

Masters Theses

In this thesis, I reflect on the relationship between the materiality of computers and computer music. Marshall McLuhan and Friedrich Kittler had a fundamental role in unraveling how media shape discourse and influence their conveyed message and history. These were important discoveries that built the foundation for the field of Media Studies. Throughout this thesis, I will revisit reflections of researchers who contributed to this field and point out how the medium molds computer music’s history and aesthetics. After reviewing the role of the materiality of computers, I will indicate some aesthetically compelling directions of computer music, which consider features …

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills

Masters Theses

Can acts of making carry the memories of our embeddedness within the world? This thesis explores how making things can nurture a sense of kinship that cuts across the organic and inorganic, erasing the distinction between living and dead, material and spiritual. Through handwork such as art-making, sewing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, and beyond, the burden of remembering and of archiving is shared across human and non-human bodies, cultivated through practices of making, and through the materials themselves. By recounting the stories of my family’s experience as Jewish immigrants in the United States, I aim to reveal how their domestic practices …

Representations Of Africa In Us Media: A Semiotic Analysis Of Ebola: The Doctor’S Story And Body Team 12, Olubusola Akinpelu

Masters Theses

The Western media has often been criticized for biased coverage of happenings in and around Africa. The 2014 Ebola outbreak created a lot of media attention for West Africa, and by extension, the entire continent. This study examined to what extent postcolonial discourses were infused in two films from the HBO Trilogy: Ebola: The Doctor’s Story (2015) and Body Team 12 (2015). To analyze these texts, I took a semiotic approach by identifying, describing and interpreting the signs in both films, to discuss the postcolonial discourses in three broad themes. Ebola: The Doctor’s Story (2015) was analyzed in the …

Boutique Branding: Televisually Signifying The Feminine Business-Owner, Payton Blakney

Masters Theses

While women-owned businesses continue to grow, increasing 58 percent from 2007 to 2018 (Guidant Financial, 2019),producing on-brand communication content remains a challenge. Adding to the challenge, this branded communication must combat the societal narrative that women are less capable of running a business than men and utilize the complex mode of televisual storytelling. The purpose of this creative thesis was to incorporate the work of woman television producers and writers from the comedy-drama genre with semiotics theory to create five webisodes of branded entertainment that married the contradictory sign systems of woman and business owner. By analyzing and implementing the …

Deep Imprints 20th-Century Media Stereotypes Towards East Asian Immigrants And The Development Of A Pan-Ethnic East-Asian-American Identity, Christopher Maiytt

Masters Theses

Existing scholarship on ethnic representation in the American film industry most prominently features Black and Latinx subject matters, with little attention devoted to Asian American depictions. In contrast, this study tracks the use of persistent stereotypes in the American film industry directed at East-Asian immigrants and the influence American racism in popular media has on the emergence of a Pan-ethnic East-Asian American identity. The first appearance of a cooperative Pan-ethnic minority group materializes during the Yellow Power Movement of the 1960s, which is followed by the emergence of East-Asian film direction en force. Analysis of these films and in the …

Advancing Film Through Art & Design: A Study Of The Influence That Film And Fine Art Have On The Independent Film Market, Jamall Rashaud Mcmillan

Masters Theses

The Influence of Graphic Design and Fine Art in Film is a exploration into the impact that an investment of the arts has on film and more specifically the independent film market. Most independent filmmakers have to develop their productions with little to no budget. In doing so they must work to create a marketable film to the best of their ability. There in-lies the issue; they are doing it to the best of “their” ability. The issue that is in focus with the notion of ability is that a major component that is left out of the equation to …

Equals: Redefining The Way Graphic Design And Narrative Film Combine To Create Visual Metaphor, Kevin Harris

Masters Theses

This paper provides a methodology for combining Graphic Design and Narrative Film together in a way that creates a type of visual metaphor that is central to the story and characters of the film. Because visual mediums of communication are so intrinsically tied to verbal means of communication, this methodology is grounded in the linguistic study of poetry and metaphor. Thus, the concept of metaphor will be analyzed thoroughly in language, poetry, fine arts, and modern arts. The ways in which metaphor is created visually through the art forms of graphic design and narrative film will be of upmost interest …

The Buffered Slayer: A Search For Meaning In A Secular Age, Kari Willinger

Masters Theses

Charles Taylor, in A Secular Age, claims that over time, modernity has given way to a new secular age, and with this new era comes cultural shifts in our perception of ourselves and the world. Given Taylor’s notion of a world haunted by transcendence, we can notice this haunting throughout aspects of modernity, especially in literature and entertainment where we can see authors and creators deal with issues of identity and morality from a purely modern perspective. Specifically, Taylor’s concepts connect with Buffy the Vampire Slayer because the characters in Buffy align with Taylor’s understanding of the buffered self, which …

Fantissity, Alexandra N. Dean

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Adventure Of The Immortal Detective: Adaptation And Audience Investment In The Cases Of Sherlock Holmes, Corey Hayes

Masters Theses

In the last ten years, popular culture has seen a number of visual interpretations of the character and cases of Sherlock Holmes. From the films starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law to the BBC show Sherlock and the CBS show Elementary, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s consulting detective is currently at the forefront of the public mind. However, these new on-screen interpretations of the character represent merely the tip of the Holmes iceberg, and the dedication of their fans is just a continuation of the intense popularity that Doyle’s detective has enjoyed since his earliest appearances in print. All of …

Female Anti-Heroes In Contemporary Literature, Film, And Television, Sara A. Amato

Masters Theses

The anti-hero character has steadily become more popular in contemporary literature, film, and television. Part of this popularity is due to the character's appeal to the audience. This character type often commits acts that challenge the regulations of society. These acts, however, can become wish fulfillment for some audience members, making the acts of the character a vicarious experience as well as making the character more relatable because of the character's flawed nature.

This study will trace some of the evolution of the female anti-hero by discussing an ancestral character of the female anti-hero—Hester Prynne the protagonist of Nathanial Hawthorne's …

Mad Hero In A Box: Christianity, Secular Humanism, And The Monomyth In Doctor Who, Sabrina Hardy

Masters Theses

Doctor Who is a long-running, incredibly popular work of television science-fiction, with a devoted fanbase across the Western world. Like all science fiction, it deals with the weighty questions posed by the culture around it, particularly in regards to ethics, politics, faith/belief, and the idea of the soul. These concepts are dealt with through the lens of the Secular Humanist ideology held by the showrunners and by many of the people who watch the show; however, in many areas, elements of the Christian worldview seep through. The conflict between these two worldviews has serious ramifications for the show itself, as …

Choices In The Editing Room: How The Intentional Editing Of Dialogue Scenes Through Shot Choice Can Enhance Story And Character Development Within Motion Pictures, Jonathan Pfenninger

Masters Theses

This study examines the content of six feature length films, which showed in theaters in 2010 and 2011, from a communication perspective. Five of the scrutinized films are Academy Award winning and nominated films for Best Editing. The sixth film was the top grossing Christian feature film to be widely released within the two years. Utilizing Foss's rhetorical schema for the evaluation of visual imagery, this study examines and evaluates the composition of dialogue scenes within each film, identifying the functions of shot composition and movement choices within each film, individually. Through identification of a function, assessment and support found …

"You'll Have To Take It: Urban Vigilantism And American Film, 1967-1985", Joseph E. Roskos

Masters Theses

My thesis shows how vigilantism as expressed through the politics of race interacted from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, serving to support a culture of backlash that drew from the public’s mistrust of government institutions and authorities, and its reactions to crime, class conflict, and racial tensions. Vigilante films served as the battleground where class conflicts were played out; violent backlash was realized; historical wars were refought; cultures and principles clashed; and people cleansed their communities of crime and illegal drug-use. The culture of backlash as portrayed in vigilante films as well as historical events showed how their relationship …

Refresh. Create. Inspire. The Mission, Vision And Values Behind The Coca-Cola Company And The Digital Marketing Strategies Of The "Open Happiness" Campaign, Sara Svendsen

Masters Theses

Due to the influence of Coca-Cola on advertising, digital marketing, and marketing strategies, the present rhetorical analysis seeks to show the many aspects of digital media in the Company's present "Open Happiness" campaign. The study of the campaign seeks to show that the Company mission statement, Company values and the vision of The Coca-Cola Company are implemented into all of the different facets of the Open Happiness campaign, and in the context of Mood Management Theory, exude the overall theme of the campaign, happiness. The parts of the campaign that were analyzed were focused on the YouTube channels of The …

A Soldier's Home, Andrew O. Mclaughlin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Framing Jane: Film Adaptation And Jane Eyre, 1934-2006, Joy Wohlman Boyce

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents; `Propaganda'": A Rhetorical Study Of Alfred Hitchcock's World War Ii Propaganda Films, Jennifer Renee Brown

Masters Theses

Alfred Hitchcock is a well known filmmaker whose work has been often studied by English, communication, and film scholars. However, those examining Hitchcock seem to have pet favorites of films they deem worthy of study. This thesis examines the lesser-known propaganda films of Alfred Hitchcock made for the British Ministry of Information in 1944. Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache each tell a story of intrigue and adventure in French territory during the German occupation and Vichy government of World War II. However, after the MOI waited almost the entire war to have propaganda made by Alfred Hitchcock, the films were …

I Was A Teenage Necrophiliac: A Screenplay, Walter Howard

Masters Theses

The critical essay that introduces this thesis pays homage to three people in the movie business who have most influenced my original screenplay, I Was a Teenage Necrophiliac. Also included is a section that briefly explains the impetus for this project, and a closing argument that examines the intentional use of cliche as a creative tool.

The zany style of writer/director John Waters is the first major creative influence described. Although my story is not as graphically extreme as some of Waters' earlier work (it would be easy to make a comedy about necrophilia a vile exploitation film), it does …

The Inexorable Work Life Of Manoel De Oliveira: Addressing The Trends And Movements Of The 20th Century As A Form Of Understanding The European Film Industry, Beatriz Saiani

Masters Theses

Manoel de Oliveira is perhaps the most prestigious Portuguese filmmaker of the latter half of the 20th century. His work has influenced Portuguese society as well as the European cultural context. Oliveira's importance is the result of his work, which enhances more "quality" than entertainment, and his years of experience in making films. Three major themes are analyzed in this study, literature, German Expressionism and Existentialism, and the experiences of memory and "saudade." This is a thematic analysis, which aims to identify the themes that emerged through Manoel de Oliveira's own life experiences while being part of trends and movements …

Raiders Of The Lost Ark And The Hollywood Tradition: Nostalgia, Parody, And Postmodernism, Michael F. Deters

Masters Theses

The film Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981 to immediate success. Using a noticeably retrospective style, Raiders appealed to the public's desire to experience once again the same kind of viewing pleasure that Hollywood offered in the classical period. Accordingly, the film's nostalgic recreation of classical Hollywood entails a reliance on type characters, tough dialogue, and stock situations--with an overarching emphasis on maintaining a breakneck pace in its action. The appeal for the viewer, then, involves the satisfaction of a need to return to a superficially "simpler" time when the movies themselves were "simpler"--as they fulfilled the …

The Sound And The Theory: A Study Of The Theoretical Position Within Metzian Film Semiotics Of Sound In Cinema, Kathryn L. Ingle

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to identify and critique the theory of sound in film semiotics. In order to accomplish this task, a cursory analysis of the nature and objectives of semiotics generally and cinesemiotics especially has been included. Direct references to the function of sound recording made by pioneer film semiologist Christian Metz, as well as others in that discipline, constitute the object of this study. Finally, a detailed critique of the resulting cinesemiotic position concerning sound in film evaluates this position in light of stated goals.

As is the case with most theories of film, the aural …

The Advent Of Sound In Motion Pictures, Michael P. Mchugh

Masters Theses

This study traced the developments which led to the advent of sound in motion pictures. The hypothesis that the advent of sound in motion pictures was the result of many technical developments made between 1894 and 1930 was supported by this work.

Following a historical methodology the research focused on four questions: 1) How did motion pictures evolve? 2) How did sound become involved with the presentation of motion pictures? 3) What were the technological developments that led to the advent of sound? 4) What were the events that led to the acceptance of the advent of sound?

This study …

Children's Emotional Response To Color, Rodney H. Buffington

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.