Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Toasted Corn Flakes, Michael Mccurdy

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Against biblical odds, the baseball version of a stage mom and her grifting ex road trip their kids’ baseball team across the midwest in the name of life, liberty, and the little league world series.

Loverboy, Mariepet Mangosing

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Will a Lothario Millennial from Jersey commit to love or continue being a fuckboy? Genre: rom com, dramedy

Xbox In Japan? Understanding The Distinctions Of The Japanese Video Game Market To Increase Microsoft's Competitive Advantage, Sekani Adebimpe

Senior Theses

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony remain the biggest players in the video game console space. While all three companies have achieved worldwide success, Microsoft’s performance with the Xbox brand in Japan is an outlier for its historically poor sales numbers dating back to its 2001 debut. The purpose of this thesis is to unearth the various cultural distinctions inherent to the Japanese gaming industry that Microsoft must consider to gain a stronger foothold in the country, as well as diagnose the biggest issues facing Xbox with Japanese consumers. To accomplish this, several cultural frameworks were used to assess the differences between …

Thistle & Sage, Tara Reynolds

LMU Theses and Dissertations

THISTLE & SAGE (One-Hour Weird-West Drama Pilot)

Maggie Crolley, a budding folk witch and frontierswoman fights to liberate her family and other enslaved townsfolk from a troupe of vampires in 1870 Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Bisexuality In 21st Century Media, Bethany Abrams

Audre Lorde Prize

This paper sets out to examine bisexuality in 21st century media in order to highlight the importance of good bisexual representation. Media that perpetuates harmful stereotypes only adds to the discrimination that bisexual individuals experience. This paper begins by discussing stereotypes and types of discrimination that are particularly relevant to the bisexual community. After this, pieces of media are analyzed thoroughly for how they portray bisexuality. The three main pieces that are analyzed are Alex Strangelove, Atypical, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After analyzing each piece, the paper continues to examine audience reactions and discusses the implications of representing bisexuality …

John Williams: Scoring And Interpreting Emotions In Film Music, Hadlee Lane Hubbard

Senior Honors Theses

This research paper examines how John Williams’s film scores convey an emotional narrative to the audience. First, the literature review will discuss pertinent theories on film music and emotions informing the current research. The paper then establishes Williams’s composing style, and centers on his connection to the classical symphonic composers and to the film music of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The research then analyzes how John Williams’s music influences emotions in prominent scenes from several of his films including Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Empire Strikes Back. Finally, the paper concludes with a …

The Making Of Everyday Hollywood: 1930s Film Influence On Everyday Women’S Fashion In Nebraska, Anna Naomi Kuhlman

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research examines the influence of film fashions on middle-class, Nebraskan women’s dress during the Great Depression (1932-1940). The Great Depression challenged the middle class: while standards of living remained high, the economic means to achieve those standards diminished. Despite the crisis, women strove to keep up with current fashion trends. While previous literature has examined how Hollywood directly affected trends and styles of the 1930s in major American metropolitan contexts, the manifestation of trends in the dress of middle to lower socio-economic classes in Middle America remains under-examined. Against the backdrop of Depression-era hardships specific to Nebraska’s agricultural economy, …

"What If We're On The Wrong Side?": Police Brutality, Protest, And Player Culpability In Heavy Rain And Detroit: Become Human, Karmann E. Ludwig

All NMU Master's Theses

Choice-based video games have often been called “interactive movies” for their unique position as a genre that lets players craft a unique story by making decisions that alter the game’s narrative. Two well-known examples in this genre, Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, offer a variety of possible story lines and outcomes for players to experience. However, because these two narratives are steeped in themes of police brutality, systemic racism, and protest, the way a player shapes a story does not exist in a relatively “moral-free” vacuum. Rather, the legal and social precedents that are often used to …

After Yang, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of After Yang (2021), directed by Kogonada.

Huella, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Huella (2022), directed by Gabriela Ortega.

I'M Here, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of I'm Here (2020), directed by Julia Orlik.

Gladiolus, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Gladiolus (2022), directed by Azadeh Navai.

Be Right Back, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Be Right Back (2022), directed by Frauke Havemann.

Killing The Eunuch Khan, Sheila J. Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Killing the Eunuch KHAN (2022), directed by Abed Abest.

Somebody Take The Wheel, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Somebody Take the Wheel (2022), directed by Kenzie Sutton.

Ultrainocencia, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Ultrainocencia (2020), directed by Manuel Ariza.

Maharaja's Children, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Maharaja's Children (2022), directed by Tomasz Stankiewiez.

Interview With Natasha Ofili, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

Natasha Ofili, the star and screenwriter of The Multi, was interviewed by Monica Blizek about the process that led to the creation of the film.

Sundance 2022 Introduction, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is the Introduction to our coverage of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Leonor Will Never Die, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Leonor Will Never Die (2021), directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar.

Nothing Compares, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Nothing Compares (2022), directed by Kathryn Ferguson.

Jihad Rehab, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Jihad Rehab (2021), directed by Meg Smaker.

Brian And Charles, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Brian and Charles (2021), directed by Jim Archer.

Dual, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Dual (2021), directed by Riley Stearns.

Alice, Sheila J. Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Alice (2022), directed by Krystin Ver Linden.

Long Line Of Ladies, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Long Line of Ladies (2022), directed by Rayka Zehtabchi and Shaandiin Tome.

Introduction To Slamdance 2022, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is the Introduction to the Slamdance Film Festival 2022.

“For Now We See In A Mirror, Dimly”: Dialectical Wholeness In Oshii Mamoru’S Ghost In The Shell, Mari Aida

Comparative Literature M.A. Essays

This essay argues that Oshii Mamoru's 1995 animated film Ghost in the Shell, while indicating possible alliances with the political interests of cyberfeminism, ultimately advocates for the oppositional agenda of dialectical wholeness. Foundational texts of cyberfeminism, such as Donna J. Haraway's "A Manifesto for Cyborgs," have criticized narratives of isolation and a return towards a primordial wholeness implicit in Euro-American scientific culture. In the context of these texts, the cyborg symbolizes a departure from such narratives and guides the political project of reimagining epistemological boundaries. However, despite its apparent alignment with such projects, Ghost in the Shell dramatizes and …

The Female Heroine Of Action Films: A History And Exploration Of The Genre And Application To The Short Film Lois, Daniel Brunner

Senior Honors Theses

The action genre is one of the oldest forms of filmmaking, beginning with some of the earliest short films with simple chases and heists. From then it has progressed into the genre we know today but still retains certain crucial aspects. One of sub-genres within these films can be seen in post-apocalyptic and dystopian films. All of these tend to follow the hero’s journey as described by Joseph Campbell. The representation of powerful female heroines within the action genre has increased since 1980s from its traditional male centric viewpoint. The screenplay for the short film Lois shows the convergence of …

Persian Squares, Natasha Sabour

LMU Theses and Dissertations

After moving to Los Angeles, California, polar opposite sisters Sahar and Roxana struggle to find jobs, husbands, and their Persian identity. Here’s hoping they can find the 405!