Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Nightmares And Hand Grenades: Dreams As A Storytelling Tool, Olivia Felber

All Theses

Dreams and nightmares feature prominently in art, story, and religious practice and tradition throughout history. In this paper I will discuss their prominence throughout these facets in daily life, and the various ways that we, as humans, have tried to elucidate meaning from them. I will study the nature and definition of dreams and nightmares through a scientific, cultural, and historical approach. I will also discuss folklore and the interpretation of nightmarish imagery in the context of an otherworldly adventure through a nightmare. These topics and themes will be shown, explained, and discussed through the methodology of my project- a …

Adapting Cultural Storytelling Styles To Modern Media, Julie Huang

All Theses

In the face of modern media, it is inevitable that certain cultural art forms will fade in popularity. Some may even fade out of existence altogether. However, there are continuous efforts to reframe these cultural gems in contemporary forms to preserve them for the younger generations. Digital media, such as animation and video games, provide the perfect vehicle to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary. This paper investigates how storytelling practices have been carried through time and the creative ways they have evolved in the face of an ever-changing mediascape.

To support this research, I present a narrative in …

Kitchen Witch: Animated Independent Property Pitch Bible Research And Development, Kelsey Eaves

All Theses

My thesis project centers around the production process for creating an animated program. My paper is a record of the development of my pitch bible and my efforts to raise outside interest in the property. I intend to use my work here to enter the animation industry as a jumping off point in my career. My research materials include various “Art Of” production books, Creating Cartoons with Character by Rocko’s Modern Life creator Joe Murray, and firsthand interviews from present and former television industry personnel. In this text I explore television animation pre production to highlight the creation of an …

Making The Subconscious Conscious - Showcasing Unresolved Childhood Trauma Through Animation, Alexis Hunter

All Theses

The focus of this work is to shed light on unresolved childhood trauma that can contribute to mental hardships - whether people are aware of its presence in their lives or not. In this paper, I will discuss childhood trauma, its impact on adult life when left unresolved, self-parenting as a method to manage it, and how it is portrayed in various media. Drawing inspiration from my research on trauma and visual storytelling, I will present a proof-of-concept for a 2D animated short film, Strongholds, which visualizes the internal mental struggles through the character dynamics of the personifications of the …

Creating Character, Alexa Tenney

Honors Projects

This project explores the relationship between merchandise development and narrative development, with a specific focus on the creative development between dolls and animation. Through exploration of these creative mediums, I began to question: How does the creative process combining animation and merchandise develop, and what is the impact on the final product? This concept is broken down even further to focus specifically on characters, and how creative characters are developed for dolls. This project provides an overview of the history of animation and merchandising beginning with Felix the Cat in the 1920s. Felix represents an instance of an animated character …

Easy Prey, Annika L. Norris

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Easy Prey is a three-dimensional (3D) animated action comedy short film about stereotypes, expectations, and portrayals of strength that follows a ballerina as she is cornered in an alley. The fight that ensues expresses women's empowerment, physically and emotionally, by challenging preconceptions of ballerinas and the performance of femininity. This expression is founded on the intentional inclusion and exclusion of common cinematic tropes to efficiently convey key information while undermining common stereotypes. The action and atmosphere utilize classic film techniques to heighten and release tension. Easy Prey is inspired by my personal journey in healing my relationship with femininity and …

菠蘿包(Pineapple Bun): Exploring Memory And Language Through Animation, Elaine Yang

Scripps Senior Theses

菠蘿包(Pineapple Bun) explores the themes of reconstruction, evocation, and memory through my childhood in Taiwan. Inspired by other Asian American animators, I aim to tell a simple story of connection through my grandfather and I's daily swimming ritual. The film is a 3-minute animated short film following our language barrier and how we engage with each other's differing backgrounds.

The Power Of Anime: Artistic Power, Social Consciousness, And Cultural Impact, Natalie Ortez-Arevalo

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores the widespread popularity and impact of anime on Japanese culture. In my research, I demonstrate how the integration of anime into Japan’s culture creates big splashes—like stones being thrown into a lake—that, at the same time, ripple out in various directions and reverberate on multiple levels. First and foremost, this research centers around an important concept: that anime contains well-crafted storytelling and powerful imagery that demonstrates wider historical, cultural, and social issues—both the positive and negative. In anime films and shows, symbolism plays an important part as it can be found throughout the imagery and the storylines …

With The Screenwriter's Pen: An Analysis Of The Representation Of Gifted Children In The Family Film, Sarah Williams

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Family films are something that have been enjoyed for many decades. They often create a fantastic world that will enchant audiences and eventually become beloved stories. A big aspect often seen in these films is a protagonist that possesses some kind of gift. Where does this gift come from? How does it grow? Most importantly, how do the screenwriters who are responsible for bringing these gifted heroes to life go about it?

Using the screenplays of Kubo and the Two Strings, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Encanto, and Coraline, I take a deep dive into the portrayal of …

Different Tides: A Journey Of Loss, Loneliness, And Friendship, William Gilmer

All Theses

This project is an exploration of story, producing an animatic for the original story Different Tides. Different Tides is a story about loss and separation, and how we carry with us a piece of everyone that has ever been close to us. This thesis will explore the themes of loneliness and loss that pervade the short, as well as the methods of visually expressing those themes. The goal of this thesis is to produce an animatable story, complete with storyboards, animatic, and color script, as well as explore the psychology behind loss and friendship.

The Digital Reconstruction And Simulation Of Civil War Garments Recovered From The H. L. Hunley, Hanna George

All Theses

Costumes are a crucial element in the representation of historical figures. Beyond reflecting aesthetic trends, clothing is closely intertwined with culture, economics, and the personal history of the individual who wore them. Fabric simulation allows for the digital creation and animation of garments too fragile or incomplete to be used directly in film or education. This thesis demonstrates the digital reconstruction of the clothing worn by H. L. Hunley crew member James Wicks. The H. L. Hunley is a submarine from the Civil War. It was the first in history to successfully sink an enemy ship, but never returned from …

Factors Influencing The Popularity Of Animation Series And Movies Among Chinese Audience On Online Video Websites, Shengyi Chen

Fordham Dissertations and Theses

Since 2010, online video platforms and computer animation technologies have been developing at an accelerated speed around the world. More and more animation works were produced by computers and then broadcast through new media, especially the online video platforms. With the help of computer technologies and the promotional effect of new media platforms, animation, a traditional art form, is gaining popularity among the youth around the world.

At the same time, animation producers often face a very real and challenging task – to decide whether to invest money in an animation program only with the script, a crude character …

Confronting Contemporary Mythmaking: On Artists’ Engagements With Popular Culture, Jonathan Case

MFA in Visual Arts Theses

This paper begins by outlining an understanding of how the culture industry operates in American culture and explores ways to counter the transmission of modern mythmaking through art. As described in Roland Bathes’s Mythologies, mythmaking in the contemporary context serves to sever current systems of power and coercion from the historic processes of their creation; to naturalize the current neoliberal order and make it seem like the only way things could ever be. This sort of mythmaking is transmitted through popular culture, and many artists have responded to it through their practices. Herein I describe several different artists’ approaches, including …

Mrs. Florence Mante's Amazing Grace School, Daniel Keith Davis

LSU Master's Theses

Mrs. Florence Mante’s Amazing Grace School is the story of both Mama Florence and the children that she has dedicated her life to. Mrs. Florence Mante is the Ghanaian cofounder of the Amazing Grace Preparatory School. The West African school is committed to developing African leaders and ending the cycles of poverty in the village of Kodiekrom. My thesis focuses on using interview-driven artwork and collaborative storytelling to depict the unique challenges and triumphs of Mama Florence’s life in Ghana. Digital illustrations, a narration from Mama Florence, and music take the viewer on her deeply compelling journey, raising awareness for …

Rewriting The Narrative That Surrounds Mental Illness, Ashley Johnson

All Theses

The focus of this work is to change the narrative that surrounds mental health issues by portraying mental battles through animation. Buddhism heavily influenced the crux of this project, which is the conscious decision to accept oneself and choose to work towards inner balance instead of battles. 3D animation is used to distill complex thoughts into simplified characters that drive the narrative through performance and choreographed fight scenes.

The Magic Of Animation: A Global History Of Animation And Comparative Analysis Of Western And Eastern Historical Representations Of Magic In Animation, Societal Perceptions Of Magic, And Their Influences Upon One Another, Aidan Pacifico

Honors College Theses

As a unique culture develops, especially in an unexplainable and dangerous world, they must craft tales in darkness to make the night far less scary and explain the unexplainable. These myths, often woven deep with powerful figures performing the impossible, created and were magic. By explaining the world through these stories, passed from generation to generation, cultures develop an eye for the magical and the impossible, seeking to steal fire from gods, trick death, and make the words and pictures within our minds when we hear and imagine these stories come to life. Eventually, we would accomplish the last of …

Seaglass: An Animated Rejection Of Narrative Permanence, Alejandra Louise Blackmore

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores how popular narrative structures imply that our reality should be stagnant, thereby leaving us as viewers unprepared for the notion of change. I introduce the term “narrative permanence” as a story structure that assumes the foundations of a narrative are absolute. These stories therefore consider structural change as a threat or abnormal. I analyzed examples such as The Simpsons and news coverage of the BP oil spill to demonstrate how popular media frames change as an unnatural occurrence that must be neutralized. My thesis then culminated in an animated short about a person living in a seaside …

The Uncanny Desire In American Animation And Film., Kristen Hankins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although surrealism was short lived, the impact on popular culture is ongoing. Analyzing this impact is quite interesting because it set a standard for American animation and film. In this thesis, Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis and the uncanny are investigated through the lens of the camera in American cinema and animation. This thesis looks at cartoons and films that were made after Breton’s surrealist manifestos were published. This thesis aims to show the viewer the lasting impact that Breton had on American popular culture. This thesis is divided into three chapters with an introduction and conclusion. Chapter one discusses Fleischer …

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power: An Intersectional Analysis Of A Modern Reboot, Laine Marshall

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Children’s animation offers the viewer a unique window into the nuances of current societal norms. Because children’s animation is made for the young, sensitive, and impressionable, it is carefully controlled and often heavily censored. Any statements made regarding the protagonist’s heroism or the villain’s malignity are meant to be accepted as universal truths for the growing minds of our youth. The recent 2018 Netflix and DreamWorks Animation animated reboot of the classic 1980's series "She-Ra: Princess of Power," now titled "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power," shook the animation industry with its groundbreaking representation and astounding visuals. Following its predecessor’s …

Fractured Selves, Gearoid Dolan

Theses and Dissertations

Fractured Selves is a self-portrait that examines the histories and points of conflation and diversion of my four public personas. In the style of a Zoom meeting, they chat with a host against animated backgrounds. Interactivity creates non-linear consuming of the content and user directed navigation through four timelines

Re-Animating Post-Digital Cinema: [Animated] Fluidity And Hybrid Aesthetics In Tomm Moore’S Celtic Trilogy, Tom James Mclaughlin

Film and Media Studies (MA) Theses

Tomm Moore’s Celtic Trilogy, consisting of The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2014), and WolfWalkers (2020), displays an inter-medial hybridity and synergy of commercial and experimental elements that encourage a redefinition of animation with a focus on the innate qualities of fluidity in animated aesthetics. This fluidity in visual aesthetics and narratology honors the legacy of studio animation over the past century, while reintroducing technological and creative experimentation. This freedom further allows for authentic cultural (self-)representation of Celtic traditions in film.

Paralleling a history of cinematic theories by Arnheim, Cholodenko and Manovich projects a shared space for …

Article 6.21, Tatiana Stolpovskaya

Theses and Dissertations

Article 6.21 is a short documentary film that aims to examine the state of censorship around queerness in Russia today and its effects on personal lives in the queer community.

Twenty years after Russia decriminalized homosexuality, on June 30th in 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed Article 6.21 "for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values", also known as the "Gay Propaganda Law". Its broad and ambiguous wording allows the government significant leeway in deciding what kind of public queerness is punishable.

In 2020 Russia passed multiple constitutional amendments that affect many areas …

Bawdy Tales, Emily R. Collins

Theses and Dissertations

Hansu Siirala is a Finnish-Canadian craftsperson currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Twelve years ago at the age of fifty-five, she suffered two strokes, which paralyzed her left side and required her relocation to a long-term residential care facility. Via writings to her family, Hansu shares hilarious, bitingly sharp observations about life in the assisted care facility in Vancouver. Her stories chip away at social stigmas, make us laugh at ourselves, and celebrate life in unexpected ways. “Bawdy Tales” is a project that utilizes her writing as the foundation of a series of pieces hosted via a website, providing …

Under The Skin, Silvana Silveira

Theses and Dissertations

Under the Skin is an animation depicting the struggles of Laila, a fictional ten-year-old Salvadoran girl child who risks her life crossing the desert to realize her dream of finding a better life in America.

Through Laila's experiences inside the American Immigration system, Under the Skin focuses on the vicissitudes and emotions that unaccompanied migrant children (UMC) arriving in the US across the US-Mexico border encounter.

By combining 2D animation and soundscapes with hand-made textures and paintings, this art film puts a human face to the ongoing immigration crisis. The organic, almost tactile universes created by these textures enhance the …

Transfer Of Vehicles Si Juki's Intellectual Property Rightsfrom Comics To Animation, Ehwan Kurniawan

International Review of Humanities Studies

Transfer of vehicles is removal and alteration. In a broader meaning, this term can even include the conversion of various types of science into works of art. Intellectual Property Rights are rights granted to the creators of Intellectual Property and include trademarks, copyrights, patents, industrial rights, and in some jurisdictional trade secrets. Art works including music and literature, as well as inventions, words, expressions, symbols, and designs can all be protected as intellectual property. Comics (noun) plural form, used with a single verb. Pictures and other symbols that are overlap (close together, next to each other) in sequentially thing, to …

An Exploration Of Procedural Methods For Motion Design, David Hamilton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research aims to apply procedural techniques, similar to those employed in node-based modeling or compositing software packages, to the motion design workflow in Adobe After Effects. The purpose is to increase efficiency in the motion design process between pre-production and production stages. Systems Theory is referenced as a basis for breaking down problems in terms of inputs and outputs. All of this takes place within the context of a larger motion design project.

Creating A Short Animated Film With Cloth Characters, Elizaveta Kochan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This creative thesis involved making an animated short film from scratch, dubbed “Laundry Day” for the time being. The film follows two sentient clothing characters, a hoodie and a pair of pants, who need to get out of their owner’s room to get to the laundry room after accidentally being left behind. Please watch the short here and use the password “goodiehoodie”:

https://vimeo.com/415387205

This was a time consuming, challenging, and multifaceted project, but provided an accurate glimpse into how feature animation is made. The process of making any project like this is commonly called a pipeline, and can be simplified …

Expanded Cinema: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition [ Table Of Contents], Gene Youngblood

Cinema & Media Studies

Fiftieth anniversary reissue of the founding media studies book that helped establish media art as a cultural category.

First published in 1970, Gene Youngblood’s influential Expanded Cinema was the first serious treatment of video, computers, and holography as cinematic tools. Long considered the Bible for media artists, Youngblood’s insider account of 1960s counterculture and the birth of cybernetics remains a mainstay reference in today’s hypermediated digital world. This fiftieth-anniversary edition includes a new Introduction by the author that offers conceptual tools for understanding the sociocultural and sociopolitical realities of our present world.

A unique eyewitness account of burgeoning experimental film …

Race Book, Robert Dejesus

Theses and Dissertations

Race Book is a satiric animated short film about how social media influenced people during the 2020 presidential election.

Imaginary Conquests: Folktales, Film, And The Japanese Empire In Asia, Richard M Davis

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article highlights three family-targeted films made under the wartime Japanese empire: Yamamoto Kajir ō ’s musical comedy Songokū (1940) and Seo Mitsuyo’s animated Momotarō films, Sea Eagles (1943) and Divine Warriors of the Sea (1945). Significantly, these films are based on two fantastical premodern stories—the Chinese novel Journey to the West and the Japanese Momotarō legend, respectively—whose quest narratives map onto Japan’s contemporaneous military expansion into mainland China and the islands of the South Pacific. Despite the films’ seeming alignment with ultranationalist ideology, I argue that the geopolitical trajectories of their narratives are rendered ambiguous by their various reception …