Film and Media Studies Commons^™

La Pirogue De Moussa Touré: Une Réponse Humanitaire À Une Crise Postcoloniale, Whitney A. Drew

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

Le journal examine le film de Moussa Touré La Pirogue et le compare à la conversation actuelle concernant l’immigration du Sénégal vers les îles Canaries. En hommage aux victimes du périple tumultueux, La Pirogue attire l’attention sur l’autre face de l’immigration. Le film analyse les idées à travers le prisme des tropes médiatiques popularisés par le psychologue David Olsen et l’historien Hayden White. Dans le contexte du document, ces tropes explorent le message de Touré sur l’immigration.

Nationless States And Stateless Beings: The Politics Of Identity And Citizenship In Claudio Mir’S Mondongo Scam And Cheech Marin’S Born In East L.A., Rebecca A. Barnes

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

In the colloquial sense of the term, the word citizen refers to an individual who belongs to a nation, either by birthright or by naturalization. Therefore, citizenship denotes a political and a social belonging, an ideological home, and, in most cases, a strong foundation for the development of one’s personal identity. However, since nations are inherently artificial structures, made only tangible in the present day by a few centuries of recorded history, a philosophical approach to the term citizen complicates this definition. Based off critics including Hannah Arendt, Homi Bhabha, Fernando Ortiz, and Jacques Derrida, this essay seeks to explore …

Character Development: To Further The Narrative, Lesley Brian Bargo

Symposium of Student Scholars

Character Development: To Further the Narrative.

Presentation Abstract

March 16^th, 2022

Graduate Student: Lesley Brian Bargo

Research Mentor: Anna Weinstein

Screenplays on war can often become redundant. Not because they aren’t good screenplays, it’s simply because the focus relies too much on the brutality of war and not enough on the characters being forced to endure it. Hamburger Hill (1987) is not one of the run of the mill Vietnam War films that simply walk us through the killing of both sides without giving us the why. While most films can easily pull off the killing and dying, …

Little Women: A Screenplay Analysis, Chloe Ford

Symposium of Student Scholars

Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, details the lives of the four March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The story has been adapted into feature films multiple times, including an adaptation in 1918, 1933, 1949, 1994, and most recently in 2019. The 1994 film was written by Robin Swicord and directed by Gillian Armstrong, and the 2019 film was written by Greta Gerwig and Sarah Polley, and directed by Greta Gerwig. Both films were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. This study will compare and contrast the structure of both films, as well as the characters and …

"10 Things I Hate About You" And The "Not Like Other Girls" Trope, Jazmine Bryant

Symposium of Student Scholars

Critical Analysis Abstract: 10 Things I Hate About You & The “Not Like Other Girls” Trope

The phrase, “not like other girls,” is commonly used to describe a person or character that is quirky, emo, a loner, intelligent, or independent. In film, this description typically has a positive connotation – at least, it’s meant to. A common consensus is that the trope upholds negative stereotypes about women or the group the character is “unlike.” TV Tropes states that by using or conforming to this trope, “it’s implied that your gender is inferior by default,” (TV Tropes). On the other hand, …

Mother!: A Look Into A Religion Based Screen Play, Madeline Ivey

Symposium of Student Scholars

Darren Aronofsky’s movie Mother!, explores Christianity in a very different way. The movie takes place in a house with Mother, Mother Nature, and him, God. Throughout this chaotic and confusing movie, there are many scenes that symbolize biblical stories from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Through his movie he shows biblical times through Mother Nature’s eyes, which makes religion seem more destructive and selfish. The purpose of this paper is to find connections between the Christian religion and how it is portrayed in the movie. I will do this by researching scenes and how they relate to …

A Character Analysis Of Knives Out, Garrett Bell

Symposium of Student Scholars

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out (2019) has been praised by many for its dialogue and its slick, refreshing take on the mystery/thriller genre; but I argue, like many great stories of our time, that it’s the characters in Knives Out that really propel this film near the top of all mystery/thriller triumphs. Rather than reinventing the character archetypes that one would normally see in a film of this caliber, Johnson takes those characters and serves them up in a way that makes them unique to his story: his way. By providing an in-depth analysis of each character in the many twists …

Women Writers Of Film & Television Project: Nancy Meyers, Hannah Henderson

Symposium of Student Scholars

The suppression of women’s voices in the film industry is of no secret to our society. For over a hundred years, many women have been placed in the background and were not given credit for their work in the industry, and only recently have the gates of Hollywood been open to more representation. In the 1980s, many women screenwriters were in creative partnerships with their husbands, and it was difficult for a woman screenwriter to be recognized for her own work and talents aside from the man in her life. One screenwriter, Nancy Meyers was able to garner more fame …

From Stage To Screen: The Art Of The Movie Musical, Vanessa Lopez

Symposium of Student Scholars

In this article I take a deeper look into what it takes to make a successful movie musical. When sound was introduced into the movie industry, it was musicals that stole the show. From 1927’s first talkie, The Jazz Singer, to 2021’s movie rendition of Dear Evan Hansen, movie musicals have been a key component of the movie industry. Throughout this article I will be comparing the success of two different kinds of movie musicals. The first type that I will be analyzing are the movie musicals that were written and produced directly for the screen. This includes movies such …

Ergativity In Na'vi, Jacob Barnett

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

The Journey Of Life Itself, Ashton Webb

Symposium of Student Scholars

Life Itself, written and directed by Dan Fogelman, is a heartbreaking tale featuring three different couples and the journey that life takes them on. Throughout the film there are common themes of heartbreak, marital problems, and death. The three stories are joined together by one devastating event, and Fogelman shows how beauty can be made from ashes. In this presentation, I will explore the themes of love, heartbreak, and depression and how these themes shaped the film, allowing Fogelman to intertwine three stories into one in order to tell an interconnected story. Though the film was not well received by …

Documentary Review: Belly Of The Beast, Clare Daniel

Feminist Pedagogy

Belly of the Beast (Cohn, 2020) chronicles the legal and political battle surrounding forced and coerced sterilization of women incarcerated in the Central California Women’s Facility during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Uncovering a contemporary example of eugenics and the institutional logics that protect and justify those practices, this film provides a crucial tool for feminist educators teaching about reproductive injustice, racism, gender-based oppression, and the power of feminist activism. In what follows, I briefly summarize the film and offer a discussion of how it might be used as a tool of feminist pedagogy by 1) providing an opportunity …

Demonstrating The Complexity And Consistency Of God’S Creation Through Broadcast Video Shading, James Black

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Creative and Artistic

Rodcon, Flier, 2022, University Of Northern Iowa. Rod Library.

RodCon Documents

Rodcon
Saturday April 9, 2022
10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Flier used in promotion of the event.

Without A Trace: Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Exclusion In The Media, Nellasa Mackenzie Stewart

Honors College Theses

The research in this paper is designed to explore the lack of media coverage of missing and murdered indigenous women through primarily qualitative methods and techniques as well as interpret the significance of the lack of coverage through the lens of a critical analysis. The research will address how the coverage of missing indigenous women qualitatively differs with the coverage received by missing white women in the United States and Canada. The research approaches include the analysis of news sources detailing cases of missing indigenous women and missing white women and how their coverage qualitatively differs, as well as a …

A Man Not A Monster : Reimagining Disability In Hollow Crown's Richard Iii, Taylor E. Uphus

Honors Theses

Traditional portrayals of William Shakespeare’s Richard III (1592) in film interpret Richard’s physical disability as an outward reflection of his evil. In recent years, disabilities studies scholars have reconsidered the historic association of Richard’s physical deformity with immorality. Unlike previous Richard III films, the BBC’s Hollow Crown: Richard III (Dominic Cooke, 2016) highlights Richard’s mental abuse and trauma. While the film does not shy away from Richard’s villainy, its more empathic depiction of Richard contests the one-dimensional stage and film representation of him as a conniving monster. Ultimately, this film presents Richard III to critique society’s treatment of disabled individuals.

New Approaches To Islam In Film, Sophia Rose Arjana

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Kristian Petersen, ed., New Approaches to Islam in Film (New York: Routledge, 2021).

Giving The Devil His Due: Satan And Cinema, Brandon R. Grafius

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock and Regina M. Hansen, eds., Giving the Devil His Due: Satan and Cinema (New York: Fordham University Press, 2021).

Deities & Devotees: Cinema, Religion, And Politics In South India, Rebecca Peters

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Uma Maheswari Bhrugubanda, Deities & Devotees: Cinema, Religion, and Politics in South India (Oxford University Press, 2019).

Bollywood Horrors: Religion, Violence And Cinematic Fears In India, Sen Meheli

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Ellen Goldberg, Aditi Sen, and Brian Collins, eds., Bollywood Horrors: Religion, Violence and Cinematic Fears in India (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021).

Refocus: The Films Of Paul Schrader, Elijah Siegler

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Michelle E. Moore and Brian Brems, editors, ReFocus: The Films of Paul Schrader (Edinburgh University Press: 2020).

Religion And Film: Representation, Experience, Meaning, Sérgio Dias Branco

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Stefanie Knauss, Religion and Film: Representation, Experience, Meaning (Brill, 2020).

Indonesian Cinema After The New Order: Going Mainstream, Ahmad Nuril Huda

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Thomas Barker, Indonesian Cinema after the New Order: Going Mainstream (Hong Kong University Press, 2020).

The Bible As Relic, Fetish Or Talisman In Nollywood Films: A Semiotic Perspective, Floribert Patrick C. Endong

Journal of Religion & Film

Many Nollywood Christian films tap into a plurality of myths and idiosyncrasies prevailing in Nigeria in particular and the Christendom in general. Some of these myths and idiosyncrasies revolve around the perceived magical powers of the Bible, particularly the Holy Book’s ability to neutralize or prevent the designs of paranormal and satanic entities. In line with such Christian myths, many Nollywood Christianity-based films deploy various typologies of artifacts, signs and special effects to represent the Bible as an object which is more than a mere carrier of holy scriptures and the voice of God. In this paper, attention is given …

Transforming Leviathan: Job, Hobbes, Zvyagintsev And Philosophical Progression, Graham C. Goff

Journal of Religion & Film

The allegory of Leviathan, the biblical serpent of the seas, has undergone numerous distinct and even antithetical conceptions since its origin in the book of Job. Most prominently, Leviathan was the namesake of Thomas Hobbes’s 1651 political treatise and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s 2014 film of the same name, a damning indictment of Russian corruption. These three iterations underscore the societal transition from the recognition of power as being derived from God to the secularization of power in Hobbes’s philosophy, to the negation of the legitimacy of divine and secular institutional power, in Zvyagintsev’s controversial film. This examination of Leviathan’s three unique …

Seeing And Interpreting Visions Of The Next Age In Interstellar, Nancy Wright

Journal of Religion & Film

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014) uses multiple styles of cinematography – documentary, painterly and expressionistic – to guide interpretation of its apocalyptic review of history. Within the prologue and epilogue of the science fiction film, clips from interviews originally filmed for Ken Burns’s The Dust Bowl (2012) invite questions about how to interpret documentary, revisionist and eschatological reviews of history. Cinematography functions as a self-reflexive cue to spectators within and outside the mise-en-scène to engage in eschatological interpretation. The representation of spectatorship and vision reveals the challenge of interpreting prophetic visions of the last things and the next age, which are …

Gender, Race, And Religion In An African Enlightenment, Jonathan D. Lyonhart

Journal of Religion & Film

Black Panther (2018) not only heralded a new future for representation in big-budget films but also gave an alternative vision of the past, one which recasts the Enlightenment within an African context. By going through its technological enlightenment in isolation from Western ideals and dominance, Wakanda opens a space for reflecting on alternate ways progress can—and still might—unfold. More specifically, this alternative history creates room for reimagining how modernity—with its myriad social, scientific, and religious paradigm shifts—could have negotiated questions of race, and, in turn, how race could have informed and redirected some of the lesser impulses of modernity. Similar …

Hacking The Mind: Internet Memes As Tools Of Propaganda, Joshua Nieubuurt

College of Arts and Letters Posters

Internet memes are one of the latest evolutions of “leaflet” propaganda and an effective tool in the arsenal of digital persuasion. In the past such items were dropped from planes, now they find their way into social media across multiple platforms and their territory lacks spacial boundaries. Internet memes can be used to target specific groups to help build and solidify tribal bonds. Due to the ease of creation, and their ability to constantly reaffirm axiomatic tribal ideas, they have become an adroit tool allowing for mass influence across international borders. This poster seeks to display some of the common …

The Role Of The Filmmaker: Truth And Awareness, Amy Litofsky

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Documentary can be defined as motion picture that shapes and interprets factual material for purposes of education or entertainment. The problem with most documentary films, though, is that the filmmaker never does enough in their film. Filmmakers are too focused on simply exposing the truth on the issues being filmed and not focused enough on providing solutions for these issues. This is something apparent in all genres of documentary, from cinema verité, which Bill Nichols explains, “seldom offered the sense of history, context, or perspective that viewers seek” (640), to observational film, which “appears to leave the driving to us. …

It Won’T Be Easy, Allison Arkush

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Interdisciplinary artist Allison Arkush engages a wide range of materials, modalities, and research in her practice. In It Won’t Be Easy, Arkush places and piles her multimedia sculptures throughout the gallery to create installations that overlap ­with her writing and poetry, sometimes layering in (or extending out to) audio and video components. This approach facilitates the probing exploration of prevailing value systems through a flattening of hierarchies among and between humans, the other-than-human, and the inanimate—though no less lively. Her work meditates on and ‘vendiagrams’ things forsaken and sacred, the traumatic and nostalgic. The exhibition title acknowledges that the …