Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Fiction As Reality: Chinese Youths Watching American Television, Yang Gao

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

American television fiction is gaining traction among educated urban Chinese youths. Drawing on 29 interviews with fans among college students in Beijing, this article examines a shared perception among these youths that American television is ‘‘real.’’ This perceived realism, which is essential to their viewing pleasure, has two sources: American programming’s textual quality and the Chinese context in which it is consumed. First, US television appeals to Chinese youths because they perceive its topical content and complex characterization as true to life. This perception can be explained by the higher transnational cultural capital of these youths, which renders US programming …

The Moving Image In Public Art: U.S. And U.K., 1980–Present, Annie Dell'aria

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the work of artists who use moving images in contemporary public art. Specifically, these works are understood through their interactions with spectators and the practices of media consumption and public interaction these passersby negotiate when they encounter a work of moving image-based public art. To this end, I argue, through an analysis of public art, that screen spectatorship is an inherently situated experience.

The project of this dissertation is two-fold. First, I outline a typology of moving image-based public art by dividing significant practices into three categories—the enchanting spectacle, the ludic interface, and the illumination of place. …

Developments In Television Viewership, Lucile E. Hecht

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent years the ways in which we watch television has changed, and so has the television we watch. “Binge watching,” almost the Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2013, has taken a firm hold on the American television audience who now watches television not according to the broadcast schedule but on its own terms. So, too, has the practice of engaging with other audience members, be they friends, family, or strangers, while watching a show by using a secondary device – a “second screen.” These practices have been developing for some time, and as technology adapts to …

Shadows And Light. Ernie Gehr Exhibitions At The Museum Of Modern Art, Sean M. Fuller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines exhibitions and media installations of Ernie Gehr’s work at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), beginning with the pivotal 1970 show Information, which presented four films by Gehr. Wait (1968), Transparency (1969), Reverberation (1969), and History (1970) were screened alongside work by other avant-garde filmmakers and video artists in a circular viewing booth in the gallery space, in a show featuring works now considered masterpieces of conceptual art. It also considers the two site-specific video works, MoMA on Wheels (2002) and Navigation (2002), which Gehr created for the lobby space at MoMA QNS, …

The New Reflexivity: Puzzle Films, Found Footage, And Cinematic Narration In The Digital Age, Jordan Lavender-Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“The New Reflexivity” tracks two narrative styles of contemporary Hollywood production that have yet to be studied in tandem: the puzzle film and the found footage horror film. In early August 1999, near the end of what D.N. Rodowick refers to as “the summer of digital paranoia,” two films entered the wide-release U.S. theatrical marketplace and enjoyed surprisingly massive financial success, just as news of the “death of film” circulated widely. Though each might typically be classified as belonging to the horror genre, both the unreliable “puzzle film” The Sixth Sense and the fake-documentary “found footage film” The Blair Witch …

Streamlining The 3d Animation Process, Dylan Hoffman, Kelly Loosli

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I knew from the beginning that this project – centered around improving the collaborative process of making a 3D animated film across several “stages” and made by several artists of different specialties, temperaments, and backgrounds – would be two-fold. The first phase was learning more about the process itself, and how each phase related to another. The second, zoning in on an area that has been a weakness for BYU Animated Films in the past – character effects and cloth simulation. The project evolved much over the course of the year, with far more time and value being placed in …

Learning To Speak The Language Of Influence, Mark Volkers

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"There’s nothing wrong with media that entertains and delights. We need that. But prophetic media takes it a step further and dares ask an audience hard questions and helps us wonder about the state of things on earth today."

Posting about the new literacy of image from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/learning-to-speak-the-language-of-influence/

Dehexing Postwar West Balkan Masculinities: The Case Of Bosnia, Croatia, And Serbia, 1998 To 2015, Marko Dumančić

History Faculty Publications

Focusing on Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia, this article examines film and music that emerged in the region since the end of the Yugoslav Wars of Succession. We analyze how the uncertainties of the postwar era facilitated a dynamic field of cultural contestation in which the music and film industries simultaneously challenge and affirm normative masculine sociocultural roles. Although traditional norms have not lost their primacy in public life, we emphasize the fact that attitudes toward masculinity have, in general, become increasingly ambiguous and multivalent. While local sociological studies accurately observe that violence and intolerance constitute central traits for the majority …

Films And Religion: An Analysis Of Aamir Khan’S Pk, Monisa Qadri, Sabeha Mufti

Journal of Religion & Film

Every year, the Indian film industry produces the highest number of films in the world and also figures at the top position for ticket sales, but that does not make the society completely tolerant of how different issues are represented in films. That is a question which PK (2014), the biggest Bollywood grosser of all times, raised. This satirical comedy is based on challenging the superstitions labelled as religious practices in Indian society. India, being home to multiple religions and a diverse cultural fabric, supports many layers of understanding about faith, religion, rituals, and beliefs, which form a sensitive issue. …

The Qur’Anic Epic In Iranian Cinema, Nacim Pak-Shiraz

Journal of Religion & Film

The representation of religious figures in Islam has become particularly controversial in recent years. The creation of religious films has, therefore, turned into a highly sensitive undertaking. Iranian cinema is one of the very few in the Muslim world to have employed this new medium in imagining and narrating stories of revered religious figures. In this article I examine the complex socio-political context of Iran to study the relatively late emergence of the epic genre in Iranian cinema. I then study the recent creation and development of ‘Qur’anic Films’ within Iranian cinema with specific reference to Kingdom of Solomon ( …

Authenticity – An Important Property For Artistic Documents?, Roswitha Skare

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The notion of authenticity seems to have grown more and more important for artistic documents during the last decades. Critics are using the term as a kind of distinction; an authentic novel or film is a good novel or film. Authenticity in these cases does not mean questioning the novel or film as an original work of art; rather, what is meant by authenticity is the relationship between reality and the content of a novel or film, assuming possible mimesis in terms of a mirror-like relationship. The highly acclaimed and award-winning film Das Leben der Anderen (The lives of …

Using Heider’S Epistemology Of Thing And Medium For Unpacking The Conception Of Documents: Gantt Charts And Boundary Objects, Sebastian K. Boell, Florian Hoof

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Documents play a central role for many organizational processes. Current conceptualizations of documents predominantly engage with documents in two different ways. One sees documents as things with specific properties, and a second sees documents as medium enabling communication across different groups of actors. What is currently not well understood is how documents are perceived either as thing or as medium. This chapter engages with this issue by drawing from Fritz Heider’s epistemology of thing and medium, a concept stemming from social and media theory. According to Heider things are uniform and medium are multiform. Applying this concept to documents we …

Graverobber, Individualized Chorus: The Greek Chorus Reinterpreted In Repo! The Genetic Opera, Grace Markulin

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

The rock opera film Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) provides its audience with details regarding the film’s setting and perspectives on the morality of the film’s plot through the character Graverobber, whose sung dialogue expresses this information. Graverobber’s penchant for scene-setting and moralizing within the film classifies the character as a Greek chorus according to the parameters of the Greek chorus in antiquity and modern interpretations of the chorus in twentieth-century musical theater, but the character’s visual distinctiveness, preexisting relationship with an established character, and prominent use of solo vocal lines throughout his sung dialogue demonstrates a degree of individuation …

Identity, Community, And Nikki S. Lee, Haley Yarborough

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

This research sheds light on the complex artistry of Korean-born photographer Nikki S. Lee. Although Lee's work initially appears straightforward and casual, this essay explores how photographs in "The Hip Hop Project" and "The Tourist Project" actually reinforce and critique specific cultural stereotypes. In performing different ethnic and cultural identities for her photographs, Lee also investigates what it means to one's own identity to be labeled part of a specific community.

Audio Documentary Script: What's The Magic Word?, Yasmine Bassily

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

This script has all the interviews and narration transcribed, and timed. Additionally, the script offers an overview of the main objective of the documentary. This script should help the audience in finding the piece of information they are looking for easily. The first interview is with Ramy Emad, followed by Maya, and Sameh Bassily.

Script: An Attitude Makeover Towards Unconventional Dance In Egypt, Sarah Guirguis

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

The purpose of this audio documentary is to put a microscope on the general Egyptian attitude towards unfamiliar art, specifically the types of dance that people are not used to watching on stage. Tune in to see the development of this attitude over time from the perspective of members of an old hip-hop dance crew formed in 2003 and the current hip-hop instructor at the American University in Cairo.

Double Edge Sword: The Story Of Armenians, Miriam Mikhail

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

This documentary reveals the truth about the Armenians in 1915 and the Armenian Diaspora- more specifically in Egypt. After over hundred years of massacres and displacement, how they have become an integral part of the Egyptian society? Thousands of Armenians came and settled down in Egypt as new home and Egypt truly became their second or rather their substitute home. Since then Armenian community played a critical role in building that cosmopolitan nation we are speaking about its glory now. In 19th century, the Egyptian Armenian community began to participate effectively in building the Modern Egypt we know now. After …

Audio Documentary Script: Heroes Behind The Scenes., Farah Hany Tawfeek

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Audio Documentary: Heros Behind the Scenes This Audio Documentary tells the story of two physically disabled people who made it in life: Magdy Shahir who became a motivational speaker and Amr Osama who, after a horseback riding accident became a ping pong player. It also focuses within their stories on the people who supported them through their journey: for Magdy this was his mom Christina Smith as for Amr this was his coach Mohamad Sakr. Special Thanks to the interviewees: Christina Smith, Magdy Sahir, Mohamad Sakr and Amr Osama. This Documentary tells the story of the struggles of disabled people …

Drugs In Egypt: Between Culture And Crime Audio Documentary Script, Alaa El Dirini

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Final audio documentary script This is the script of the final audio documentary produced for the JRMC 4460 Audio Production fall 2016 course.

A Patchwork Family: The Struggle For Survival In Pölsler’S Austrian Movie Die Wand, Eckhard Rolz

School of American and Global Studies Faculty Publications with a Focus on Modern Languages and Global Studies

The movie Die Wand (2013) was hugely successful in the German-speaking world and once dubbed, also in other countries. It is often described as a film depicting a woman living in utter isolation cut off from any social contact. I, however, argue that the protagonist, though she is without any human contact, creates a family-like order with the animals that have flocked to her. She is the dominant mother figure who takes care of her “children” and defends them when needed.

The Production Of Ek Tha Tiger: A Marriage Of Convenience Between Bollywood And The Irish Film And Tourist Industries, Giovanna Rampazzo

Articles

This article examines a collaboration between the Irish and Hindi film industries, adopting the production of Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger (2012) in Dublin as a case study. It critically narrates the arc of the film’s production, foregrounding the intersecting concerns of Yash Raj Films and Irish creative and cultural institutions. Ek Tha Tiger represents Ireland through constructed idyllic images which proved to be successful in attracting tourists. Tracing the links between the production of the film and the promotion of tourism to Ireland, this article explains how the film was used to construct a ‘tourist gaze’ for audiences in …

Rodcon, Slides, 2016, University Of Northern Iowa

RodCon Documents

RodCon Program Schedule of Events

Kawergosk: Home Made Of Cloth, Saddam Al-Zubaidi, Elizabeth Wuerffel, Sarhang Sherwany

Art Faculty Publications

After fleeing war in Syria and crossing the border into Kurdistan Region, Iraq, Syrian Kurds attempt to build a life in Kawergosk Refugee Camp. Music, food, and education provide families some comfort and meaning while they struggle with camp conditions and the persistence of waiting. Kawergosk: Home Made of Cloth gives entrance to the struggles facing many of the 250,000 Syrian refugees in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. Poignant refugee stories and depiction of camp life illustrate both the specific history of Syrian Kurds and common needs of refugees. From a rap artist creating songs of resistance to a young …

An_Invisible_Man_In_American_Society.Pdf, Miguel Juarez

Selected Works Temporary Series

Interview with experimental filmmaker Willie Varela. Willie Varela was born in 1950 in El Paso, TX, where he currently lives and works. He earned a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1996 from The University of Texas at El Paso. He was a past Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre Arts and Film. His solo exhibitions include a mid-career retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (1994) and Crossing Over which originated as a collaborative project between the El Paso Museum of Art, TX and the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at …

Techno-Apocalypse: Technology, Religion, And Ideology In Bryan Singer’S H+, Edward Brennan

Books/Book chapters

This essay critically analyses the digital series H+. In the near future, adults who can afford them, have replaced tablets and cell phones with nanotechnology implants. The H+ implant acts as a medical diagnostic and can overlay the user's senses with a computer interface. The apocalypse comes in the form of a computer virus which infects the H+ network and instantly kills one third of humanity. The series represents the anxiety and religiosity that surrounds the possible social consequences of digital technology. It also explores the tensions and intersections between technology and faith. This essay makes the case, however, that …

Rodcon, Program, 2016, University Of Northern Iowa

RodCon Documents

Inside This Program:

--RodCon 2016 at the Rod Library, Saturday April 2, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
--Welcome to RodCon
--Locations
--Schedule
--What's That? Event Descriptions
--Autographs

Blackfish-Ing For Buzz: The Rhetoric Of The Real In Theme Parks And Documentary, Steven W. Schoen

Faculty Publications

In 2014, a year of record tourism in the state of Florida, SeaWorld saw a drop of one million visitors to its theme park in Orlando. The decline followed Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s 2013 documentary film Blackfish, which presented the circumstances of orcas, or “killer whales,” held in captivity at parks like SeaWorld as cruel to the animals and dangerous to their trainers. In 2016, SeaWorld announced it will stop breeding orcas, and phase out its orca theatrical shows by 2019, a move widely attributed in the press to the impact of Cowperthwaite’s film. This article examines the film Blackfish as a …

Illusory Perspectives: Edward Weston, Jeremy Razook

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

Photographer Edward Weston was famously able to capture unexpected beauty—no matter if his subject was fruit or human. This essay locates Weston's artistic vision within the modernist movement of the first half of the twentieth century and uses two well-known images to illustrate Weston's unique talent for transcending the boundaries between human and nonhuman, animate and inanimate, being and nonbeing in his desire to encourage the experience of introspection and contemplation in viewers.

How To Save...A Nation? Televisual Fiction Post-9/11, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

To claim that the national tragedy of 9/11 is a defining moment in thefirst decade of the tV1renty-first century for the United States is not profound,nor is the statement that it directly and indirectly influenced thecultural production within American society throughout these years.Regardless of the obviousness of these claims, it is exactly upon theseassumptions that this chapter rests. In the years following the attackson the World Trade Center and Pentagon, cultural products have beensites for interrogating and remediating the trauma that 9 /11 causedfor the citizens of a country that believed itself to be untouchable.Although these cultural concerns were played …

Negotiating Gender And Sexaulity In Contemporary Turkey, Jaspal Kaur Singh 2508334, Mary Lou O'Neil

Books

Turkey is often visualized as a modern nation-state having a perfect balance of Eastern and Western cultural mores and traditions within dominant ideological constructions and representations, but on closer inspection, one can detect conflicts and contradictions within various texts - particularly in regards to depictions of gender and sexual identity. Upon its foundation as a nation, Turkey embarked on a state-centered, elite-driven path toward modernization and Westernization while also seeking to produce a monolithic culture. At the time, it was widely believed that Turkey could not rank among modern, Western countries without the emancipation of women. As a result of …