Film and Media Studies Commons^™

The Valley Of The Wind And Buddhism, Grace Aulicino

CAFE Symposium 2025

Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a philosophical exploration of fulfillment, rooted in Buddhist and Taoist principles. The film contrasts the destructive forces of greed and individualism, embodied by Kushana and the Tolmekians, with the harmonious collectivism of the People of the Valley of the Wind. Nausicaä, the film’s heroine, challenges traditional gender norms by being a strong, selfless leader who seeks peace and balance rather than power. Her journey reflects the Taoist ideal of surrender as a path to enlightenment, ultimately sacrificing herself to unite humanity and nature. Through stunning visuals and rich storytelling, Miyazaki …

Ethical Problems Of Enforcing Justice In Death Note And Psycho-Pass Anime, Aldiyar Alen

CAFE Symposium 2025

What happens when justice is controlled by a single person or a powerful system? This research explores how Death Note and Psycho-Pass show the dangers of extreme justice. In Death Note, Light Yagami takes the law into his own hands, believing he can create a perfect world by eliminating criminals. In Psycho-Pass, an advanced AI system judges people before they even commit crimes, deciding their fate based on predictions. Both systems aim to reduce crime but end up threatening personal freedom and fairness. By comparing these stories, this study highlights the risks of justice without balance, questioning how …

Pom Poko: When Nature Speaks Out Against Urbanization, Sabrina Huynh

CAFE Symposium 2025

Pom Poko highlights the correlation between the survival of nature and the progress of humanity. Therefore, by showing different dynamic relationships like Gonta’s aggressive way of fighting against or peaceful co-existence of Shoukichi, Pom Poko suggests viewers may feel that humans should find a way to live harmoniously with the environment.

Isekai: Discovering Factors That Contributed To Its Success And Diving Into The Mentality Of Contemporary Japanese Citizens, Anh Duc Nguyen

CAFE Symposium 2025

Isekai, an anime and manga genre where characters are transported to another world, has become popular in recent years. This paper examines the factors contributing to this phenomenon, exploring how isekai works resonate with contemporary Japanese citizens. It argues that the genre's appeal lies in its ability to offer escapism from societal pressures, particularly those stemming from economic hardship and a lack of perceived agency. By analyzing important and known isekai works, including Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken, this paper demonstrates how the genre fulfills a desire of the Japanese for fulfillment and sense of agency. Furthermore, it explores …

How Do Literary And Cinematic Monsters Reveal The Fear Of The Instability Or Distortion Of Human Identity?, Arya Kc

CAFE Symposium 2025

Throughout history, monsters have both disturbed and captivated humanity. Initially defined by their grotesque physical forms, monsters have evolved to symbolize deeper psychological fears, often reflecting the instability or distortion of human identity. This project examines the shifting portrayal of monstrosity in literature and film, focusing on works like Frankenstein, Dracula, and Alien. By blurring the line between human and monstrous, these stories reveal the fragility of human identity and expose our profound fears of psychological and existential instability, challenging us to confront what it truly means to be human.

2025 Sundance Film Festival Introduction, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

Introduction to our coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

Ragamuffin, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Ragamuffin (2025), directed by Kaitlyn Mikalya.

Stereotypes Of Female Characters In Disney, Merouge Hazem Elboraie

The Undergraduate Research Journal

The depiction of female characters in Disney films has undergone a significant transformation throughout the decades, reflecting societal shifts and changing perceptions of gender roles. As young girls tend to idolize fictional female characters, ensuring a healthy portrayal of women in animated films is crucial. This paper aims to discuss the portrayal of female characters in Disney movies within certain frames and their impact on the general public through a case analysis of literature reviews. It underscores the dynamic interplay between societal change and cinematic narratives, particularly in Disney. The research’s findings indicate that the negative portrayal of Disney female …

20250205: Marshall Artist Series, 2016-2024, Marshall Artist Series

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of the Artist Series at Marshall University from 2016-2024. Items were received in 2025. Items include movie-sized posters of the programs from the Artist Series, including Piff the Magic Dragon, Mikey Day, Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and more. Please download the finding aid for a full list of contents.

B(L)Ind The Sacrifice, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, B(l)ind the Sacrifice (2025), directed by Nakhane.

Trokas Duras, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Trokas Duras (2025), directed by Jazmin Garcia.

Death Education, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Death Education (2025), directed by Yuxon Ethan Wu.

Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting (2025) directed by Alex Thompson.

Paradise Man (Ii), William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Paradise Man (II) (2025), directed by Jordan Michael Blake.

Last Days, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Last Days (2024) directed by Justin Lin.

The Things You Kill, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of The Things You Kill (2024), directed by Alireza Khatami.

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) (2025), directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade.

Luz, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of LUZ (2024), directed by Flora Lau.

Khartoum, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Khartoum (2025), directed by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M. Ahmed, and Phil Cox.

Endless Cookie, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Endless Cookie (2025), directed by Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver.

Cutting Through Rocks, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Cutting Through Rocks (2025), directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni.

Dj Ahmet, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of DJ Ahmet (2025), directed by Georgi M. Unkovski.

Atropia, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Atropia (2025), directed by Hailey Gates.

Streaming Media Platforms And Film/Video Arts Distribution, Aras Ozgun, Andreas Treske

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Streaming media platforms have emerged as new and natively digital forms of content delivery for mainstream news and entertainment media over the past decades. Underlying technologies also unfold new possibilities for the circulation artistic/creative digital video works. Yet, such potential remains relatively underexplored, due to the complexities involved in the public distribution of such works. In this study, we analyze these complexities and critically evaluate emerging models, such as open access streaming media platforms, subscription-based platforms, and cryptocurrency and NFT-based platforms that feature new administrative forms and governance strategies. We finally discuss the possible roles of traditional public cultural institutions …

The Kindle Ecosystem Of Overconsumption: The Digital Flâneuse Roaming Booktok E-Spaces, Valeria Baltodano

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The development of a community and culture around reading on the social media platform has afforded women new avenues for empowerment through their earning and spending power. A tool wielded often in this mobile space, Amazon’s Kindle device has reached a new height of popularity thanks to the women in the bookish community of TikTok. This paper employs Anne Friedberg’s concept of the flâneuse in relation to the limitation of women’s empowerment through the commodification and aestheticization of reading on TikTok. It demonstrates how the Kindle has become the locus for a culture of overconsumption through which these women exercise …

Where The Wind Comes From, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Where the Wind Comes From (2025), directed by Amel Guellaty.

Deuce Redemption: Grindhouse Cinema, Moral Panic, And Urban Renewal, Robert Brenner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

If you consult standard histories of the “redevelopment” of 42^nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenue, AKA “the Deuce,” you will read that it was filled with nothing but criminals and pornographers, that decent people avoided it at all costs, and the only way the block could be “saved” was by seizing it via eminent domain, evicting all the current tenants, and replacing them with Disney and its fellow entertainment corporations.

The purpose of this thesis is to offer a more nuanced alternative to these standard histories. I will argue that the Deuce was a lower-class, multiracial, queer entertainment …

A Historical Analysis Of Saturday Night Live's Engagement In American Presidential Politics, Isabel Fox

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In October 1975, Saturday Night Live began its journey of changing not only television but the ways in which Americans understand political discourse. When the production first aired it introduced the world to Chevy Chase’s Nixon impersonation and has continued that tradition with Will Ferrel’s George Bush, Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin, Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump—and many more. But between these comedic impersonations the show also introduced the world to a satirical newsroom in Weekend Update and hosted numerous politicians. From the way this all sounds it would seem as though Saturday Night Live is akin to network news and yet …

Inherited Wounds: Generational Trauma In Postcolonial Film And Narrative Fiction Of The Global South, Sabrina Testi Melgarejo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The theorization of trauma in literary studies emerged in the 1990s, evolving from its physiological origins to a multidisciplinary framework encompassing literature, psychology, and history. However, classical trauma theory, rooted in Western scholarship and focused on singular traumatic events, has been criticized for its limitations in addressing collective and ongoing trauma in non-Western contexts. This thesis responds to a call for a more inclusive approach to trauma studies, examining how multi-generational and cultural trauma is represented in non-Western postcolonial films and literature from the Global South, including works from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Angola, Mozambique, Vietnam, and Lebanon.

The …

Destabilizing The Nuyorican: Rivera’S Women And Nuyorican Cinema, Judith R. Escalona

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rivera’s Women, the Capstone, is a TV segment I produced for the CUNY-TV show Latinas that first aired June 27, 2023 (Pride). It grew out of an hour-long interview I conducted with playwright and screenwriter José Rivera as part of my research on Nuyorican Cinema, the films of the Puerto Rican Diaspora.

An unknown part of U.S. independent cinema, these diasporic films destabilize the way independent films continue to be categorized through gender, race, ethnicity, and language. Using the Capstone as a guide, I examine two of Rivera’s recent screen works that situate him within Nuyorican Cinema because of his …