Matching Items (52)
Description
Liminality is a story yet to be told in broad scale entertainment. While a story about a boy who sees ghosts may be a recurring theme in Hollywood, (Sixth Sense, anyone?), queerness, particularly asexuality, is practically non-existent, and narratives that feature the coming of age of a queer adolescent in a positive manner are even less present. Queerness, it seems, is more of a myth than ghosts and the supernatural to most media creators. This project seeks to combat this lack of representation. Liminality is a creative project working to normalize lesser known and underrepresented queer identities into mainstream media through the conceptualization of animated and comic web series. By doing so, this project demonstrates that entertainment can be used as a means of promoting acceptance and understanding of these identities. Our aim with this project is to develop an intriguing long-form story with realistic, relatable characters that exhibits the sociological themes we want to address. We intend this story to be an animated series that entices viewers of all ages, by which we mean that the story explores complex themes that would typically be limited to an older audience, yet are presented in a way that is still accessible to a younger audience. In the process of this project, we have drawn up concept art and storyboards, written character biographies and scripts, created sets and characters using 2D and 3D animation software, and begun setting up the infrastructure for the studio, Studio Skald, with which we may create this series.
ContributorsRandall, Phoebe Airika (Author) / Hansen, Elizabeth (Co-author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Committee member) / Hannan, Peter (Committee member) / School of Arts, Media and Engineering (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This thesis explores the emergence and evolution of the term ‘binge-watching’ and considers how this practice of television consumption became a widespread cultural phenomenon. For the purposes of this project, binge-watching will be defined as watching several episodes of a television series in a row, without stopping (trips to the bathroom and kitchen excluded). This type of television consumption has become increasingly popular due to the rise in digital streaming content available on sites such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video. This paper focuses on Netflix, the foremost streaming service used in the United States, because of its implementation of features that allow for easier binge-watching, such as its autoplay countdown feature and its personalized rating system which recommends new content to users based on their preferences. Not only has binge-watching become a popular form of television consumption, the term itself is prevalent in advertisement, critical media discourse, and casual conversation amongst spectators, prompting questions about its etymology. Very little research has yet been published on the topic of binge-watching and what those who consume television this way are doing to their bodies and minds – essentially placing consumers in the midst of an uncontrolled experiment. Future research should be pursued to address these gaps in literature and understanding of this phenomenon. This paper sought to piece together the conflicted responses to the practice of binge-watching, with both producers and viewers lauding how technology enables viewers to have a sense of agency and control over their viewing practices, while also admitting that such practices may have a detrimental impact on the industry and spectators’ physical and mental well-beings.
ContributorsTaylor, Emma Lynette (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
My thesis provides an in-depth analysis of the Tarantinoverse, a shared universe in which most of Quentin Tarantino's movies exist. I start by talking about the relationships between characters across different movies and how Tarantino portrays them. I examine how he has some characters who are brothers and some characters who have ancestral relationships with other characters. I also observe how two characters in separate movies are the same person and that there is one non-familial relationship within Tarantino's shared universe. Next, I investigate the two distinct universes that make up the Tarantino's cinematic universe, the "realer than real" universe and the "movie" universe. In that section, I explain how he uses crossover characters, who can exist in both the "realer than real" and "movie" universes and how they represent different types of people that exist within both universes. Then I examine fictional products that are exclusive to Tarantino's shared universe. In that segment, I examine how Tarantino critiques the way other filmmakers use product placement in their movies and the way movies are used to market products. After that, I discuss how Tarantino's alteration of history in Inglourious Basterds, namely Adolf Hitler's death, affected the society of Tarantino's movies with respect to popular culture and violence. Regarding pop culture, I examine how Tarantino's characters use pop culture references, how frequently they used them, and what they reference in Tarantino's movies set before Hitler's death and contrast those with the same three aspects in movies set after Hitler's death. Finally, I inspect on how Tarantino uses violence within his movies and contrast how he uses it in movies before Hitler's death and how he uses it in movies set after Hitler's death.
ContributorsMurwin, Nicholas (Author) / Maday, Gregory (Thesis director) / Miller, April (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
"The Art of Humans Being" is a feature length screenplay in the same vein as an original Pixar animated script. The story takes place in New York City, and focuses on our heroine, 13-year-old high school senior and certifiable genius, Lu, and our hero, 17-year-old high school senior of average smarts, Finn. We are first introduced to these characters as they struggle with fitting in both at school and in their lives at home. Lu and Finn feel a disconnect with their families, but both share a common appreciation for art and the escape it provides. Though her entire family is involved in artistic and creative pursuits, Lu has never painted a day in her life but dreams of one day being a great artist. Finn, on the other hand, has inherited his deceased mother’s immense talent with a paintbrush, but is hesitant to live in her shadow. Upon seeing their desire to paint, their high school art teacher—Miss Ro—encourages Finn and Lu to enter the world-renowned art competition Palette Parfaite, created by the famous French artist Madame Inès. In order to enter this art competition, contestants must dive inside a painting. As such, Lu and Finn are forced to literally enter the art world. Once inside the painting, they are introduced to colorful characters, stunning landscapes, and an entire studio of art materials that can only be described as every artists’ dream. However, the more time they spend inside the painting, the sooner Lu and Finn realize that this dreamlike world is not quite what it seems. "The Art of Humans Being" seeks to explore the world of art through the following questions: What happens to the forgotten art that has been discarded after being deemed “not good enough” to be finished? What happens to human beings who are treated the same? And finally, what happens when we accept people for who they are and what they create, even if they have flaws; even if they’re still works in progress?
ContributorsGraves, Cassidy Aadland (Author) / Bernstein, Gregory (Thesis director) / Maday, Gregory (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The rate of cancer incidence is a morbid figure. Twenty years ago, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women were predicted to be afflicted by cancer throughout their lifetime (Cancer Facts & Figures- 1998). In 2017, the rate remains the same ("Cancer Statistic Center"). Every year, more people are affected by cancer, which is a physiologically, psychologically, emotionally and socially devastating disease. And yet the language and metaphors we use to describe cancer focus our attention on the "fight" of the heroic individual against the brutal disease or on finding a cure. Despite this narrow rhetoric, there are many meaningful, supportive, and palliative measures designed to substantively and holistically care for cancer patients, beyond their medical treatment. Many of these interventions help the patient feel supported (and less alone in this "battle") by building robust communities. In this thesis, I argue the summer camps for children affected by cancer are meaningful interventions that offer palliative care throughout their treatment by creating support networks with peers going through similar medical procedures. Drawing on anecdotal evidence from three cancer camps and a detailed literature review of a subset of palliative interventions designed to promote well-being, this thesis proposes a new model for a summer camp that focuses on emotional processing emotional expression, positive psychology in order to improve palliative care for cancer patients.
ContributorsPearce, Spencer Taylor (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
My creative project was the (aptly named) "Sketch Show," short series of sketches presented in order without greater context or structure. I challenged myself to push the limits of my creativity and be involved in every aspect of the production. I wrote, directed, shot, edited, acted, scored, and color graded 3 sketches. I chose sketch comedy as my genre of focus because it is one that I have loved my whole life, and wanted to try my hand at. My research process was expansive, as I studied many of the great sketch shows and tried to learn what makes them successful. I next wrote many sketches, and they were almost uniformly terrible. My rewrite and selection phase was very difficult as I struggled to identify which of my sketches were working best, and I still question the decisions I made. Regardless, the shooting process began and I continued to push myself through cinematography and especially acting, something I have the least experience in by far. I had acted in theatre in high school, but I quickly learned this was completely different and struggled to give myself the performance I had in my head. Finally in the edit, where I am most comfortable, I pushed myself one step further to score the project, something I had never done before. "Sketch Show" may not have turned out to be the project I intended, but it taught me more about writing and myself than any project ever has.
ContributorsRagatz, Caleb (Author) / Scott, Jason (Thesis director) / Maday, Gregory (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
As the Hispanic community is expanding, television networks need to find or create content that can be distributed successfully in Latin America and the United States. To discover what can be sold internationally, this study is divided into three parts: Content, Sale and Distribution. In Section II (Content), what is selling in both the United States and Latin America was analyzed. Since telenovelas have been the most popular form of television entertainment in Latin America, telenovelas from the 80s to the present were investigated. Telemundo (owned by NBC) and Univision (owned by Univision Communications and Televisa Entertainment from Mexico) are the two most established networks broadcasting in Spanish in the US. Factors in Telemundo's ratings success were studied to determine whether "series" in Spanish were becoming the new form of telenovelas. Produced format sells for telenovelas in Spanish that derive from television shows in English were analyzed based on their content and success. English television shows that derive from telenovelas in Spanish were evaluated based on their reception by the Hispanic community in the US. In Section III (What to Sell?), suggestions on a new content are made based on the previous analysis. Section IV (Distribution) examines the rise of internet streaming services such as Netflix. This section comments on whether networks should distribute their content in streaming services vs. traditional network outlets.
ContributorsMonserrate, Angelica Krystal (Author) / Maday, Gregory (Thesis director) / Giner, Oscar (Committee member) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Delusions of Grandeur: A Collection of Emotionally Revealing and Probably Not Funny Comedy Vignettes
Description
This creative project, titled What Did You Expect?, is five comedy plays all written and edited by me (with the help of my director Jason Scott), to ideally be performed all in a single night of entertainment. All five plays are united with an overarching theme, which sits somewhere on the borders of subverting expectations and the fortitude of human emotion. I have a long history writing sketch comedy (for a college student), but each of these plays were all written with the specific intention to divert from the style of short-form comedy to longer stories with dynamic characters and plot movement, rather than circling around one singular joke. Each play tells a story placed in a setting with specific expectations, then follows an absurd character as she or he subverts each and every one of those expectations. There are five plays. The first and fifth play comprise the two parts of the story of Leonardo Da Vinci and Mona Lisa, their secret love affair, and it discusses, through a series of misunderstandings and insults, broad realizations about love and art. The second is the story of a therapy session between a seasoned professional and a nightmare patient, and it follows the therapist's absurd descent into (brief) madness, as well as the patient's ascent into (brief) catharsis. The third play serves as a transition; a short monologue by a 13-year old boy delivering a science fair presentation about a hermit crab \u2014 only to realize that he and the crab have more in common than he would like to think. Finally, the fourth play is called Space Cowboy, and to discuss it any further would take all the fun out of reading it. Overall, the project was about self-discovery through a new form of comedy writing, and hopefully it's funny enough for someone to read. Hell, I'd even take a skim. If someone skimmed the plays, I'd consider this creative project a success. You've already read the abstract though, so we're off to a good start! If it's not up to your standards, all I have to say is...what did you expect?
ContributorsMahai, Cameron Jahon (Author) / Scott, Jason (Thesis director) / Maday, Gregory (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Popular culture has a longstanding tendency for being affected by, and reversely affecting, politics. Films, in particular, can exist as either purse “escapism” or heady pathways for political commentary. During the Second World War, governments in both the United States and Great Britain used film as a vessel for their own messages, but after the war ended, the two nations allowed their respective film industries more free expression in commenting on wartime and post-war politics. Film also provided particularly vivid political commentary during, and in the years immediately following, the Cold War. Though film has a longstanding history of being a force for political commentary, the medium’s specific engagement with the Cold War holds particular significance because works produced by the two nations’ film industries paralleled the social trend toward political activism at the time. While films produced in the UK and the United States in the 1960s addressed a wide range of contentious political issues, a huge body of work was spurred on by one of the most pressing political tensions of the time: namely, the Cold War.
The United States and Great Britain were major, allied forces during the Cold War. Despite their allied positions, they had unique politico-social perspectives that greatly reflected their immediate involvement in the conflict, in addition to their respective political histories and engagement in previous wars. As the Cold War threat was a large and, in many ways, incomprehensible one, each country took certain elements of the Cold War situation and used those elements to reflect their varied political social positions to a more popular audience and the culture it consumed.
In turn, filmmakers in both countries used their mediums to make overarching political commentaries on the Cold War situation. This analysis looks at five films from those countries during the 1960s, and explores how each representation offered different, often conflicting, perspectives on how to “manage” Cold War tensions, while simultaneously reflecting their conflicted culture and political decisions. The films analyzed reveal that each country focused on contrasting perceptions about the source of the threat posed by Soviet forces, thus becoming tools to further promote their distinct political stances. While the specifics of that commentary changed with each filmmaker, they generally paralleled each country’s perspective on the overall Cold War atmosphere. The British message represented the Cold War as a very internal battle—one that involved the threat within UK borders via the infiltration of spies the tools of espionage. In contrast, the American films suggest that the Cold War threat was largely an internal one, a struggle best combatted by increasing weaponry that would help control the threat before it reached American borders.
The United States and Great Britain were major, allied forces during the Cold War. Despite their allied positions, they had unique politico-social perspectives that greatly reflected their immediate involvement in the conflict, in addition to their respective political histories and engagement in previous wars. As the Cold War threat was a large and, in many ways, incomprehensible one, each country took certain elements of the Cold War situation and used those elements to reflect their varied political social positions to a more popular audience and the culture it consumed.
In turn, filmmakers in both countries used their mediums to make overarching political commentaries on the Cold War situation. This analysis looks at five films from those countries during the 1960s, and explores how each representation offered different, often conflicting, perspectives on how to “manage” Cold War tensions, while simultaneously reflecting their conflicted culture and political decisions. The films analyzed reveal that each country focused on contrasting perceptions about the source of the threat posed by Soviet forces, thus becoming tools to further promote their distinct political stances. While the specifics of that commentary changed with each filmmaker, they generally paralleled each country’s perspective on the overall Cold War atmosphere. The British message represented the Cold War as a very internal battle—one that involved the threat within UK borders via the infiltration of spies the tools of espionage. In contrast, the American films suggest that the Cold War threat was largely an internal one, a struggle best combatted by increasing weaponry that would help control the threat before it reached American borders.
ContributorsNelson, Taylor Lynn (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
All Walks Project is a student-led nonprofit dedicated to spreading awareness about domestic sex trafficking on college campuses by implementing replicable Student Chapter models on both high school and college campuses. Through the All Walks Project: New Chapter Guide, we explore the effectiveness of peer-to-peer grassroots student organizations, and we provide students with a structured framework to create an effective grassroots campaign against trafficking of their own, with personalized assistance from the All Walks Project's Regional Representatives. This guide explores walks students through the step-by-step process of creating an All Walks Student Chapter. These steps include registering the chapter as a club with the host school, filing a funding request, setting up regular meeting times, connecting with a sister school, becoming educated about sex trafficking, creating a market strategy to fit the specific school, creating an effective student executive board, creating the chapter's social media presence, and registering the chapter with an All Walks Project Regional Representative. This guide also provides the chapter leaders with ideas and guidelines for events, meeting agendas, flyers, and many other relevant resources in order to involve the chapters in official All Walks Project nationwide anti-trafficking campaigns.
ContributorsHocken, Jessica (Co-author) / Schulte, Erin (Co-author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor)
Created2015-12