Convenient fictions: the disciplining mechanisms of screenplay structure

This thesis takes the recent increase in on-screen and behind-the-scenes representation in Hollywood film and televison as a launching point for a critique of the manner in which contemporary screenwriting paradigms discipline and control progressive representation. It is my contention that narrative and (most) generic conventions operate as straightening, whitening, and masculinizing devices, so that, even when female/of color/queer characters are plugged into traditional narratives, they become normalized, disciplined, and more in line with cis, white, heterosexist patriarchal logics. For the purposes of this study, because I am a screenwriter thinking within the discipline of media and communication studies, my methodology crosses disciplinary boundaries from media studies to queer-feminist theory to the fundamentals of screenwriting. Towards this end, this project will analyze two contemporary television series that have been praised for progressive representation and storytelling, particularly at the intersections of gender and sexuality: Killing Eve (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Sense8 (The Wachowskis). Through an analysis of each texts’ signifying practices—as influenced by contemporary screenwriting paradigms—I will demonstrate how Killing Eve’s adherence to traditional storytelling standards around character-building, narrative structure, and genre inhibit the liberatory potential of placing two female characters (an Asian-American, straight woman and a white, queer woman) at the center of the typically masculine spy thriller. In contrast, I will show how Sense8 moves beyond progressive representation by not only centering the series around eight protagonists of varying genders, sexualities, and racial identities, but also expanding its emancipatory potential by subverting and reimagining the rules of character, narrative structure, and genre

2021 - The Second Annual Fall Symposium of Student Scholars

The full program book from the Fall 2020 Symposium of Student Scholars, held on November 18, 2021. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/sssprograms/1024/thumbnail.jp

Chameleons in imagined conversations: A new approach to understanding coordination of linguistic style in dialogs

Conversational participants tend to immediately and unconsciously adapt to each other's language styles: a speaker will even adjust the number of articles and other function words in their next utterance in response to the number in their partner's immediately preceding utterance. This striking level of coordination is thought to have arisen as a way to achieve social goals, such as gaining approval or emphasizing difference in status. But has the adaptation mechanism become so deeply embedded in the language-generation process as to become a reflex? We argue that fictional dialogs offer a way to study this question, since authors create the conversations but don't receive the social benefits (rather, the imagined characters do). Indeed, we find significant coordination across many families of function words in our large movie-script corpus. We also report suggestive preliminary findings on the effects of gender and other features; e.g., surprisingly, for articles, on average, characters adapt more to females than to males.Comment: data available at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~cristian/movie

How we came to eye tracking animation: A cross-disciplinary approach to researching the moving image

In this article, three researchers from a large cross-disciplinary team reflect on their individual experiences of a pilot study in the field of eye tracking and the moving image. The study – now concluded – employed a montage sequence from the Pixar film Up (2009) to determine the impact of narrative cues on gaze behaviour. In the study, the researchers’ interest in narrative was underpinned by a broader concern with the interaction of top-down (cognitive) and bottom-up (salient) factors in directing viewers’ eye movements. This article provides three distinct but interconnected reflections on what the aims, process and results of the pilot study demonstrate about how eye tracking the moving image can expand methods and knowledge across the three disciplines of screenwriting, screen theory and eye tracking. It is in this way both an article about eye tracking, animation and narrative, and also a broader consideration of cross-disciplinary research methodologies

The portrayal of the Protestant minister in American motion pictures, 1951-1960, and its implications for the church today

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityProblem: To assess by the use of content analysis the Hollywood portrayal of the Protestant minister in feature films produced between 1951 and 1960, and state implications of this portrayal for the church in terms of recruitment for the ministry and expectations of the clerical role. Procedure: Categories of analysis were developed from a survey of the literature on the Protestant ministry and from existing content schedules used in motion picture research. A content schedule was devised to assess (1) the setting of the ministerial portrayal, (2) the minister as a person, (3) the minister and his family, (4) the minister's inter-personal relationships, (5) the minister's task, and (6) the minister's theology [TRUNCATED

Portrayals of gay characters in Chinese movies: A longitudinal look

ABSTRACT Homosexuals were considered criminals and abnormal in China, and the majority of Chinese homosexuals still hide in the shadows, especially in the mainland. However, demands of cultural pluralism and human rights are beginning to show a sign of tolerance to the minority group, especially among the younger generation. As a powerful form of mass media, motion pictures can create images of certain people, affecting the audience\u27s evaluation of a specific group or situation. This study examines the portrayals of gay characters in Chinese films over a sixteen-year period, focusing on the characters\u27 visibility (explicit or implicit), representation (positive or negative), and characterizations. A qualitative content analysis of ten Chinese movies with homosexual themes or having a sufficient role for a homosexual character was conducted. The sample covered movies released from 1993 to 2009. To be included in the study, the films must have been directed by a Chinese director and performed by Chinese actors, and set in Mainland China or a Chinese community. The result shows filmmakers of the analyzed movies tried to humanize them in an apparent effort to evoke sympathy toward and understanding of their plight. And most gay characters in the films suffered oppression from the society and their family. However, the government censorship severely limited the number and funding opportunities of homosexual-themed movies, making it difficult for such films to earn a profit. Even though some filmmakers and younger filmgoers are willing to bring the gay lifestyle into the light, government restrictions on content and distribution of the pictures has limited their exposure. And so the portrayal of gays in films has remained essentially the same during the years covered in the study. But a slight thaw in government regulation has allowed some gay characters to appear in mainstream movies, providing some indication that times are changing