I Was a Teenage Necrophiliac: A Screenplay

The critical essay that introduces this thesis pays homage to three people in the movie business who have most influenced my original screenplay, I Was a Teenage Necrophiliac. Also included is a section that briefly explains the impetus for this project, and a closing argument that examines the intentional use of cliche as a creative tool. The zany style of writer/director John Waters is the first major creative influence described. Although my story is not as graphically extreme as some of Waters\u27 earlier work (it would be easy to make a comedy about necrophilia a vile exploitation film), it does emulate the somewhat more accessible approach he took with later pictures like Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and Serial Mom. The work of director Tim Burton and screenwriter Caroline Thompson, who collaborated on the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, has also made a large impact on my creative pursuits. Besides Burton\u27s striking backdrop of bleak suburban conformity in Edward Scissorhands, the thematic nature of Thompson\u27s story has influenced several of the satiric shots I\u27ve aimed at domestic life in the 1950\u27s. Burton is mentioned by name in some of my screenplay\u27s visual direction, and the flavor of Thompson\u27s witty, Cleaveresque dialogue permeates many lines in the script. The creative body of my thesis focuses on the turbulent life of popular teenager Lance Goodrich, the main character, protagonist, and necrophile in question. Lance faces numerous problems being a necrophile in the conservative 1950\u27s. First is the obvious societal frown on having a sexual attraction to corpses. Second is Lance\u27s popularity. His character ironically functions not as a creepy pervert, but as a polite, down-to-earth guy with great grades, good looks, and a starting position on the school football team. Naturally, these big man on campus attributes make him a real catch, and he frequently has to fight off girls from school who dream of going out on a date with him. Besides feeling pressure at school to keep his obsession secret, Lance must deal with the Donna Reed-like advice of his mother, who would love nothing more than for him to meet a nice girl, get married, and eventually have her grandchildren. He is also forced to lie to Abigail, his nosey kid sister. Abigail is at that tender, pre-adolescent age when sex and relationships are still a big mystery; this fuels her tendency to pry into her big brother\u27s secret affairs. Lance\u27s biggest adversary, however, comes in the form of head cheerleader Kalene Casner, his female equivalent in terms of the high school social hierarchy. Kalene, more than anyone, would like to be Lance\u27s steady girl, but purely for the added social power this pairing would give her. The bizarre subject matter of this script offers a unique social satire of the way many people (particularly adolescents) harshly treat those they consider different or unique. Lance\u27s character provides an interesting looking-glass for this concept, because although he is popular, almost everyone is suspicious of the fact that he doesn\u27t date--(as far as they know). The social phenomenon recently recognized as the closet creates the underlying backbone of tension in my story, as Lance nervously goes through life in this metaphorical haven for deviants. By updating an old formula (the teenage monster movie), I Was a Teenage Necrophiliac provides a campy, non-offensive look at a fundamental issue that has always burdened young people: the need to be accepted

A survey of the silk industry of South China

208 pages, Agricultural bulletin / Ling Nan Agricultural College, Canton Christian College, Dept. of Sericulture ; no. 12https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/moore/1056/thumbnail.jp

The Psychological Effects of Music Upon the People of the United States During Wartime

During periods of war, a nation wishes the morale of the fighting forces and the home front to be high in spirit. Every country strives to encourage and stimulate good feeling among its fellowmen. The United States is no exception to this time-honored fact. It has long realized the value of morale in winning a war. It has long realized, that without high morale, a nation my lose a conflict. The factors that contribute to desirable war morale are many. During periods of war they are closely guarded and carefully nurtured. A critical analysis is placed on every movement and act coming under the watchful eye of the War Department. The results of all contributing factors to the war effort are scrutinized closely for good bad effect

Vigilante Justice and National Reaction: The 1937 Tallahassee Double Lynching

The gruesome southern custom of lynching blacks no longer plagues the state of Florida. Yet, between 1882 and 1945, this species of vigilantism was a persistent problem. In the period 1889 to 1918, peak lynching years in the United States, nearly 200 blacks were executed in Florida. During the decade 1890-1900, seventy-four blacks were victims to lynch-law in Florida, and in the first ten years of the twentieth century, fifty-one met death in the same fashion. Forty-nine blacks were lynched between 1910 and 1917, and thirty-four between 1922 and 1929. Twelve blacks were executed during the decade of the 1930s, and three in the five-year period, 1940-1945, before this violence finally ceased. One of the most notorious of these tragedies occurred when vigilantes lynched two black teenagers, Richard Ponder and Ernest Hawkins, in Tallahassee during the summer of 1937