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Memories of Motherland: Gender, Diaspora and National Identity in 1990s Indian Popular Culture

Description: This thesis examines the role of globalization, an open economy and diasporic experiences on the 1990s popular Indian culture, focusing on discourses of gender, national identity and family. Recent Indian beauty queens and international beauty contests are discussed in the context of gendered nationhood in 1990s India. Several popular films of the 1990s are discussed as narratives expressing longing for an extended family and a homogeneous national identity under the leadership of a traditional… more
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Date: May 2002
Creator: Sapre, Manasi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Big Hair and Big Egos: Texan Stereotypes in American Entertainment Media as Formed Through Television Viewing.

Description: This thesis explores the stereotypes of Texans portrayed in American entertainment media, and attempts to identify the reasons for both the existence, and persistence of these images. The study includes a brief history of Texas, and background information on the formulation of stereotypes. Cultivation theory is used to explain the process of stereotypes formed through television viewing. Content analysis of the responses from an on line survey involving 52 participants revealed that people outs… more
Date: August 2006
Creator: Burdette, Catherine Bowers
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Dangerous, Desperate, and Homosexual: Cinematic Representations of the Male Prostitute as Fallen Angels

Description: The purpose of this study is to frame the cinematic male prostitute as a "fallen angel" to demonstrate that the evolution of the cinematic hustler has paralleled historicized ideological definitions of male homosexuality. Because cultural understandings of male homosexuality frequently reflect Judeo-Christian ideological significations of sin and corruption, the term "fallen angel" is utilized to describe the hustler as a figure who has also succumbed to sin due to his sexual involvement with … more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Lay, John Phillip
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Lowest of the Low: Scenes of Shame and Self-Deprecation in Contemporary Scottish Cinema

Description: This thesis explores the factors leading to the images of self-deprecation and shame in contemporary Scottish film. It would seem that the causes of these reoccurring motifs may be because the Scottish people are unable to escape from their past and are uneasy about the future of the nation. There is an internal struggle for both Scottish men and women, who try to adhere to their predetermined roles in Scottish culture, but this role leads to violence, alcoholism, and shame. In addition, there … more
Date: May 2008
Creator: McCracken, Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries

Documentary Film: I Named Her Angel

Description: Recent political developments in the world show us that different cultures need to know and understand each other better. Even though technological developments like the Internet, satellites, cable television and conglomeration of big media entities have made mass communication more effective and faster, we cannot easily say that these developments help to bring world cultures together. As a result, mass audiences are not very much able to see what few productions do speak to these issues in a … more
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Date: May 2005
Creator: Dinc, Nefin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Local or Transnational Television Programming: Media Globalization in East Asia, with an Emphasis on Development in the People's Republic of China

Description: This study focuses on the relationship between Western transnational broadcasters and East Asian media. It analyzes 1) the processes through which Western media players are localized and 2) the impact of media globalization on local broadcasters in East Asia. Recent developments in the People's Republic of China are the primary focus in the discussion of local media.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Zha, Hongyan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Gestalt Work For the Actor: A Documentary Video Production

Description: Gestalt Work for the Actor is a documentary about Dr. Renee Vincent's Gestalt acting exercise. Students are trained to recall powerful emotions and then employ the conjured passions into performance. This documentary examines the Gestalt acting exercise and what benefits it affords actors. The accompanying production book explains the production processes: preproduction, production, and postproduction, as well as the theoretical approaches used in the documentary.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Massey, Hugh Richard
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Differences in Marketing Mainstream and Independent Feature Films in the United States (1990-1995)

Description: The purpose of this study is (1) to examine mainstream studio films and their marketing (2) to examine independent films and their marketing (3) to explore the marketing challenges of independent films (4) to explore new developments in independent film and the emergence of crossover films (5) to explore the benefits of alliances between the major studios and independent film distributors (6) to examine the diminishing differences between major studio films and independent films.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Ford, Conny (Conny M.)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Behind the Scenes of The Steve Taylor Story: A Documentary

Description: Behind the Scenes of The Steve Taylor Story: A Documentary is the written companion to a 39-minute documentary film entitled, The Steve Taylor Story. The film explores the controversial career of Christian musician Steve Taylor. It also chronicles the ideology of the Christian subculture in America through the hegemony of the dominant Christian culture and Steve's actions in opposition to it.
Date: May 2009
Creator: Gibson, Sarah Edith
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Classless: on Being Middle Class in America

Description: Classless: On Being Middle Class in America is a documentary film that explores what it means to be middle class in America. The film combines personal narrative, folksy reporting, and comedy as the film's director— Joe Brown, tries to reconcile his own status anxiety with everyday understandings of social class. Classless takes the form of a journey; the film travels through the American South, Northeast, and the Mountain West while trying to get at the heart of our middle class American Dream… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Brown, Joseph V.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

24, Lost, and Six Feet Under: Post-traumatic television in the post-9/11 era.

Description: This study sought to determine if and how television texts produced since September 11, 2001, reflect and address cultural concerns by analyzing patterns in their theme and narrative style. Three American television serials were examined as case studies. Each text addressed a common cluster of contemporary issues such as trauma, death, and loss.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Anderson, Tonya
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Standing Up to Experts: The Politics of Public Education

Description: In a small room in Austin, Texas, a group of 15 people are single-handedly deciding what is taught to the next generation of American children. The highly politicized 15 member Texas Board of Education is currently going through the once-in-a-decade process of rewriting the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly 5 million schoolchildren. Texas is also unbelievably influential on the standards that textbook publishers use as a basis for their textbooks nationwide. Over the last 10 yea… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Thurman, Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

"Time for Teletubbies": Childhood, Child Participation, and the Struggle for Meaning

Description: The children's television program Teletubbies and its concomitant controversies are analyzed along with the media attention surrounding the program. A textual analysis is presented, including the methodologies of narrative theory, semiotics/structuralism, and poststructuralism. The context is also analyzed, using a cultural studies and historical reception approach, in order to chronicle and analyze the show's controversies and elucidate how these arguments have affected reception and interpret… more
Date: May 2003
Creator: Cowart, Agatha
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Side By Side: Reinventing Mother/Daughter Relationships

Description: Beginning with mother/daughter film classics such as Stella Dallas (1937) and Mildred Pierce (1945), and moving to consider recent mother/daughter texts, Anywhere But Here (1999) and "Gilmore Girls" (2000 -), this thesis, in both its written and visual components, examines the multiple and often contradictory ways in which mothers and daughters have been represented in popular culture. Challenging the discourses that singularly stress struggle and separation, this research highlights represe… more
Date: May 2003
Creator: Holzgraefe, Sandi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Political Agenda-Setting in Cable News as a Possible Technique for Securing an Audience Niche

Description: In an effort to better understand the motivations behind perceived biases in the US cable news industry, 72 hours of CNN, FOX, and MSNBC during the week preceding the 2006 congressional election were analyzed. First- and second-level agenda-setting theories are used to examine how long and in what way federal politicians are portrayed. The results indicate distinct differences in political presentations between the three networks.
Date: August 2007
Creator: Mott IV, W.E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Religious Television and New Technologies: Managing Change in the Broadcast Environment

Description: This study examines the process of technological change in the religious television environment. The study also focuses on managerial response to said change. Through the use of a survey instrument, a quantitative examination is given, illustrating a managerial embrace of change principles, a positive attitude toward the idea of change, and a system of change behavior that matches several previously theorized change models. Also examined is how different station funding types correspond with ty… more
Date: August 2006
Creator: Upchurch, Jeremy Eugene
Partner: UNT Libraries

Documentary Film: Access Denied

Description: Sculptor Eric McGehearty incorporates dyslexia, a learning disability, into his artwork to express his challenges with his limited ability to recognize and understand the written word. The film Access Denied focuses on Eric and his disability. Recognized in 1896, dyslexia has been studied and researched by scientists and educators. New assistive technology is now available to aid dyslexics in reading and writing. Specialized schools provide techniques to improve student learning. However, some… more
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Date: August 2006
Creator: Bell, Leah Helanie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The making of the documentary film Women in Red.

Description: Though the remnants of a stereotype created over two millennia ago still thrive in American popular culture today, redheaded women are enjoying a more positive role in society than they have ever seen before. Women in Red explores the experience of the redheaded woman in America today by examining how the stereotypes have affected a small group of them, how these women relate to the stereotypes, and why, given the verisimilitude of the stereotype, a non-redheaded woman would embrace such an id… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Horst, Jennifer Lynne
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Sights and Sounds of the Mysterious Side of Myself

Description: This film is an autobiographical documentary which tells the story of the process of documenting the filmmaker's trip to his land of heritage. As his plans for his journey and film begin to go awry, he begins to question the entire process of trying to connect with nation and place.
Date: August 2009
Creator: Dojs, Marek Ryszard
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The reshaping of the traditional television advertising model: An analysis of media agency perceptions and decision-making processes regarding the effects of digital video recorders on television commercial effectiveness.

Description: This research analyzes media agency executives' perceptions and strategic decision-making processes when accessing the impact of digital video recorders (DVRs) on the traditional television commercial spot. Strategic decision-making models, as well as major industry research, forms the theoretical framework used to guide the study. The research takes a quantitative approach using a survey in order to obtain the perceptions and decision-making processes of the media agency executives'. The findi… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Way, Heather C.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Teen ages: Youth market romance in Hollywood teen films of the 1980s and 1990s

Description: This thesis examines the differences between teen romantic comedy films marketed to Generation X teenagers in the 1980s and Generation Y teenagers in the 1990s, focusing on the presentation of gender roles, consumptive behavior, and family. The 1980s films are discussed within the social context of the Reagan era and the conservatism of the New Right. The 1990s films are examined as continuing a conservative sensibility, but they additionally posit consumption as instrumental to achieving an id… more
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Date: May 2001
Creator: Murphy, Caryn E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Cowboys, Postmodern Heroes, and Anti-heroes: The Many Faces of the Alterized White Man

Description: This thesis investigates how hegemonic white masculinity adopts a new mode of material accumulation by entering into an ambivalent existence as a historical agent and metahistory at the same time and continues to function as a performative identity that offers a point of identification for the working class white man suggesting that bourgeois identity is obtainable through the performance of bourgeois ethics. The thesis postulates that the phenomenal transitions brought on by industrialization … more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Murphree, Hyon Joo Yoo
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

'Gimme That Ole Time Religion': Traditionalism, Progressivism and Popular Media

Description: This thesis examines the role of Christianity in contemporary American culture using 1990s popular media as cultural artifacts. Building on theories of ideological analysis and hegemony, this project uncovers a balance between progressive and traditionalist ideologies in American culture with progressive ideologies most often superficially acknowledged and incorporated into dominant traditionalist Christian ideologies through hegemonic negotiation. An analysis of the popular Hollywood films T… more
Date: August 2002
Creator: Turner-Reed, Laura
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Wonder Whose Origin is not Known: The Importance of the Orphan Hero in Otherworldly Film

Description: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the importance of the orphan hero in film and his resonance with the American people. It explores the orphan and the American identities, the archetypes found in myths, and the hero in American culture. The three heroes (Batman, Anakin Skywalker, and Harry Potter) represent certain aspects of orphan heroes: the capacity for sacrifice and the need to resist focusing on oneself. The type of hero each becomes has its source in the response he takes to his o… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Callahan, Sarah Francis
Partner: UNT Libraries
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