http://hdl.handle.net/10023/125 2013-06-18T03:41:10Z 2013-06-18T03:41:10Z Holtmeier, Matthew http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3624 2013-06-07T10:19:59Z 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z

Abstract: This project uses Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's concept of the minor cinema to argue for a contemporary political mode of film that critiques dominant or majoritarian ideologies. I argue that these 'modern political films' perform this critique by rupturing the sensory-motor schemata that make up official times and create a space for everyday life and labor to emerge on screen. While political theorists such as Carl Schmitt argue proper politics necessitate oppositional conflict and dialectical progression, a classical model based on the opposition between ultimately Other subjects, modern political films challenge this notion by fragmenting the concept of an appropriate subject and revealing the networks that contribute to and create modern, multifaceted subjects. I locate modern political films in four global contexts: Algeria, Iran, China, and the United States. While the political circumstances of each context differ greatly, the filmmakers I examine turn to a slower pace or use of cinematic time that resists narrative conclusion to address political, economic, and social issues affecting populations within these global locations. Through this slower pace, these directors also address the biopolitical concerns of the subjects they depict: intolerable laws, ideologies, and economic forces that structure or otherwise control how individuals live their lives. As a result, these films operate according to a particular form of politics that opposes the subject-creating assemblages of regulatory biopower, and affirms the potential for new life to emerge on screen.

2013-01-01T00:00:00Z Holtmeier, Matthew This project uses Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's concept of the minor cinema to argue for a contemporary political mode of film that critiques dominant or majoritarian ideologies. I argue that these 'modern political films' perform this critique by rupturing the sensory-motor schemata that make up official times and create a space for everyday life and labor to emerge on screen. While political theorists such as Carl Schmitt argue proper politics necessitate oppositional conflict and dialectical progression, a classical model based on the opposition between ultimately Other subjects, modern political films challenge this notion by fragmenting the concept of an appropriate subject and revealing the networks that contribute to and create modern, multifaceted subjects. I locate modern political films in four global contexts: Algeria, Iran, China, and the United States. While the political circumstances of each context differ greatly, the filmmakers I examine turn to a slower pace or use of cinematic time that resists narrative conclusion to address political, economic, and social issues affecting populations within these global locations. Through this slower pace, these directors also address the biopolitical concerns of the subjects they depict: intolerable laws, ideologies, and economic forces that structure or otherwise control how individuals live their lives. As a result, these films operate according to a particular form of politics that opposes the subject-creating assemblages of regulatory biopower, and affirms the potential for new life to emerge on screen. Trafton, John http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3583 2013-05-31T17:25:11Z 2013-06-27T00:00:00Z

Abstract: In this thesis, I argue that twenty-first century American war films are constructed in dialogue with the past, repurposing earlier forms of war representation by evoking the visual and narrative memory of the past that is embedded in genre form—what Mikhail Bakhtin calls 'genre memory.' Comparing post-9/11 war films with Vietnam War films, my project examines how contemporary war films envision war’s impact on culture and social space, explore how war refashions ideas about race and national identity, and re-imagine war’s rewriting of the human psyche. My research expands on earlier research and departs from traditional approaches to the war film genre by locating the American Civil War at the origin of this genre memory, and, in doing so, argues that nineteenth century documentation of the Civil War serves as a rehearsal for the twentieth and twenty-first century war film. Constructed in explicit relation to the Vietnam film, I argue that post-9/11 war films rehearse the history of war representation in American culture while also emphasizing the radically different culture of the present day. Rather than representing a departure from past forms of war representation, as has been argued by many theorists, I show that contemporary American war films can be seen as the latest chapter in a long history of reimagining American military and cultural history in pictorial and narrative form.

2013-06-27T00:00:00Z Trafton, John In this thesis, I argue that twenty-first century American war films are constructed in dialogue with the past, repurposing earlier forms of war representation by evoking the visual and narrative memory of the past that is embedded in genre form—what Mikhail Bakhtin calls 'genre memory.' Comparing post-9/11 war films with Vietnam War films, my project examines how contemporary war films envision war’s impact on culture and social space, explore how war refashions ideas about race and national identity, and re-imagine war’s rewriting of the human psyche. My research expands on earlier research and departs from traditional approaches to the war film genre by locating the American Civil War at the origin of this genre memory, and, in doing so, argues that nineteenth century documentation of the Civil War serves as a rehearsal for the twentieth and twenty-first century war film. Constructed in explicit relation to the Vietnam film, I argue that post-9/11 war films rehearse the history of war representation in American culture while also emphasizing the radically different culture of the present day. Rather than representing a departure from past forms of war representation, as has been argued by many theorists, I show that contemporary American war films can be seen as the latest chapter in a long history of reimagining American military and cultural history in pictorial and narrative form. Gustafsson, Fredrik http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3421 2013-04-03T13:32:21Z 2013-06-27T00:00:00Z

Abstract: This thesis takes a historical approach to its subject and focuses on Swedish cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. The thesis argues that Swedish cinema experienced a renaissance in the 1940s, lasting approximately from 1940 to 1953. It further suggests that one of the most important filmmakers in this renaissance was Hasse Ekman. By focussing upon Ekman and this renaissance, a much-needed contextualisation of Ingmar Bergman will be achieved. Ingmar Bergman is one of the most well-known and well-researched filmmakers of all time, but there are still gaps in the material surrounding him, and one such gap concerns his cinematic origins. Bergman was a part of the 1940s renaissance, during which Bergman worked with, and was influenced by, other filmmakers and in particular Ekman. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the relevant literature and discusses ideas of authorship and national cinema. It also provides a historic overview of Swedish society and cinema during the 1940s and 1950s, providing the context needed to better understand the films of Ekman, and Bergman too. This part also looks at the 1930s to illustrate what came before this renaissance, and how the films of the 1940s differed from what had gone before. The second part is a chronological overview of Ekman's career from the late-1930s to his move to Spain in 1964. The last part is a discussion of Ekman's relation to Swedish society and his view of the world, based on close textual readings of his films. The aim of the thesis is to present, for the first time, a coherent and extensive overview of Ekman's career and body of work, while also situating it in the specific context in which it emerged, thereby shedding new light on an important, though neglected, episode in cinema history.

2013-06-27T00:00:00Z Gustafsson, Fredrik This thesis takes a historical approach to its subject and focuses on Swedish cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. The thesis argues that Swedish cinema experienced a renaissance in the 1940s, lasting approximately from 1940 to 1953. It further suggests that one of the most important filmmakers in this renaissance was Hasse Ekman. By focussing upon Ekman and this renaissance, a much-needed contextualisation of Ingmar Bergman will be achieved. Ingmar Bergman is one of the most well-known and well-researched filmmakers of all time, but there are still gaps in the material surrounding him, and one such gap concerns his cinematic origins. Bergman was a part of the 1940s renaissance, during which Bergman worked with, and was influenced by, other filmmakers and in particular Ekman. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the relevant literature and discusses ideas of authorship and national cinema. It also provides a historic overview of Swedish society and cinema during the 1940s and 1950s, providing the context needed to better understand the films of Ekman, and Bergman too. This part also looks at the 1930s to illustrate what came before this renaissance, and how the films of the 1940s differed from what had gone before. The second part is a chronological overview of Ekman's career from the late-1930s to his move to Spain in 1964. The last part is a discussion of Ekman's relation to Swedish society and his view of the world, based on close textual readings of his films. The aim of the thesis is to present, for the first time, a coherent and extensive overview of Ekman's career and body of work, while also situating it in the specific context in which it emerged, thereby shedding new light on an important, though neglected, episode in cinema history. Monaldi, Paola http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3322 2013-01-09T15:39:41Z 2012-11-30T00:00:00Z

Abstract: In this thesis I look at the way in which Cuban cinema of the post-Cold War period re-envisions the image of the nation through a theoretical framework of Deleuzian extraction. In particular, I refer to Deleuze's philosophy of difference and multiplicity to explain how national difference can be produced by film narratives operating within given ideological boundaries, and national identity differentiated within a broader, socialist idea of society. A review of recent Cuban cinema reveals the emergence of intensive and crystalline regimes of narration in both fiction and documentary cinema. Chapters one and two will therefore examine the shift of Cuban fiction cinema towards forms of time-image (metanarrative and magical realism); chapter three will consider the affective turn of the new Cuban documentary. In both cases, the inclination of Cuban cinema towards affection- and time-image will appear motivated by a national need for self-revision. In particular I will argue that, by raising intensities and virtualities, contemporary Cuban cinema acts as modern political cinema. While Cuba is rethinking itself and its position in the wider world, Cuban cinema is reimagining the nation in terms of becoming-minoritarian, that is, as a transformative and multifaceted entity in which national contradictions can be reconciled and similarities with the outside world can be more easily found. By bringing together Deleuze and Cuban cinema, this research aims to contribute to the studies on cinema and national identity through the case study of Cuba, and to the field of Deleuzian studies by presenting a new application of Deleuze’s philosophy in a socialist context. Description: Electronic version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holder. Copyright permissions are pending.

2012-11-30T00:00:00Z Monaldi, Paola In this thesis I look at the way in which Cuban cinema of the post-Cold War period re-envisions the image of the nation through a theoretical framework of Deleuzian extraction. In particular, I refer to Deleuze's philosophy of difference and multiplicity to explain how national difference can be produced by film narratives operating within given ideological boundaries, and national identity differentiated within a broader, socialist idea of society. A review of recent Cuban cinema reveals the emergence of intensive and crystalline regimes of narration in both fiction and documentary cinema. Chapters one and two will therefore examine the shift of Cuban fiction cinema towards forms of time-image (metanarrative and magical realism); chapter three will consider the affective turn of the new Cuban documentary. In both cases, the inclination of Cuban cinema towards affection- and time-image will appear motivated by a national need for self-revision. In particular I will argue that, by raising intensities and virtualities, contemporary Cuban cinema acts as modern political cinema. While Cuba is rethinking itself and its position in the wider world, Cuban cinema is reimagining the nation in terms of becoming-minoritarian, that is, as a transformative and multifaceted entity in which national contradictions can be reconciled and similarities with the outside world can be more easily found. By bringing together Deleuze and Cuban cinema, this research aims to contribute to the studies on cinema and national identity through the case study of Cuba, and to the field of Deleuzian studies by presenting a new application of Deleuze’s philosophy in a socialist context. Pekerman, Serazer http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3138 2013-04-30T14:30:26Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Abstract: This study compares independent films from different countries (Turkey, Denmark, Iran and Spain) in a transnational context. Making use of schizoanalytic concepts, it presents an analysis of filmic space in relation to character construction in the internationally acclaimed contemporary films: Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002), Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002), Two Girls (Kutluğ Ataman, 2005), Allegro (Christoffer Boe, 2005), The Others (Alejandro Amenábar, 2001), Destiny (Zeki Demirkubuz, 2006), Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2006), Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) and Climates (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2006). I argue that these films are feminist texts, in which becoming-woman of the female character deterritorializes the patriarchal ideal of home(land) as a political statement. In the above listed films filmic space is never configured as a harmonious unity of a righteous woman and a peaceful home. Despite the pervading homelessness, the female characters turn the male dominated public space into a habitable place through the filmic assemblages with space, objects and other characters. I also argue that the homelessness and the problematic connection between the female character and the storyworld posits a metaphor for the disconnection between the auteur-filmmakers and their home(land)s.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Pekerman, Serazer This study compares independent films from different countries (Turkey, Denmark, Iran and Spain) in a transnational context. Making use of schizoanalytic concepts, it presents an analysis of filmic space in relation to character construction in the internationally acclaimed contemporary films: Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002), Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002), Two Girls (Kutluğ Ataman, 2005), Allegro (Christoffer Boe, 2005), The Others (Alejandro Amenábar, 2001), Destiny (Zeki Demirkubuz, 2006), Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2006), Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) and Climates (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2006). I argue that these films are feminist texts, in which becoming-woman of the female character deterritorializes the patriarchal ideal of home(land) as a political statement. In the above listed films filmic space is never configured as a harmonious unity of a righteous woman and a peaceful home. Despite the pervading homelessness, the female characters turn the male dominated public space into a habitable place through the filmic assemblages with space, objects and other characters. I also argue that the homelessness and the problematic connection between the female character and the storyworld posits a metaphor for the disconnection between the auteur-filmmakers and their home(land)s. Chen, Yun-Hua http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3122 2013-04-30T16:07:51Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Abstract: In this thesis I propose approaching multi-strand films in a way that extends our focus beyond narrative strategy, arguing that the assemblage of narrative threads in fact infers a larger spatial mosaic. In this mosaic, spaces with diverse socioeconomic and geopolitical backgrounds, historical implications, and virtualities are interwoven through a variety of cinematic means, which include not only narrative but also editing, framing and mise-en-scene. In addition, I demonstrate that in certain auteurs’ works the construction of filmic mosaic space correlates with the bringing-together of film professionals, locations, financial resources and distribution routes across borders through the auteurs’ travelling. Hence this thesis lies in the intersection between the cinematic manifestations of mosaic space, spatial representations, and transnational filmmaking networks facilitated by authorship. Since the term “mosaic” is used here as a spatial metaphor to connect the interlinking concepts of space, narrative, and authorship, I term the travelling auteurs “mosaic auteurs”, the multistrand narrative “mosaic narrative”, and the assembled film space “mosaic space”. I will use the filmmaking contexts and film works of Michael Haneke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Atom Egoyan and Alejandro González Iñárritu as examples, and the spatial theories of Marc Augé, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Saskia Sassen, Mike Featherstone among others to explain the dynamism of spatial configurations.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Chen, Yun-Hua In this thesis I propose approaching multi-strand films in a way that extends our focus beyond narrative strategy, arguing that the assemblage of narrative threads in fact infers a larger spatial mosaic. In this mosaic, spaces with diverse socioeconomic and geopolitical backgrounds, historical implications, and virtualities are interwoven through a variety of cinematic means, which include not only narrative but also editing, framing and mise-en-scene. In addition, I demonstrate that in certain auteurs’ works the construction of filmic mosaic space correlates with the bringing-together of film professionals, locations, financial resources and distribution routes across borders through the auteurs’ travelling. Hence this thesis lies in the intersection between the cinematic manifestations of mosaic space, spatial representations, and transnational filmmaking networks facilitated by authorship. Since the term “mosaic” is used here as a spatial metaphor to connect the interlinking concepts of space, narrative, and authorship, I term the travelling auteurs “mosaic auteurs”, the multistrand narrative “mosaic narrative”, and the assembled film space “mosaic space”. I will use the filmmaking contexts and film works of Michael Haneke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Atom Egoyan and Alejandro González Iñárritu as examples, and the spatial theories of Marc Augé, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Saskia Sassen, Mike Featherstone among others to explain the dynamism of spatial configurations. Balan, Canan http://hdl.handle.net/10023/1985 2011-08-16T13:14:45Z 2010-06-01T00:00:00Z

Abstract: This project explores a curious facet of early cinema that has not been studied as yet: the relationship between Turkish modernity and the culture of spectatorship within the context of the late nineteenth century’s viewing habits along with the era of early and silent cinema in Istanbul. The aim of this project is to examine the evolution of viewing habits in Istanbul at a particular period in which a radical cultural transformation was experienced, namely from the 1890s to the 1930s, when the late Ottoman era with its pre-cinematic shows, the cinematograph, and silent films led to the early Turkish Republic and the end of silent cinema. In order to cover the shift in the reception of early cinema, this study makes use of revisionist works on early cinema and on modernity in Ottoman history. To this end, newspapers, novels, memoirs and consular trade records that formed the majority of the primary sources of this project are analyzed. The transformation of Istanbulite spectatorship was initially experienced through a rupture in the late nineteenth century created by the global flow of mechanical images. The cinematograph was viewed by a multi- ethnic public that was accustomed to seeing both traditional and other more widely recognized pre-cinematic shows such as the shadow play, public storytelling, dioramas, panoramas and magic lanterns. At first the early cinematograph displays were haphazard and parts of other shows. Yet, the international influence of the early cinema attracted a curiosity-driven public even if the same public was critical of the imperfect technology of the apparatus. With the outbreak of World War I, nationalist resistance played a role in the reception of popular European films, particularly Italian melodramas. The end of the war caused the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Turkish Republic, after which, cinema started to be seen as an educational tool in the service of nation-building.

2010-06-01T00:00:00Z Balan, Canan This project explores a curious facet of early cinema that has not been studied as yet: the relationship between Turkish modernity and the culture of spectatorship within the context of the late nineteenth century’s viewing habits along with the era of early and silent cinema in Istanbul. The aim of this project is to examine the evolution of viewing habits in Istanbul at a particular period in which a radical cultural transformation was experienced, namely from the 1890s to the 1930s, when the late Ottoman era with its pre-cinematic shows, the cinematograph, and silent films led to the early Turkish Republic and the end of silent cinema. In order to cover the shift in the reception of early cinema, this study makes use of revisionist works on early cinema and on modernity in Ottoman history. To this end, newspapers, novels, memoirs and consular trade records that formed the majority of the primary sources of this project are analyzed. The transformation of Istanbulite spectatorship was initially experienced through a rupture in the late nineteenth century created by the global flow of mechanical images. The cinematograph was viewed by a multi- ethnic public that was accustomed to seeing both traditional and other more widely recognized pre-cinematic shows such as the shadow play, public storytelling, dioramas, panoramas and magic lanterns. At first the early cinematograph displays were haphazard and parts of other shows. Yet, the international influence of the early cinema attracted a curiosity-driven public even if the same public was critical of the imperfect technology of the apparatus. With the outbreak of World War I, nationalist resistance played a role in the reception of popular European films, particularly Italian melodramas. The end of the war caused the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Turkish Republic, after which, cinema started to be seen as an educational tool in the service of nation-building. Hwang, Yun Mi http://hdl.handle.net/10023/1924 2011-07-20T15:28:59Z 2011-06-24T00:00:00Z

Abstract: From the dynamic landscape of contemporary South Korean cinema, one trend that stands out is the palpable revival of the historical drama (known as the ‘sageuk’ in Korean). Since the early 2000s, expensive, visually striking, and successful costumed pieces have been showcased to the audience. Now rivalling the other mainstream genres such as gangster action, romantic comedy, and the Korean blockbuster, the sageuk has made an indelible impact on the national film industry. Even so, the cycle has yet to receive much critical attention. This thesis addresses the gap, driven by the question, what is the impetus behind the surge of the ‘historical’ witnessed in recent sageuk films? For this, I first take a diachronic view of the historical context of the genre, which later serves as the reference point for the genre memory. Adopting a synchronic approach, I then examine the industrial, political, and social contexts in Korea at the turn of the new century that facilitated the history boom. While national memory and transnational politics fuelled Koreans’ interest in their past, the popular media – cinema, television, publishing industry, and performance theatre – all capitalised on this drive. The government also took part by supporting the ‘culture content industry’ as a way to fashion an attractive national image and accelerate the cultural export system. Collectively, these efforts translated to the emergence of history as a commodity, carving a unique space for historical narratives in the national heritage industry. As such, different agents – the consumers, the industry, and the state – had their stakes in the national mobilisation of history and memory with competing ideological and commercial interests. Ultimately, the sageuk is the primary site in which these diverging aspirations and desires are played out. In chapters that follow, I engage with four main sub-types of the recent historical drama, offering textual and contextual readings. The main discussion includes the ‘fusion’ sageuk (Untold Scandal), the biopic (King and the Clown and Portrait of a Beauty), the heritage horror (Blood Rain and Shadows in the Palace), and the colonial period drama (Rikidozan, Blue Swallow and Modern Boy). While analysing the generic tropes and narrative themes of each film, I also pay attention to contemporary discourses of gender, and the cultural treatment of masculinity and femininity within the period setting. Such investigation, in turn, locates the place of the historical genre in New Korean Cinema, and thus, offers a much-needed intervention into one of the neglected topics in the study of cinematic trends in South Korea. Description: Electronic version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holder

2011-06-24T00:00:00Z Hwang, Yun Mi From the dynamic landscape of contemporary South Korean cinema, one trend that stands out is the palpable revival of the historical drama (known as the ‘sageuk’ in Korean). Since the early 2000s, expensive, visually striking, and successful costumed pieces have been showcased to the audience. Now rivalling the other mainstream genres such as gangster action, romantic comedy, and the Korean blockbuster, the sageuk has made an indelible impact on the national film industry. Even so, the cycle has yet to receive much critical attention. This thesis addresses the gap, driven by the question, what is the impetus behind the surge of the ‘historical’ witnessed in recent sageuk films? For this, I first take a diachronic view of the historical context of the genre, which later serves as the reference point for the genre memory. Adopting a synchronic approach, I then examine the industrial, political, and social contexts in Korea at the turn of the new century that facilitated the history boom. While national memory and transnational politics fuelled Koreans’ interest in their past, the popular media – cinema, television, publishing industry, and performance theatre – all capitalised on this drive. The government also took part by supporting the ‘culture content industry’ as a way to fashion an attractive national image and accelerate the cultural export system. Collectively, these efforts translated to the emergence of history as a commodity, carving a unique space for historical narratives in the national heritage industry. As such, different agents – the consumers, the industry, and the state – had their stakes in the national mobilisation of history and memory with competing ideological and commercial interests. Ultimately, the sageuk is the primary site in which these diverging aspirations and desires are played out. In chapters that follow, I engage with four main sub-types of the recent historical drama, offering textual and contextual readings. The main discussion includes the ‘fusion’ sageuk (Untold Scandal), the biopic (King and the Clown and Portrait of a Beauty), the heritage horror (Blood Rain and Shadows in the Palace), and the colonial period drama (Rikidozan, Blue Swallow and Modern Boy). While analysing the generic tropes and narrative themes of each film, I also pay attention to contemporary discourses of gender, and the cultural treatment of masculinity and femininity within the period setting. Such investigation, in turn, locates the place of the historical genre in New Korean Cinema, and thus, offers a much-needed intervention into one of the neglected topics in the study of cinematic trends in South Korea. Kristensen, Lars Lyngsgaard Fjord http://hdl.handle.net/10023/1015 2010-12-06T16:10:12Z 2010-07-25T00:00:00Z 2010-07-25T00:00:00Z Kristensen, Lars Lyngsgaard Fjord Fleming, David H. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/985 2010-09-13T11:40:25Z 2009-11-23T00:00:00Z

Abstract: Drugs, Danger, Delusions (and Deleuzians?) opens up a philosophical investigation into a series of ‘extreme’ mind and body films drawn from different historical contexts. Through two sections and four distinct chapters, cinema is explored as an agent of becoming that allows viewers to think and feel in an affected manner. Investigating a broad spectrum of extreme narratives focusing on drugs, hooligan violence, insomnia and madness, the project provides a focused historical understanding of the films’ affective regimes and aesthetic agendas. The different lines of flight and escape explored on-screen all somehow appear to spiral around the same issues, concepts, ideas and philosophies. Utilising the cinematic theories of Gilles Deleuze along with his philosophical work co-authored with Félix Guattari, the thesis aims to investigate a range of related films, that in the extreme, reveal underlying models of an integrated or parallel mind and body and immanently embedded identity; wherein the concept of a stable and fixed being is replaced by that of a fluid becoming. All chapters investigate how immanently embedded characters embark upon extreme or dangerous lines of escape, where the reinvention of living and thinking is explored and made visible. The first section investigates a range of ‘head-films’ that take the mind as their theme, but are found to plicate and expand consciousness into the parallel body. The second section investigates extreme body films that push the sensory-motor schema to its limits so that thought, perception and consciousness become affected. The two interrelated sections investigate how the films and filmmakers employ different regimes of mind and body cinema to aesthetically convey and relay these concepts to the spectator. The project thus strives to develop Deleuzian paradigms beyond their original scope to explore parallel-image regimes and sequences that allow spectators to think and feel the films’ underlying philosophical concepts and positions.

2009-11-23T00:00:00Z Fleming, David H. Drugs, Danger, Delusions (and Deleuzians?) opens up a philosophical investigation into a series of ‘extreme’ mind and body films drawn from different historical contexts. Through two sections and four distinct chapters, cinema is explored as an agent of becoming that allows viewers to think and feel in an affected manner. Investigating a broad spectrum of extreme narratives focusing on drugs, hooligan violence, insomnia and madness, the project provides a focused historical understanding of the films’ affective regimes and aesthetic agendas. The different lines of flight and escape explored on-screen all somehow appear to spiral around the same issues, concepts, ideas and philosophies. Utilising the cinematic theories of Gilles Deleuze along with his philosophical work co-authored with Félix Guattari, the thesis aims to investigate a range of related films, that in the extreme, reveal underlying models of an integrated or parallel mind and body and immanently embedded identity; wherein the concept of a stable and fixed being is replaced by that of a fluid becoming. All chapters investigate how immanently embedded characters embark upon extreme or dangerous lines of escape, where the reinvention of living and thinking is explored and made visible. The first section investigates a range of ‘head-films’ that take the mind as their theme, but are found to plicate and expand consciousness into the parallel body. The second section investigates extreme body films that push the sensory-motor schema to its limits so that thought, perception and consciousness become affected. The two interrelated sections investigate how the films and filmmakers employ different regimes of mind and body cinema to aesthetically convey and relay these concepts to the spectator. The project thus strives to develop Deleuzian paradigms beyond their original scope to explore parallel-image regimes and sequences that allow spectators to think and feel the films’ underlying philosophical concepts and positions. Cheung, Wai Yee Ruby http://hdl.handle.net/10023/516 2009-03-24T11:09:55Z 2008-06-25T00:00:00Z

Abstract: This thesis seeks to interpret the cinematic representations of Hong Kongers’ identity quest during a transitional state/stage related to the sovereignty transfer. The Handover transition considered is an ideological one, rather than the overnight polity change on the Handover day. This research approaches contemporary Hong Kong cinema on two fronts and the thesis is structured accordingly: Upon an initial review of the existing Hong Kong film scholarship in the Introduction, and its 1997-related allegorical readings, Part I sees new angles (previously undeveloped or underdeveloped) for researching Hong Kong films made during 1982-2002. Arguments are built along the ideas of Hong Kongers’ situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’ because Hong Kong has lacked a cultural/national centrality. This part of research is informed by the ideas of Jacques Derrida, Homi Bhabha and Stuart Hall, and the diasporic experiences of Ien Ang, Rey Chow and Ackbar Abbas. With these new research angles and references to the circumstances, Part II reads critically the text of eight Hong Kong films made during the Handover transition. In chronological order, they are Boat People (Hui, 1982), Song of the Exile (Hui, 1990), Days of Being Wild (Wong, 1990), Happy Together (Wong, 1997), Made in Hong Kong (Chan, 1997), Ordinary Heroes (Hui, 1999), Durian Durian (Chan, 2000), and Hollywood Hong Kong (Chan, 2002). They meet several criteria related to the undeveloped / underdeveloped areas in the existing Hong Kong film scholarship. Hamid Naficy’s ‘accented cinema’ paradigm gives the guidelines to the film analysis in Part II. This part shows that Hong Kongers’ self-transformation during transition is alterable, indeterminate, and interminable, due to the people’s situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’. This thesis thus contributes to Hong Kong cinema scholarship in interpreting films with new research angles, and generating new insights into this cinematic tradition and its wider context.

2008-06-25T00:00:00Z Cheung, Wai Yee Ruby This thesis seeks to interpret the cinematic representations of Hong Kongers’ identity quest during a transitional state/stage related to the sovereignty transfer. The Handover transition considered is an ideological one, rather than the overnight polity change on the Handover day. This research approaches contemporary Hong Kong cinema on two fronts and the thesis is structured accordingly: Upon an initial review of the existing Hong Kong film scholarship in the Introduction, and its 1997-related allegorical readings, Part I sees new angles (previously undeveloped or underdeveloped) for researching Hong Kong films made during 1982-2002. Arguments are built along the ideas of Hong Kongers’ situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’ because Hong Kong has lacked a cultural/national centrality. This part of research is informed by the ideas of Jacques Derrida, Homi Bhabha and Stuart Hall, and the diasporic experiences of Ien Ang, Rey Chow and Ackbar Abbas. With these new research angles and references to the circumstances, Part II reads critically the text of eight Hong Kong films made during the Handover transition. In chronological order, they are Boat People (Hui, 1982), Song of the Exile (Hui, 1990), Days of Being Wild (Wong, 1990), Happy Together (Wong, 1997), Made in Hong Kong (Chan, 1997), Ordinary Heroes (Hui, 1999), Durian Durian (Chan, 2000), and Hollywood Hong Kong (Chan, 2002). They meet several criteria related to the undeveloped / underdeveloped areas in the existing Hong Kong film scholarship. Hamid Naficy’s ‘accented cinema’ paradigm gives the guidelines to the film analysis in Part II. This part shows that Hong Kongers’ self-transformation during transition is alterable, indeterminate, and interminable, due to the people’s situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’. This thesis thus contributes to Hong Kong cinema scholarship in interpreting films with new research angles, and generating new insights into this cinematic tradition and its wider context. Sudar, Vlastimir http://hdl.handle.net/10023/480 2010-11-20T13:41:53Z 2007-11-23T00:00:00Z

Abstract: Exploration of the influence that politics may have on artists’ creativity has been undertaken by looking at selected works of Yugoslav film director Aleksandar Petrović. An attempt was made to identify thematic or stylistic motifs in his films that could be understood as reflections on the political context in which the work was made. One of the most common approaches to examine a work of one filmmaker, the auteur theory, has been modified into the theory of political auteur, to aid in identifying recurrent motifs and themes that artists introduce in their work as a reaction to the surrounding political reality. As Petrović worked in Yugoslavia during Socialism, this period was historicised in order to support the identification of ‘political motifs’ in his films. The period between 1965 and 1973 is taken as the focus of research, since it is known as the 'liberal hour', the period of great artistic and intellectual freedoms, during which Petrović directed four of his most significant films. Each of these four films is analysed in respective chapters, first by elaborating on the then current political background, and then by analysing the films’ narratives against it, and extrapolating thematic and stylistic motifs reflecting back on this background. Such exploration of art and politics has been undertaken with a view to emphasise consistent motifs in art works, not only to do with an artist’s personal interests, but also those that emerge as a result of imposing societal structures.

2007-11-23T00:00:00Z Sudar, Vlastimir Exploration of the influence that politics may have on artists’ creativity has been undertaken by looking at selected works of Yugoslav film director Aleksandar Petrović. An attempt was made to identify thematic or stylistic motifs in his films that could be understood as reflections on the political context in which the work was made. One of the most common approaches to examine a work of one filmmaker, the auteur theory, has been modified into the theory of political auteur, to aid in identifying recurrent motifs and themes that artists introduce in their work as a reaction to the surrounding political reality. As Petrović worked in Yugoslavia during Socialism, this period was historicised in order to support the identification of ‘political motifs’ in his films. The period between 1965 and 1973 is taken as the focus of research, since it is known as the 'liberal hour', the period of great artistic and intellectual freedoms, during which Petrović directed four of his most significant films. Each of these four films is analysed in respective chapters, first by elaborating on the then current political background, and then by analysing the films’ narratives against it, and extrapolating thematic and stylistic motifs reflecting back on this background. Such exploration of art and politics has been undertaken with a view to emphasise consistent motifs in art works, not only to do with an artist’s personal interests, but also those that emerge as a result of imposing societal structures.