Browsing by Subject "Film studies"
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Item Mirror (1975): Dreamscape Interpretations(2021-04) Giggey, Margaret; Conrath, Ryan; English; FilmAdaptation in film is traditionally thought of as taking a written work and translating it into the moving elements of the cinema; however, a reciprocal phenomenon can also occur—adaptation of film into another artform. “Mirror (1975): Dreamscape Interpretations” and the accompanying poems “Mirror Me” and “Dreamscape,” demonstrate two examples of adapting a film into poetry using Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror (1975) and the inspiration of dream-like scenes in cinema.Item Nina Mae Mckinney: At The Dawn Of Black Hollywood Stardom(2014) Witherspoon, Dabian; Mehlinger, Keith; English and Languages; Doctor of PhilosophyThe career of Nina Mae McKinney and the appearance of Chick in Hallelujah mark the beginning of a significant rebellion against Hollywood's expectations for black actors and black characters in terms of agency and racial representation. Indeed, McKinney's groundbreaking role as Chick established her as the prototype for black female actors who would enjoy greater Hollywood success later, from Dorothy Dandridge to Halle Berry. Furthermore, McKinney's performance as Chick would not only effect opportunities for other black actresses, it would predicate black stardom in Hollywood. Inasmuch, this study investigates the career trajectory of Nina Mae McKinney, a popular early twentieth-century African American actor whose brief achievements in film and entertainment poised her to become a major archetype whose potentiality as an actor would have promised to leave a legacy on par with her contemporaneous white peers, if not for her race. I contend that an examination of the stringent and myriad forms of institutionalized racism as well as socioeconomic and gender oppression facing McKinney throughout and beyond her career marginalized McKinney's professional achievements, and moreover, contributed to McKinney's resulting negative personal image that subsequently erased or mitigated her professional achievements and effectively erased her from the historical artistic public imagination. Although critics such as Donald Bogle downplay the significance of McKinney and her role as Chick or even, at times, demonize McKinney, this study interrogates such critical views to establish a connection between McKinney's established talents and the sociohistorical factors against which she battled. Specifically, through a comparative analysis of McKinney and her contemporaries against the specific historical/narrative framework informing the realities of African American actors, I argue that McKinney was the earliest precursor to black stardom in Hollywood. McKinney's Southern background and the mechanisms that were in place at the major film studios illustrate the challenges of an early twentieth-century society in which institutionalized racism was deeply rooted and upheld at all costs. Even in light of Hollywood's discrimination after her appearance in Hallelujah, McKinney was not content to simply find work in race films; in her attempt at agency, she chose strong, non-stereotypical, or at least balanced, leading roles in race films. Despite McKinney's struggle to maintain her career after Hallelujah, her role as Chick was groundbreaking and remains influential. This study's biographical approach to Nina Mae McKinney includes the following chapters: McKinney's Southern Background, Mechanisms in Place at the Major Film Studios, McKinney's Race Film Choices, The Press and McKinney's Personal Struggles, McKinney's Groundbreaking Role as Chick in Hallelujah, The Earliest Precursor to Black Stardom, and McKinney's Rightful Place in History.Item Persepolis: Held Within the Grip of Both Now and Then(2021-03) Marshall, Bailey; Conrath, Ryan; English; FilmAn analysis of Marjane Satrapi's film PERSEPOLIS written for the Cinema of Exile course at Salisbury University.Item "Unified": An Original Screenplay(2009) Anderson, Nikita Cherie; Mehlinger, Keith; English and Languages; Master of ArtsThe purpose of this project is to consider the structure and methodology behind the conceptualization of the author's original screenplay, "Unified." The literature review examines a variety of sources dealing with the structure and technique of the basic screenplay. "Unified," an original script, is the coming of age story of five African American college students who start a poetry group on campus as a way of promoting black unity and of educating their peers about the issues affecting their culture. When tragedy strikes their fictitious university, the power of unity is tested, and a community endures the loss of a young student leader. Inspired by the theories of Joseph Campbell, this writer uses the twelve-stage hero's journey, developed by Campbell's proponent Christopher Vogler, to chronicle the self-discovery of a young protagonist.