AFRIKAANS: Die teenwoordigheid van vroue in die massamedia, en spesifiek in televisie, is vroeg in die een-en-twintigste eeu groter as ooit vantevore. Reekse waarin uitbeeldings van vroue beperk was tot dié van meestal onderontwikkelde, periferale of sekondêre karakters, is iets van die verlede. Die wyse waarop vroue in televisie uitgebeeld word is dus uiters belangrik aangesien so ’n groot hoeveelheid televisiereekse spesifiek die vrouegehoor teiken wat, hetsy aktief of passief, met wat hulle in hierdie reekse sien omgaan. Boodskappe wat deur televisiereekse versprei word, sal waarskynlik onbewustelik ’n uitwerking hê op hoe vroue hulleself beskou, hoe hulle ander vroue beskou, sowel as op hulle houding jeens kwessies soos feminisme en vroulikheid. Die doel van hierdie studie is om dominante diskoerse oor feminisme en vroulikheid wat deur hedendaagse televisiereekse aan die samelewing voorgehou word, te ondersoek. Die studie konsentreer spesifiek op drie gewilde en veelbekroonde Amerikaanse televisiereekse van 1997 tot 2012, naamlik Ally McBeal (Kelley 1997- 2002), Sex and the City (Starr 1998-2004) en Desperate Housewives (Cherry 2004- 2012) – reekse wat al drie as sogenaamde zeitgeist-televisie beskryf kan word. Die artikulering van feministiese doelstellings, hetsy dié afkomstig uit die tweede generasie of uit meer onlangse bewegings in feminisme, val onder die soeklig en die wyse waarop hierdie doelstellings aangespreek word, word bespreek. Deur aspekte wat teoreties nóύ verband hou met feminisme (aspekte soos melodrama as ’n vroulik-geïdentifiseerde genre en verbruikerswese) te identifiseer, word daar aangvoer dat die drie reekse beslis in ’n feministiese sfeer geposisioneer is. Die teenwoordigheid van hierdie aspekte in die drie reekse het dan ook dieperliggende narratiewe oor feminisme blootgelê – narratiewe waarvan die alledaagse kyker waarskynlik nie bewus sal wees nie, maar wat onderbewustelik moontlik ’n invloed kan hê op kykers se denke oor en begrip van feminisme. Die belangrikste gevolgtrekking van hierdie studie is dat die drie gekose televisiereekse op verskillende en uiteenlopende wyses met feminisme en vroulikheid omgaan. Verder ondersteun die studie die uitgangspunt dat daar ’n behoefte is aan kritiese debat rakende die uitbeeldings van feminisme en vroulikheid in hedendaagse voorbeelde van populêre massamedia. ENGLISH: The presence of women in mass media, specifically in television, in the twenty-first century is larger than ever and the days of series featuring women that are generally underdeveloped, peripheral or secondary characters is a thing of the past. The way in which females are portrayed in television is thus of the utmost importance since such a large number of television series cater to an extensive female audience, who engage (whether actively or passively) with that which they see. Messages received from popular television series are likely to inadvertently have an effect on how women view themselves, how they view other women, as well as their attitudes towards issues like feminism and femininity. The purpose of this study is to examine dominant discourses on feminism and feminity that are being propagated by contemporary television series. The specific focus of the study falls on three highly successful and critically acclaimed television series running from 1997 until 2012, namely Ally McBeal (Kelley 1997-2002), Sex and the City (Starr 1998-2004) and Desperate Housewives (Cherry 2004-2012) – series that have all been described as so-called Zeitgeist television. The articulation of feminist goals, whether from the second wave or more recent feminist movements, is examined and the ways in which these goals are addressed are discussed. By identifying aspects that are theoretically related to feminism (aspects like melodrama as a female identified genre and consumerism), it is argued that these three series are definitely positioned in a feminist sphere. The presence of these aspects also uncovered deep-seated feminist narratives – narratives that the everyday audience member will most likely not be aware of, but which could unconsciously influence viewers’ thoughts on and understanding of feminism. The main conclusion of this study entails that the three chosen television series deal with feminism and femininity in very different and diverse ways. Furthermore, the study supports the view that there is a need for critical debates on the representation of feminism and femininity in contemporary examples of popular mass media / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Visual Arts / unrestricted

[pt] Esta dissertação irá discutir a série de televisão A Grande Família, exibida na TV Globo em dois períodos distintos, 1972-1975 e 2001-2014. O objetivo é avaliar como se relacionam os elementos cômicos e melodramáticos na série e o quanto estes são afetados pela ideologia individualista e pelo sentido atribuído à maternidade na sociedade ocidental moderna e contemporânea. Para esse fim, vou examinar a personagem Nenê, que representa na série a mítica mãe de uma grande família, sempre agindo para o bem comum em detrimento de seus desejos individuais. No percurso de análise foram separados seis roteiros, um do primeiro período e cinco do segundo período da série, que permitem um aprofundamento da questão enunciada. / [en] This dissertation will discuss the television series A Grande Família, broadcasted by TV Globo during two distinct timepoints, 1972-1975 and 2001-2014. The objective is to evaluate the comical and melodramatic elements of this series, how they are impacted by individualist ideology and by the meaning attributed to the notion of motherhood in a modern and contemporary Western society. For this purpose, I will examine a character called Nenê, who represents the mythical protective mother of a big family, always prioritizing the greater good over her personal desires. Throughout this analysis, six scripts were assessed, one of the first period and the other five of the second period of this series, allowing for an in-depth analysis of the main question of this dissertation.

[pt] A maneira como a narrativa de ficção de Nelson Rodrigues é convencionalmente tratada por pesquisadores e pela crítica especializada parece não contemplar aspectos dramatúrgicos que singularizam a construção escritural do texto dramático-literário rodrigueano. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar e discutir o conceito de melodrama, que Rodrigues retoma imprimindo seu estilo autoral à escrita, que altera a fórmula melodramática tradicional. Esse conceito envolve questões que inter-relacionam sensorialidade, gesto, movimento, dramaturgia corporal e vocalidade na carpintaria dessa arte-escrita, o romance-folhetim. Uma produção cujo próprio modo de registrar o diálogo e as expressões do corpo no texto é suficiente para questionar a posição marginal do folhetim na carreira do romancista. A linguagem gestual do corpo da personagem, ao ser insistentemente indicada por Rodrigues na escrita, sugere reações emocionais que provocam reações no leitor; e o diálogo o tangencia com energia incorpórea. Na intenção de não negligenciar esses preponderantes aspectos inerentes ao procedimento de escrita teatral rodrigueano, proponho a leitura da construção escritural do folhetim como o processo de produção de uma escritura cênica, que possui uma impactante dimensão espetacular e uma relação direta com espetáculos populares. As reflexões propostas nesta pesquisa, relacionadas com o campo sensível e a percepção sensorial, visam, através de uma sondagem antenada com questões contemporâneas, contribuir para a leitura do segmento folhetinesco da obra em prosa de Nelson Rodrigues. / [en] The way Nelson Rodrigues fictitious narrative is conventionally treated by researchers and specialized criticism does not seem to contemplate dramaturgical aspects that singularize the scriptural construction of his dramatic-literary text. The objective of this thesis is to present and discuss the concept of melodrama that Rodrigues resumes by writing the prose narrative in his own style, which changes the traditional melodramatic formula. This concept involves questions that interrelate sensoriality, gesture, movement, body dramaturgy and vocality in the carpentru of his art-writing, the novel. A piece of writing in which the way of organizing dialogue and indicating body expressions in the next is enough yo question the fringe position of the novel in the novelist s career. The gesture language of the character s body, as Rodrigues repeatedly insists on writing it, suggests emotional reactions that affect the reader; and the dialogue touches him/her with incorporeal energy. In order to not neglect these preponderant aspects inherent to the procedure of theatrical writing of Rodrigues, I propose the reading of the construction of his novel as the process of scenic writing, which has a chocking spectacular dimension and a direct relation with popular spectacles. The reflections proposed in this research, related to the sentitive field and the sensorial perception, aim, through a survey linked to contemporary questions, to contribute to the reading of Nelson Rodrigues prose narrative of book length.

This thesis is a personal journey. My work on VCU’s production of SWEENEY TODD began in the Spring of 2012 when I came on board the production as dramaturg. Part of what is contained within is both an explanation of my dramaturgical research method as well as samples of the research I have compiled. However, my role was drastically changed in the Fall of 2012 when I was cast as the primary antagonist in the production. The thesis chronicles the rehearsal process as my role as dramaturg increasingly gave way to my role as actor. It attempts to answer the question, “Is it possible to be both dramaturg and actor on a single production?” Finally, the thesis is a reflection of the overall process of working on a challenging theatrical production in an academic setting.

The thesis is made up of episodes in which I am in dialogue with myself, sometimes in dialogue with the work, and yet other times I am speaking directly to the reader/viewer. The tense also sways from past to present as frequently as the visual language does. The following episodes are a selection of writings from my final year at graduate school. The episodes express my influences, inspirations, theories, and philosophies as a person and a maker. I think of these things as what allows me to wander and then wander somewhere else completely different within the same landscape. I feel it is important for an audience to experience these wanderings. I feel it is more valid for you to read exactly what I am thinking rather than to tell you about what I am thinking and making, because it is an expression of my relationship with my work. The images are supplemental to the writing. The images and writings fit together in that they inform one another. That is not to say that the ideas do not always transfer literally from image to writing but that they are what is thought about simultaneously through out my creative process. Most importantly I have developed through my graduate experience an intense relationship with the work. This is the most important relationship an artist has, the one with his or her work. It is deep and enriching, at times painful and frustrating, and at its best surprising, amazing, and even glorious. This is what I have to share through my thesis.

Orientador: Renata Soares Junqueira / Banca: Fernanda Verdasca Botton / Banca: Flavia Maria Ferraz Sampaio Corradin / Banca: Robson Corrêa de Camargo / Banca: Elizabete Sanches Rocha / Resumo: Nesta tese procuramos seguir o caminho percorrido pelo melodrama em Portugal ao longo do século XIX, investigando as suas ocorrências no teatro português desde o início do século - quando ali se instalava o Romantismo -, passando pelo período do Ultrarromantismo, quando o gênero ganhou mais relevo, até chegar à época do Decadentismo-Simbolismo, quando as formas melodramáticas ainda se revelavam vigorosas, embora com alterações que tentamos esmiuçar. Investigamos o melodrama - com os seus conteúdos e as suas formas específicas - tal como se estabeleceu no Portugal oitocentista e como se desenvolveu ao longo desse período, procurando compreender as relações deste gênero dramático com o contexto sócio-cultural que o estimulou - afinal, a força do melodrama perdurou ao longo de Oitocentos. Verificamos qual a contribuição de Almeida Garrett enquanto introdutor do teatro romântico em Portugal, lutando por uma produção nacional de qualidade, susceptível de elevar o gosto e a cultura do público e, portanto, contrário à presença do melodrama, mas em cujas peças encontramos vestígios deste gênero. Considerando-se que a pesquisa abrangeu um período bastante extenso, utilizamos as seguintes obras como textos paradigmáticos: O cativo de Fez (1839), de Silva Abranches; Os dois renegados (1839), de Mendes Leal; O fratricida (1844), de Guerra Leal; O último acto (1859), de Camilo Castelo Branco e, finalmente, de D. João da Câmara, O pântano (1894) e A Rosa Enjeitada (1901) / Abstract: In this thesis, we tried to follow the way through the melodrama in Portugal throughout the XIX century, by investigating its occurences in the Portuguese theatre since the beginning of that century - at the time that the Romanticism established itself there -, going through the period of the Ultra-romanticism, when the genre got more notorious, until it gets to the period of the Decadentism-Symbolism, when the melodramatic features still revealed themselves vigorous, nevertheless under some changes which we tried to examine in detail. We investigated the melodrama - with its contents and its specific features - such as how it established itself in the Portugal eighties, and how it developed itself throughout this period, trying to understand the relation between this dramatic genre and the social-cultural context which stimulated it - at last, the strength of the melodrama lasted through the Eighties. We checked what the contribution of Almeida Garrett was as an introducer of the romantic theatre in Portugal, struggling for a national production of quality, susceptible to lift up the taste and the culture of the public hence opposed to the presence of the melodrama. However, we could found traces of this genre in his plays.- Taking into consideration that the research comprised a considerable extensive period, we used the following masterpieces as paradigmatic texts: O cativo de Fez (1839), by Silva Abranches; Os dois renegados (1839), by Mendes Leal; O fratricida (1844), by Guerra Leal; O último acto (1859), by Camilo Castelo Branco and, finally, by D. João da Câmara, O pântano (1894) and A Rosa Enjeitada (1901) / Doutor

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar como as Greves do ABC de 1979 e 1980, foram recuperadas pela atualização da peça teatral Eles não usam blacktie para o formato do melodrama, tomando como pressuposto que essa produção reflete um olhar do contexto sociocultural do período de redemocratização do país e uma crítica sobre o regime militar. / This thesis intends to analyse how the ABC strikes of brazilian workers at 1979 and 1980, was represented by cinema about a theatre play called They arent wore blackties (1955). The present analysis aims to account for both the internal structure of the ficcional narrative and its process of production, considering the specific sociohistorical context.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar como as Greves do ABC de 1979 e 1980, foram recuperadas pela atualização da peça teatral Eles não usam blacktie para o formato do melodrama, tomando como pressuposto que essa produção reflete um olhar do contexto sociocultural do período de redemocratização do país e uma crítica sobre o regime militar. / This thesis intends to analyse how the ABC strikes of brazilian workers at 1979 and 1980, was represented by cinema about a theatre play called They arent wore blackties (1955). The present analysis aims to account for both the internal structure of the ficcional narrative and its process of production, considering the specific sociohistorical context.

According to reviewers, bloggers, and scholars, Lars von Trier’s films, particularly Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Dogville (2003) tend to evoke multiple intense, often contradictory, emotional responses from viewers. The films’ dialectical effects can perhaps be explained by the fact that they broadcast their artifice, which results in a seeming break in the audience’s emotional immersion. The question that this thesis seeks to explore is how the films can simultaneously distance and engage viewers. Generic theories, as well as theories on emotion and film reception, are useful in exposing von Trier’s emotive strategies. In the end, it might be that von Trier endeavours to evoke emotions in viewers while also making us aware of his manipulations in order to suggest that as spectators we must constantly question the film and its creator. More troublingly, he implies that there might be something fundamentally perverse about our desire to watch films. / October 2008

My dissertation explores non-visual experiences of film through a study of the recurring cinematic figure of the blind heroine in three periods of US cinema - late silent, classical, post-studio. My analysis of films, multi-sensory film "spectatorship" and film production critically depart from the readings offered by semiotic and psychoanalytic film theory, in favor of theories of cinematic perception and theories of genre, namely, melodrama and suspense. My approach reorients theories of film that have explained cinema as an exclusively visual culture towards a broader consideration of sensory perception and film experience.Attention to Helen Keller, as an author and a cinematic protagonist, and to the ability of the figure of the blind heroine to reorganize the structure of the films that address her frames my discussion of modern film form. Film has attempted to represent the spatial, tactile and aural experiences of gendered blind protagonists for sighted viewers - to visually produce non-visual experiences and to move beyond the limitations of its own technologies. In each of the technological periods I examine, film uses cinematography that addresses the body, sonic and visual attention to texture and movement, and narrative and affective structures of melodrama and suspense, to create the audience's aesthetic experience. My work explores the ways in which cinema has been multi-sensory, embodied, and "not-visual" - that is, visual but also more than visual - through critical evaluation of the dominant arguments of film theory, formal analysis of films, and historical accounts of film production.Keller's work and the films I examine offer a theory of the modern phenomenological subject - a subject whose senses are not, finally, located within the body of the individual but are shared with, and borrowed from, the world of human and cinematic bodies they encounter. / Dissertation