This study examines the contribution of popular culture and artefacts in the narratives of the James Bond films and postulates that these narratives in turn become popular cultures of their own. In the audiovisual industry the actuality and novelty of the content and the production thereof relates directly to the success of the production. The main reason is because of actuality of the theme, topic and the popular culture portrayed in the production. The popular culture products at the time of production is set to change rapidly within weeks from the time the premiere has been broadcast. These products include technologies like colour, grain and resolution which are quite evident even to the untrained eye. Furthermore, and as the aim of this study, social products like fashion, hairstyles, language, décor, cars, watches, slang, paradigms, narrative schemes and actuality news stories will have rapidly changed and might not be accepted and embraced by the viewers. The unique way in which all of these elements are incorporated into the narrative scheme for the production can proclaim a stake in box-office income for a film. These popular culture elements are usually developed with a short term and immediate goal of success in mind. For the purposes of this study though, and as a result of its success, the James Bond 007 films by Eon Productions are studied as a unique case study of a sustainable popular cultural phenomenon. Although initially thought of as too popular for academic inquests Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels soon attracted the attention of academics like Kingsley Amis and Umberto Eco. In the years to follow numerous theorists the likes of Roland Barthes, Robin Wood, Tony Bennett, Janet Woollacot and James Chapman investigated the academic and socio-cultural implications of Bond. According to Chapman (1999:4-13) the main reason that the James Bond “phenomenon” is still not receiving much academic attention is because it is merely “unfashionable in the present intellectual climate”. Trahair (1976:1) states that merchandising the hero’s image is important in creating a popular hero. He adds that this is only possible if you have a “saleable” item, in this case Bond. Not only is the Bond phenomenon well marketed but also well accepted by audiences. It is estimated that almost half the world’s population has seen at least one Bond film (Chapman, 1999:14; Smith & Lavington, 2002:1). According to Smith and Lavington (2002:1) the Bond franchise is seen as: “the longest-running, most commercially successful and perhaps most recognisable film series in the history of the medium”. Bond raked in record breaking audiences and or box-office income for almost every newly released James Bond film over a period of forty years. It is also recorded as the highest grossing film franchise in the world with added grosses of more than $3 billion until 1999 (Chapman, 1999:14). This gives an indication of the acceptance of the holistic concept that is James Bond 007. It leads to the question of why James Bond works in a world that has changed enormously in the last forty years. What is presently in fashion and technologically advanced could be easily outdated and succeeded by the time it is sold. It is then the popular nature of the franchise as created through the narrative scheme and popular culture elements within this narrative recipe that lead to this enquiry. After branding Bond as being extremely popular, Smith and Lavington (2002:1) remarks that: “We know that. Everyone knows that. And that’s the point.” They are referring to the fact that Bond is so well known and accepted that an inquiry into its popularity is inevitable. Although many such enquiries have been made this study will focus on the use of popular commodities or popular culture artefacts to popularise the narratives of the James Bond films. These narratives in turn commodify the films as a popular franchise. / Dr. F.P. Duvenage

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 constructive manner. The main aim of this documentary film project is to serve as a small step towards helping different cultures to understand each other better. This documentary film conveys the basics of Mevlevism by following the formal gatherings of a Mevlevi den in Istanbul, Turkey. A den or tekke is a place where Islamic people gather and perform their religious activities. During these gatherings they do the sema, they pray, they listen to music, and they discuss spiritual matters. Sema is the entire ritual they perform as part of their ceremonies including listening to music, singing and chanting to attain a state of religious emotion and ecstasy or vecd. The documentary film is structured around a twelve year old girl, Elif, who is learning the basics of Mevlevism. The interviews conducted with regulars from the den explain to the audience why people are attracted to this belief system. Filming the ceremonies at the 550-year-old Mevlevi temple in Galata, Istanbul accentuates the historic background of this belief system. The Night of Reunion is the day in which Mevlevis celebrate the passing of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, the founder of Mevlevism and provides the climax of the film. Elif performs on that night, a very important moment in her spiritual life.

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.

Inside Story explores the essence of story and attempts to connect the audience to the significance of story in their own lives. The documentary examines story and determines the elements necessary for its formation. The film investigates the psychological aspects of story, inspects the physiological processing of story that connects story to the way we think and perceive, and finally, emphasizes the functions and values of story.

Singers and songwriters come to Nashville, Tennessee because they consider it the center of the country music universe and the best place to perform their songs as they try and break into the music business. Though few ever experience success in this competitive field, artists continue to arrive in Nashville and many don't have the commercial potential that would allow them the opportunity to perform anywhere but on the city's streets. The film, Street Chords and the Truth: A Street Level View of Country Music, focuses on these interesting performers and their music. Country music has been examined by a handful of ethnomusicologists and is often called the music of everyday life. Many recognize its dependence on ordinary singing styles, common phrasings, southern accents and traditional costuming as central to its identity and critical source of its value as a commodity. While many studies have been conducted focusing commercially popular country music singers and the music industry, few studies been conducted on singers who meet all the critical criteria for country music except commercial viability. This documentary examines country music more as a critical element of cultural identity and less as a commodity.

The film is about three young Korean-American adults who have adapted to American society while retaining certain aspects of Korean culture in their lives. To expose their intermingled behaviors and concepts, the film combines the observational format of a documentary with an information style employing family photos, home movie recordings, and interviews with the three subjects and their families. An accompanying production report describes the research process, pre-production, production, and post-production.

"What's on Tap, Texas?" is an exploration of the interrelated worlds of the home brewer and the craft brewer in Texas.

No description available.

The Past and Pending is a feature-length documentary by Samuel Eliot Torres, made as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of Central Florida. The film focuses on a family torn apart by a major decision to migrate to the U.S. from Puerto Rico. The protagonist, Torres, is now trying to receive closure from the events by asking the questions he could not ask as a child, but feels compelled to ask as an adult. Filming with only one person in the crew allowed for an intimacy and spontaneity that is prized by entrepreneurial digital cinema makers. Without the financial and scheduling constraints of enlisting a large crew, the film was allowed to thrive with a spontaneous and ongoing shooting schedule, controlled entirely by one person.

This dissertation explores the potential of documentary films to impact the discourse around a public health issue and in particular the current opioid epidemic. In addition to reviewing the history of drug policy and drug epidemics, this dissertation analyzed an HBO documentary about the opioid epidemic as a means of contextualizing the current crisis and understanding whether documentary can change the narrative around a public health matter. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the existing published evaluation studies relating to the potential role of documentary films to influence the levers of discourse related to the opioid epidemic and related substance use and mental health disorders and found the existing research was limited to fifty-four citations. Documentaries can have a potential impact on public discourse most notably through raising public awareness but the impact is limited as drug use epidemics are complex and multifactorial. Further study is needed to fully understand the role that documentary films can play in shaping public discourse.