Coming Into Clover traces the evolution of cinematic representations of Ireland and the Irish in early American cinema. From the birth of the medium in 1895 until the full emergence of the so-called classical cinema in 1917, these images underwent a fascinating evolution with the crude "stage Irish" stereotypes of Paddy and Bridget steadily giving way to a more positive and diverse set of representations beginning in the early- to mid-teens. The reasons for this transformation are many, but can be traced to two seemingly separate yet inter-dependent factors. Firstly, the social and economic forces that gave rise to the classical mode of production demanded an overall gentrification of the form and content of American cinema. Secondly, an increasingly powerful and influential class of Irish-Americans took an active role in transforming the nativist perceptions that for so long had worked to ostracize them from mainstream society. The result was the emergence of set of visual and narrative tropes that would define Hollywood's representation of the Irish for next three decades.

<p> This thesis highlights a method of representation that is critical of both images of Chinese powerlessness and images of Chinese power. In <i> Chan is Missing</i> and <i>The Princess of Nebraska</i>, two films by Chinese American director Wayne Wang, representations of Chineseness and Chinese identity are always determined through the discursive context in which they are enunciated. The films each employ the device of a missing subject, in order to show that its meaning does not refer to the subject itself but rather is determined through the context in which it is talked about. This creates different and often conflicting versions of the same subject, which can only be resolved by seeing that the subjects of Chineseness and Chinese identity are always a response to the contexts out of which they are discussed.</p>

<p> David Lamelas&rsquo;s life-long research projects have included examinations of social phenomena. The artist takes interest in the dynamics of mass communication and media, urban mundane activities, and documentary films. He employs the element of time often in the structure of his art as an innovative approach by which to study his subjects. </p><p> I argue that in pairing the element of time with social phenomena, Lamelas exposes how people&rsquo;s perceptions, both the visual experience and the thought processes impacted by these experiences, tend to work, therefore leading viewers to consider systems of knowledge and their own accumulation of knowledge. His artwork provokes viewers to open their minds to new ways of seeing and thinking, stimulates self-awareness, and challenges their concepts of knowledge.</p><p>

<p> The Western film presents its viewers with a supposed historical depiction of America&rsquo;s &ldquo;Great West,&rdquo; set during the period of the United States&rsquo; westward expansion in the nineteenth century. However, the Western film reiterates a mythologized version of the American West that relies on archetypal themes, events, and characters through the synthesis of story, image and music. This paper examines the Western&rsquo;s most problematic archetype, the &ldquo;Indian.&rdquo; The Indian&rsquo;s liminal role in American mythology will be examined through the analysis of the aural recoding and obscuring of authentic Native American auralities according to the sonic power structures of the Euro-American soundscape, and subsequently, how this aural recoding informs the role of the &ldquo;Indian&rdquo; in three successful Western films from the Western&rsquo;s heyday, <i>Red River </i> (1948), <i>Broken Arrow</i> (1950), and <i>The Searchers </i> (1956).</p>