This thesis investigates the political and social contexts of the adaptation of the 1992 novel The Children of Men, written by prolific British mystery writer P.D. James, to a 2006 US film of the same title, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Both novel and film share the same premise, imagining a future world where human reproduction is no longer possible; however, each deals with drastically different ideological and political concerns. As a case study of the politics of adaptation, this project considers adaptation as both a product and a process, analyzing representation, medium specificity, genre and political contexts as well as issues of production and reception. / text

This thesis addresses the principles of cinematography and their significance for the visual outcome of a film. The purpose is to examine the importance of the principles for modern film and this is done through a study on how the principles are used and not used in the films Children of Men and Clerks II. The two films investigated are both known for being experimental and modern in their use of cinematography, and was therefore found suitable for this thesis. The limitation with this study is that only the four main principles of cinematography are analysed: camera angles, framings, points of view and camera movement, and they are only analysed in one shot from each film examined. In the results, the four main principles were investigated when and when not applied in the specific shot from each film. In the film Children of Men the breaking of the principle of point of view was most central, but the principle of framings and camera movement were in some cases also not applied. The only principle actually followed in this shot was the principle of camera angles. In the other film examined, Clerks II, the breaking of the principle of camera movement and camera angles was most central together with the breaking of the 180 degree rule. The principles that were followed in this clip were framings and points of view. In the conclusion the results were discussed and also the possibility of effects on the viewer, when breaking the principles. Different ideas of possible effects on the viewer were presented, but they all had disorientation in common. The possible outcome of disregarding the principles of cinematography ended up being misleading the viewer away from the narrative.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka socialsekreterares och polisers upplevelser och erfarenheter av samverkan mellan dessa två myndigheter vid mäns våld mot kvinnor och barn i nära relation. Metoden som användes var en kvalitativ med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Tre socialsekreterare inom socialtjänsten samt två utredare inom polisen har intervjuats. Samverkan användes som teoretisk tolkningsram. Resultatet visade att samverkan uppfattas som mer omfattande och strukturerad när barn finns med i bilden, jämfört med våldsutsatta kvinnor utan barn och att olika arbetssätt, rutiner, sekretessbestämmelser, resursbrist och tidsbrist påverkar samverkan. Resultatet visade också att personliga relationer påverkar samverkan och att det finns kunskap och medvetenhet kring våld i nära relationer hos båda myndigheterna. Samverkan mellan socialtjänsten och polisen är nödvändig eftersom den bidrar till att hjälpa de våldsutsatta kvinnor och barn till att få det hjälp och stöd de behöver. / The purpose of this study was to investigate social workers and police investigators perceptions and experiences of cooperation between the two authorities in cases of violence against women and children by men in a close relationship. The method used was qualitative with semi-structured interviews. Three social workers in the social services and two police investigators were interviewed. Cooperation was used as a theoretical frame. The result showed that cooperation is perceived as more extensive and structured when children are involved, compared to when women without children are abused. Collaboration is affected by different work methods, procedures, rules of confidentiality, lack of resources and time. Results showed further that personal relationships affect cooperation and there is knowledge and awareness of violence in close relationships in both authorities. Cooperation between social services and the police is necessary and contributes to help abused women and children to get the support they need.

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le champ des études sur les fictions de la fin du monde. J’y explore la question suivante : pourquoi existe-t-il autant de romans et de films racontant la fin d’un monde, et si peu la fin du monde ? En effet, la plupart des fictions dites de « fin du monde » mettent en scène la menace d’une catastrophe évitée, ou une destruction partielle, ou encore un univers post-apocalyptique habité de survivants. L’anéantissement total et définitif de l’espèce humaine, quant à lui, constitue rarement le dénouement de ce type d’œuvres. Ce déséquilibre s’explique en partie par le fait que ces œuvres représentent davantage le renouvellement du monde que sa disparition. Mon hypothèse est que nombre de ces récits de la fin héritent d’un imaginaire, d’une structure, de thèmes, de motifs, etc., provenant du mythe du déluge tel qu’il s’est développé dans l’Antiquité (entre autres dans sa version biblique), lequel symbolise la refondation et la transmission, et non l’anéantissement. Dans le premier chapitre, je propose une exploration de différents concepts et théories permettant de mieux définir les romans et les films de la fin du monde : les dispositif et contre-dispositif de Giorgio Agamben ; la conception des mythes de René Girard (principalement pour les notions d’indifférenciation et de bouc émissaire) ; le décalage prométhéen de Gunther Anders ; le catastrophisme éclairé de Jean-Pierre Dupuy ; les deux raisonnements mythologiques opposés identifiés dans les récits antiques de la fin du monde par Christine Reungoat-Dumas. Dans le deuxième chapitre, j’étudie d’abord comment le thème de la transmission s’articule dans quelques mythes antiques du déluge, avant de proposer un canevas général des mythèmes constituants. À partir de cette délimitation, je procède ensuite à l’analyse de trois mythèmes (la crise indifférenciatrice ; l’abri ; le lâcher d’oiseaux) dans un corpus de romans et de films des 20e et 21e siècles. Cette analyse permet de faire ressortir l’importance du thème de la transmission (de gènes et de mèmes, donc de réplicateurs). La transmission reflète un besoin de transcendance qui définit, oriente, ou du moins colore, pratiquement toutes les œuvres de la fin du monde. Dans ce contexte, la littérature, objet de transmission, peut être appréhendée comme une « arche métaphorique ». Le troisième chapitre se concentre sur l’analyse d’une œuvre, la trilogie MaddAddam (Oryx and Crake ; The Year of the Flood ; MaddAddam) de Margaret Atwood. J’y avance que cette œuvre prend la forme d’une épopée, dans laquelle on assiste à la mise en scène de sa propre écriture. Cette mise en abyme démontre bien que la trilogie, tout en étant une œuvre de fin du monde, raconte également la naissance d’un nouveau monde : l’épopée intradiégétique qui s’y compose tente d’immortaliser une partie du passé et d’orienter le futur. La littérature, sous la forme de cette épopée, figure ainsi une arche qui relie les mondes pré-apocalyptique et post-apocalytique de l’œuvre d’Atwood. / This thesis falls within the field of studies pertaining to end-of-the-world works of fiction. In it, I examine the following question: why are there so many novels and films about the end of a world, and so few about the end of the world? Indeed, most of the so-called end-of-the-world fiction portrays the threat of averted catastrophe, a partial destruction, or a post-apocalyptic universe inhabited by survivors. The total and final annihilation of the human species, on the other hand, is seldom the outcome of this type of work. This imbalance is partly explained by the fact that these works represent the renewal of the world rather than its disappearance. My hypothesis is that many of these stories inherit their imagery, structure, themes, motifs, etc., from the flood myth as it developed in antiquity (notably in the biblical version), which symbolize refoundation and transmission, rather than annihilation. In the first chapter, I offer an exploration of different concepts and theories allowing to better define the novels and films dealing with the end of the world: the apparatus and counter-apparatus of Giorgio Agamben; the conception of myths by René Girard (mainly, the notions of indifferentiation and scapegoating); the Promethean shift of Gunther Anders; the enlightened catastrophism of Jean-Pierre Dupuy; the two opposing mythological reasonings identified in ancient end-of-the-world narratives by Christine Reungoat-Dumas. In the second chapter, I begin by studying how the theme of transmission is elaborated in some ancient flood myths, before presenting a general outline of constituent mythemes. I then proceed to analyze three mythemes (the crisis of indifferentiation; the shelter; the release of birds) in a body of novels and films from the 20th and 21st centuries. This analysis highlights the importance of the theme of transmission (of genes and memes, and therefore of replicators). The transmission reflects a need for transcendence which defines, orients, or at least colors, practically all the works dealing with the end of the world. In this context, literature, an object of transmission, can be understood as a “metaphorical ark”. The third chapter focuses on the analysis of the MaddAddam trilogy (Oryx and Crake; The Year of the Flood; MaddAddam) by Margaret Atwood. I suggest that this work takes the form of an epic, in which we witness the staging of its own writing. This mise en abyme clearly shows that the trilogy, while being a work about the end of the world, also tells the birth of a new world: the intradiegetic epic composed therein attempts to immortalize a part of the past and to shape the future. Literature, in the form of this epic, thus symbolizes an ark that connects the pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic worlds of Atwood’s narrative.

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