This thesis focuses on the 1920s Parisian avant-garde films and their artistic potential as revealed in the contemporary art of video installations. Starting with an overview of the moving image arts in the early 20th century Paris,the project deals with both the theoretical and the practical aspects of the artistic experiment. Tracing the formation of the cinematic language from contemporary static visual arts, on the one hand, and the verbal art of literature on the other, the first chapter reviews the aesthetical content of the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde (cubism, Dada and surrealism) in general and as applied to 'moving image' in particular. In addition, the artistic and critical context of 'mechanical arts', i.e. photography and cinema is analyzed, involving such issues as the categories of time and space, the visual nature of film and photography and the use of movement and the machine. The nature of video is reflected upon in close parallel with the above argument, being compared with and contrasted to that of film and photography. The second and largest chapter of the thesis is devoted to a detailed textual analysis of the 1920s Parisian experimental films. Within it, parallels are drawn between the films and a number of contemporary video installations to show the early cinematic era heritage in the 'post-cinematic' visual culture. In the last chapter the emergence and nature of new media and video installation art are considered. Multimedia installations are seen as an interactive montage in three dimensions: their 'textuality' is analyzed via the concepts of narrativity versus database, while the screen is treated as a border between the artistic space of the work and the immediate space of the viewer. furthermore, the complex nature of image in multimedia installations, including its materiality and plasticity, is considered. Such issues as the role of medium in experimental art and the importance of self-filming/documentary are reflected upon. A textual analysis of some video installations with references to the 1920s Parisian experimental films analyzed above concludes the study. An attempt to classify the installations is mader, as well as to reveal some of their typical patterns and structures. Some terminology is suggested, along with a wider perspective for future research in the field of video installation art.

For the majority of cinema history, the film industry has treated sound as a less Integral ingredient In the filmmaking process. This has translated into working practices that have marginalised sound's contribution and have divided personnel. Joel and Ethan Coen's mode of production stands in contrast to a majority of those currently working in the film industry. They foreground sound's contribution by priming their scripts for sound, involving their sound personnel sooner and by encouraging close collaboration between those responsible for the soundtrack. The Coens' model serves as a way of highlighting sound's Importance and as way of generating more integrated soundtracks. As such, filmmakers should build upon their mode of production; a notion supported by other professionals and educational Institutions. By advocating this alternative way of working, future filmmakers can be encouraged to reassess sound's role in film construction.

This thesis examines the relationship between feminism and cinema in the context of the women's movement and women's films of the 1980s. In focusing on the nature and implications of the representation of women constructed in Turkish cinema and the issues addressed by the women's movement, it argues that there are connections to be made on an analytical and theoretical level between the two sets of practices. The thesis argues that the enforced depoliticisation introduced after the coup (on 12th September 1980) by the incoming military government is responsible for uniting feminism and film. First, the feminist movement was able to flourish precisely because it was not perceived as political or politically significant. In a parallel move in the films of the 1980s there was an increased tendency to focus on women's issues and lives in order to avoid the overtly political. Secondly, women's films of the 1980s do not merely reflect a unitary patriarchal logic but are also sites of power relations and political processes through which gender hierarchies are both created and contested. The films of the 1980s empower women by dealing with women's issues and representing them as strong characters; however, at the same time they marginalise and objectify women with their cinematic style. turkish cinema reveals powerful cross-currents producing complex and often contradictory effects, acting both to reinforce and to mitigate against the manifestations of male dominance in different narratives and contexts. However despite these complexities, gender asymmetry in Turkish society is produced, represented and reproduced through filmic texts. There has been very little scholarly work done on the representation of women in Turkish cinema in the 1980s. The existing resources not onlylack focus on the shifts in the representation of women within socio-political context, but also fail to make a strong link between feminism and cinema. Moreover, in resources under scrutiny there is no sustained focus on mise-en-scene. The aim of this thesis is to fill this gap and explain the changes in the cultural, the social and the political, while linking feminism and cinema by examining films using close textual analysis.

This dissertation explores the limits and possibilities of science fiction at the level of television. It examines the narrative strategies of the television series Babylon 5, arguing that the programme has created a radical new sf discourse for television. In doing so, Babylon 5 has also created a new form of television narrative. The Introduction establishes the parameters of the study. Part One examines science fiction in context, considering how the genre may be identified, and in Part Two, examines its possible precursors and the influences of the epic, the Romantic novel (particularly the Gothic) and Sublime. It also considers the role and visualisation of the Western and the epic settlement of the frontier in American mytho-history. Part Three establishes the general criteria for an aesthetics of television, discussing television narrative, and examining episodic and serial drama, soap opera, before considering issues of authorship and industry. It also explores representations of sf on television with series such as Star Trek; Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Dr Who, The X Files, Space: Above and Beyond and Stargate: SG-1. Part Four examines the five-season text of Babylon 5, arguing that in form and content it creates an ideological break with the binary ideology of the past, creating a new form of television which is both epic and novelistic, serial and episodic in nature. Part Five concludes the dissertation, proposing that Babylon 5 offers the first television epic and creates a discourse where the ideology of the past and the values of traditional television sf are questioned and subverted, resulting in a new mythos based upon the infinite discourse of diverse humanity.

German unification is frequently seen as an event and a date October 3, 1990 - on which a divided people could finally live as one, restored to a natural state of togetherness. Within Germany, however, the experience since 1990 has been one of realisation of deep inner division, and recognition that unification is in fact a long term process, and perhaps even an uncertain goal in Europe, where, everywhere else, new regional consciousnesses are questioning old national identities. Since the future role of Germany in Europe is a major and controversial issue in economic, political and cultural circles, the critical construction of realistic and authentic portrayals of post-unification Germany is of considerable importance. The concept, size and location of a 'German nation' have been contested and fought over from outside and within since its 19th century forging under the leadership of Bismarck, but if one proceeds on today's dominant assumption that between 1949 and 1989 the German people existed as one nation, though they were separated by one of the most tightly guarded borders in world history - a border that separated more than just two countries, but rather served as the confrontational line between two superpowers with opposing ideological, economic and political systems - one can come to the logical conclusion that German unification in 1990 was merely an event which enabled 'the German Nation' to live in the same, unified country once again. However, if one recognizes the fact that 40 years of separation superimposed on more complex historical and contemporary mappings inevitably led to the development of two distinct collective identities, it becomes clear that German unification was - and still is - in fact an on going process of attempting to merge the peoples of two states into one, or one into the other. This is a process that will reach deep into the 21st century, involving the development of a new German national identy within the European Union in a rapidly changing world. This thesis does not try to speculate on or define a 'general' or 'essentialist' sense of what the new German national identity might be. It rather analyses texts of a selection of Germany's image makers since 1990, and examines critically a range of constructions of the new identity from documentaries and docudramas to feature films. The project does not ask to be judged as a contribution to film studies in the narrow sense of that term, seeing itself instead as an interdisciplinary undertaking which derives its insights from a fruitful mix of approaches used in Critical Discourse, Analysis, History, Cultural Studies and Film Studies. Just as it may be said that the German Democratic Republic to some extent talked itself out of existence through its people's acceptance of Western discourse, and images of a Western consumer paradise, so it is now worth analysing how the new Germany is, in complex and sometimes contradictory and sceptical ways, attempting to talk itself into existence through discourse and imagery. The thesis examines whether and how, through the medium of film, opinion formers and creative minds, with their various agendas are seeking to influence public perceptions of the post-1990 confrontation between idealised projections of German identity and recalcitrant reality.

The research brings together elements from two disciplines, the sociology of education and film studies, to investigate the relevance of 'reel' world teacher representations to the real world lives of teachers, and to explore how the former offer opportunity for reflection on professional development and change. Media texts are utilised as an unconventional resource as either a replacement for and/or enhancement of educational theory, and teachers drawn from different stages of the teaching life cycle provide empirical data via their writing aspects of teacher culture in response to the stimulus of each text. In an age of visual culture, educational research which explores the medium of film is an important resource for professional development and change is an original contribution to knowledge at a time when current concerns are largely related to the repercussions of the ongoing implementation of government reforms. The research identifies the charismatic teacher who inspires loyalty and admiration in his/her students, forming a special relationship with them in a way which no other colleague can. A more complex analysis suggests that there are four varieties of the charismatic teacher: the eccentric, the resilient, the romantic and the enduring. Responses to such characters reveal that real world teachers reflect on the uncinematic bureaucracy of their everyday work compared with energised settings where student problems and cynical colleagues are overcome by 'reel' world teachers unfettered by pre-set agendas. A real/'reel' overlap occurs as real world teachers re-examine the personal and professional relationships which underpin their everyday work. Through watching examples from screen culture, they reflect on what the demands and rewards of teaching are, and how these impinge on a teacher's health and private life; the development of relationships with both students and colleagues; and the influence of those outside classroom and staffroom, both at local and government levels.

This thesis investigates the daytime audience participation talk show and the docu-soap, in terms of public participation in a televisual public sphere. It is argued that these genres show the conversationalization of television talk where the dichotomies of public/private, citizen/consumer and information/entertainment are played out. On the talk show and the docu-soap laypersons make private revelations in public and in the increasingly commercialised boradcasting environment the citizen-viewer of public service television is addressed as a consumer resulting in the infotainment genre. It is argued that these genres exemplify cultural and social shifts in language usage, commodification and public sphere (Dahlgren, 1995, Scannell, 1989) and this thesis examines 'reality' TV to assess television's potential to improve a democratic televised show as there has been little critical entertainment with non-American shows: Esther, Kilroy and Vanessa. The docu-soap is used as a comparison as it illustrates the conversationalization of the documentary form. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) has been employed as a critical tool in order to analyse the discursive practice of these texts and to ascertain if there is evidence of negotiations in terms of power relations in these forms of 'trash' television. The results indicate that the structures of the genres confine the participants and that the confessional and therapeutic discourses forestall public participation on television. Within hegemonic televisual structures it is posited that, in terms of micro-power relations, there are some forms of negotiation in the talk show site. The genres are compared in terms of performance and the results forma a synthesis of these television texts and theories of the public sphere, drawing on Hanermas and critical revisions of his work. These programmes reveal the problematic nature of public participation through television in the climate of increasing commercialisation. The points when the lay participants resist control are drawn upon in order to illustrate the ways in which television could ameliorate public participation.

This thesis explores the work of Japanese film-maker Mizoguchi Kenji (1898-1956) through an analysis of key film texts in their social, cultural and industrial contexts. Since coming to international prominence in the 1950s, Mizoguchi has been placed in western accounts of Japanese cinema, alongside Kurosawa and Ozu, as one of that country’s most celebrated auteurs. As we shall see, this positioning has tended to cast Mizoguchi in a certain critical light which has subsequently been challenged from different perspectives. Mizoguchi’s film career, which began in 1923, spanned the silent era and sound films, continued under Imperialist rule (1930-1945) and the American occupation (1945-1952), but gained world attention only in the last four years of his life. His life and films have since been the subject of academic studies, festival retrospectives and television documentaries, both in Japan and in the west (notably the United States). He is acclaimed, like Federico Fellini, Satyajit Ray and Ingmar Bergman, as one of the handful of film-makers who have had a profound influence upon world cinema, although in the west his reputation has remained under the shadow of his better-known countrymen Kurosawa and Ozu. This study will seek to critique rather than celebrate that legacy. But Mizoguchi’s career as a whole also has much to tell us about the history of Japanese cinema and its relationship to culture and society. And in re-focussing critical attention upon the context which informed his work, this thesis will offer a re-appraisal of his auteurist status, and suggest new ways of considering the issue of authorship.

This thesis examines the shifts within mainstream British television animation between 1997 and 2010 and it discusses how British animation’s close relationship with live-action television comedy reveals a map of contemporary attitudes and tastes. The British animated texts in this period reacted to their shifting industrial and broadcasting landscape. The historical moment of the late 1990s was determined by the successes of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, which profoundly affected the way British practitioners conceived of the medium’s capabilities within a mainstream television environment.

This thesis sets out to demonstrate the diversity in 1970s British experimental filmmaking, and acts as a form of historical reclamation. The intention is to integrate films that have not received adequate recognition into the field alongside those that stand as accepted texts. In accounts of the decade structural and material film experimentation, taking place predominantly at the London Filmmakers’ Co-operative (LFMC), has tended to dominate the histories, at the expense of overshadowing more personal, expressive and representational forms of filmmaking. This thesis therefore seeks to redress the balance by demonstrating that 1970s filmmaking was far more complex and diverse than has previously been acknowledged. It importantly also challenges the belief that more expressive, personal forms of filmmaking returned at the end of the decade, to argue that these were in existence throughout the decade. Evidence of diversity is provided through the range of approaches to filmmaking and individual films discussed. Written evidence of the ‘return to image’ thesis is also provided, demonstrating how this has problematically perpetuated a flawed account of the decade. Relationships to the visual arts are closely considered as experimental filmmaking essentially emerged from this field, as opposed to the dominant, commercial cinema. Filmmaking is, however, also considered within the wider contexts of independent film production, particularly where intersections occurred with institutional or organisational frameworks. Theoretical, socio-political and cultural influences informing filmmaking have also been deliberated, as these significantly informed filmmaking. The framing of 1970s experimental (and independent) filmmaking within Marxist discourses has also been recognised as potentially supporting the problematic ‘return to image’ thesis, particularly as collectivist Marxist ideologies potentially militated against more personal, individual and expressive forms of filmmaking. The first half of the thesis (Chapters One to Three) considers the institutional frameworks and organisational strategies informing and shaping filmmaking. This includes a focus on education, funding and film exhibition; as well as the efforts made by individuals and groups to ensure that experimental filmmaking received the recognition it required to develop and flourish. In the second half of the thesis (Chapters Four to Seven) more detailed studies of the films are made in relation to relevant theoretical or socio-political discourses contextualising filmmaking. These include discourses in the visual arts; countercultural influences and more personal expressive approaches to filmmaking; theoretical discourses related to experimentation with structure and material and feminist discourses related to women’s filmmaking. A range of methodological approaches has been used to uncover the diversity in filmmaking. The film texts themselves have provided the most singular evidence for proof of diversity. Both primary and secondary written texts have been consulted in order to facilitate an understanding of the films and recognise the theoretical and socio-political contexts informing filmmaking and to comprehend the complex nature of the field. The intention throughout has been to provide an understanding of this diverse, vibrant and rich history.