This dissertation examines and writes the early history of distribution and exhibition of moving images in Southeast Asia by observing the intersection of transnational itinerant entertainment and colonialism. It is a cultural history of turn-of-the-century Southeast Asia, and focuses on the movement of films, people, and amusements across oceans and national borders. The starting point is two simultaneous and interrelated processes in the late 1800s, to which cinema contributed. One process, colonialism and imperialism, separated people into different classes of people, ruler and ruled, white and non-white, thereby creating and widening a colonial binary. The other process was bringing the world closer, through technology, trade, and migration, and compressing the notions of time and space. The study assesses the development of cinema in a colonial setting and how its development disrupted notions of racial hierarchies. The first decade of cinema in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore, is used as a point of reference from where issues such as imperialism, colonial discourse, nation-building, ethnicity, gender, and race is discussed. The development of film exhibition and distribution in Southeast Asia is tracked from travelling film exhibitors and agents to the opening of a regional Pathé Frères office and permanent film venues. By having a transnational perspective the interconnectedness of Southeast Asia is demonstrated, as well as its constructed national borders. Cinematic venues throughout Southeast Asia negotiated segregated, colonial racial politics by creating a common social space where people from different ethnic and social backgrounds gathered. Furthermore, this study analyses what kind of worldview the exhibited pictures had and how audiences reproduced their meanings.

The aim of the thesis is to explore depictions of sexuality in popular science fiction film and television through a focus on storytelling, narrative, characters and genre. The thesis analyses science fiction as a film and television genre with a focus on the conventions, interpretations, and definitions of genre as part of larger contexts. Central to the argumentation is films and television series, from Star Wars and Star Trek, to Firefly and Torchwood. The approach allows a consideration of how the storytelling conventions of science fiction are, and have been, affected by its contexts. Through a consideration of a historical de-emphasis on narrative complexity and character formation in science fiction, the thesis displays and analyses a salient tendency towards juvenile and heteronormative narratives. This tendency is represented by a concept that I call the Star’verses, through which this dominant idea of science fiction as a juvenile, techno-centred, masculine, and heteronormative genre became firmly established. This generic cluster has remained a dominant influence on science fiction film and television since the 1980s. However, as argued, a major discursive shift took place in science fiction at the turn of the millennium. This adult turn in science fiction film, and television in particular, is attributed to contextual changes, but also to the influence of television dramaturgy. It explains why science fiction in the 21st century is not as unfamiliar with depictions of sexuality as its predecessors were. This turn does not signal a total abandonment of what the Star’verses represent; it instead contributes to a change to this dominant idea of the generic identity of science fiction. While sexuality has been disassociated from much science fiction, it is also argued that the science fiction narrative has extensive queer potential. Generic conventions, such as aliens and time travel, invite both queer readings and queer storytelling; the latter however is seldom used, especially in science fiction film. A majority of the examples of science fiction narrative that use this queer potential can be found in television. In cinema, however, this progression is remarkably slow. Therefore, the thesis analyses whether the storytelling techniques of Hollywood cinema, to which science fiction film owes much of its dramaturgy, could be considered heteronormative. A comparison is made to television dramaturgy in order to display the possibilities for the serialised, character-focused science fiction narrative. Ultimately, the thesis investigate the possibility for subversive storytelling and whether a normative use of dramaturgy needs to be overthrown in order to tell a subversive story.

This dissertation is a historical and theoretical study of a number of discourses examining colour and cinema during the period 1909 to 1935 (trade press, film reviews, publications on film technology, manuals, catalogues and theoretical texts from the era). In this study, colour in cinema is considered as producing a number of aesthetic and representational questions which are contextualised historically; problems and qualities specifically associated with colour film are examined in terms of an interrelationship between historical, technical, industrial, and stylistic factors, as well as specific contemporary conceptions of cinema. The first chapter examines notions concerning the technical, material, as well as perceptual, origins of colour in cinema, and questions concerning indexicality, iconicity, and colour reproduction, through focusing on the relationship between the photographic colour process Kinemacolor, as well as other similar processes, and the established non-photographic colour methods during the early 1910s, with an in-depth analysis of the Catalogue of Kinemacolor Film Subjects, published in 1912. The second chapter examines notions concerning the stylistic, formal and narrative functions of colour in cinema, featuring a survey of the recurring comparisons between colour and sound, found in the writing of film history, in discourses concerning early Technicolor sound films, film technology, experimental films and experiments on synaesthesia during the 1920s, as well as Eisenstein’s notions of the functions of colour in sound film montage. The third chapter examines the question of colour and meaning in cinema through considering the relationship between colours and objects in colour film images (polychrome and monochrome, photographic and non-photographic) during the time frame of this study.

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle avec l'Université de Provence au sein du département d’études cinématographiques, U.F.R. Lettres et Arts, L.E.S.A. École doctorale Lettres, Langues et Arts. Soutenue publiquement à l'Université de Provence le 16 juillet 2010. / Un film problématise en images et en sons ce dont il traite. Le type d’analyse faisant apparaître cette relation étroite entre les formes du contenu et les formes de l’expression est l’analyse figurative. En voici la méthode exposée par Nicole Brenez en 1998 dans De la figure en général et du corps en particulier. Tout d’abord, il doit être admis que le film prime sur son contexte. Ensuite, les composantes d’un film sont des éléments. Puis, ces éléments sont autant de questions. Enfin, le cinéma problématise ce dont il traite. Seulement, ces quatre présupposés ne vont pas de soi. Ils induisent un double mouvement : le film pose des exigences à l’analyse que seule l’analyse rend visibles. Ce double mouvement dépasse le film pour questionner le cinéma. Cette thèse a pour but de démontrer que, d’une part, l’analyse figurative trouve ses fondements dans l’histoire du cinéma et que, d’autre part, grâce à des analyses figuratives, nous pouvons mettre à jour des changements dans le fonctionnement des images, du montage, des personnages. La méthodologie de l’analyse filmique repose par conséquent sur une étude historico-esthétique des formes cinématographiques. Or, ces formes sont autant de façons de penser le cinéma et de penser au cinéma. C’est précisément la circulation entre les formes du contenu, les formes de l’expression et les formes de l’analyse qui rend visible ce champ sensible d’expérimentations qu’est le film – une pensée-cinéma. / What is a cinematographic thought? A film theorized with images and sounds what it is dealing with. The methodology of film analysis which reveals that close relationship between images, sounds and thought is figurative. It was exposed in Nicole Brenez De la figure en général et du corps en particulier in 1998. First, the analyst must consider that the film is more important than its context. Next, its components shall be understood as elements. Then, those elements are regarded as questions. Finally, the film has to be considered as an interrogation of its subject. However, those four steps aren’t necessarily clear. They lead to a double thought: the film forces the analysis to include elements that are only made visible with the analysis. This double thought goes beyond the film and questions cinema itself. This study’s aim is to prove that a figurative analysis finds its foundations within the history of cinema, and due to these analyses, the changes regarding the construction of the image, editing, and character can be revealed. This methodology lies on an historical and aesthetic study of the cinematographic forms. Those forms are the way cinema thinks. Emerging from this relationship of a form, its expression, and its analysis is a sensitive field of experimentations: a cinematographic thought.

O presente trabalho é uma reflexão acerca do gênero cômico cinematográfico denominado commedia all\'italiana. Para essa pesquisa, primeiramente, acompanhamos a evolução do cinema cômico italiano desde seus primórdios até o fenômeno estudado. Na formação do cinema cômico, aludimos não só à importância da contribuição da vertente teatral - através da commedia dell\'arte - como também dos atores cômicos do primeiro cinema, do período conhecido como telefoni bianchi, de figuras como Totò, Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia e Mario Mattoli, além da fase denominada neorrealismo rosa. Desse modo, através do percurso anterior à commedia all\'italiana, procuramos estabelecer sua inserção na tradição cômica da Itália. Também foram considerados aspectos importantes do contexto históricosocial à época do surgimento e consolidação desse gênero cômico popular do cinema italiano. Procuramos resgatar as origens e fontes da commedia all\'italiana, focalizando as diferentes fases que a compuseram e as principais filmografias que a evidenciaram. Ainda nesse momento, traçamos seus percursos e suas particularidades, percorremos a trajetória de seu surgimento e focalizamos algumas de suas características intrínsecas. Trouxemos a discussão de três momentos emblemáticos na história do gênero ao trabalharmos com três obras fílmicas significativas de diretores e fases diversas, apresentando alguns dos aspectos presentes na commedia all\'italiana e ressaltando questões que se mostraram pertinentes na construção de um senso crítico nas obras desse gênero / This dissertation explores the comic genre in Italian cinema known as commedia allitaliana. First, we accompanied the evolution of Italian comic cinema from its beginnings up to the phenomenon studied. In the formation of comic cinema, we alluded not only to the importance of the contribution of theatre - through the commedia dellarte - but also to the first silent comic actors in cinema from the period known as telefoni bianchi, including such figures as Totò, Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and Mario Mattoli. We also traced the influence of the phase known as pink neorealism. In this way, through an analysis of comic genres before commedia allitaliana we aimed to insert it in the entire Italian comic tradition. We also considered the important historical and social contexts of the era in which this popular comic genre arose and consolidated itself. We attempted to rescue the origins and sources of commedia all\'italiana, focusing on the different phases that composed it and its principal films. We charted its emergence, traced its development and peculiarities and stressed some of its intrinsic characteristics. We highlighted three emblematic moments in the history of the genre through an analysis of three significant films from diverse phases and directors, showing some of the main aspects present in commedia all\'italiana and emphasizing the pertinent questions for a critical approach to works in the genre

O presente trabalho é uma reflexão acerca do gênero cômico cinematográfico denominado commedia all\'italiana. Para essa pesquisa, primeiramente, acompanhamos a evolução do cinema cômico italiano desde seus primórdios até o fenômeno estudado. Na formação do cinema cômico, aludimos não só à importância da contribuição da vertente teatral - através da commedia dell\'arte - como também dos atores cômicos do primeiro cinema, do período conhecido como telefoni bianchi, de figuras como Totò, Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia e Mario Mattoli, além da fase denominada neorrealismo rosa. Desse modo, através do percurso anterior à commedia all\'italiana, procuramos estabelecer sua inserção na tradição cômica da Itália. Também foram considerados aspectos importantes do contexto históricosocial à época do surgimento e consolidação desse gênero cômico popular do cinema italiano. Procuramos resgatar as origens e fontes da commedia all\'italiana, focalizando as diferentes fases que a compuseram e as principais filmografias que a evidenciaram. Ainda nesse momento, traçamos seus percursos e suas particularidades, percorremos a trajetória de seu surgimento e focalizamos algumas de suas características intrínsecas. Trouxemos a discussão de três momentos emblemáticos na história do gênero ao trabalharmos com três obras fílmicas significativas de diretores e fases diversas, apresentando alguns dos aspectos presentes na commedia all\'italiana e ressaltando questões que se mostraram pertinentes na construção de um senso crítico nas obras desse gênero / This dissertation explores the comic genre in Italian cinema known as commedia allitaliana. First, we accompanied the evolution of Italian comic cinema from its beginnings up to the phenomenon studied. In the formation of comic cinema, we alluded not only to the importance of the contribution of theatre - through the commedia dellarte - but also to the first silent comic actors in cinema from the period known as telefoni bianchi, including such figures as Totò, Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and Mario Mattoli. We also traced the influence of the phase known as pink neorealism. In this way, through an analysis of comic genres before commedia allitaliana we aimed to insert it in the entire Italian comic tradition. We also considered the important historical and social contexts of the era in which this popular comic genre arose and consolidated itself. We attempted to rescue the origins and sources of commedia all\'italiana, focusing on the different phases that composed it and its principal films. We charted its emergence, traced its development and peculiarities and stressed some of its intrinsic characteristics. We highlighted three emblematic moments in the history of the genre through an analysis of three significant films from diverse phases and directors, showing some of the main aspects present in commedia all\'italiana and emphasizing the pertinent questions for a critical approach to works in the genre

Throughout much of Christian history, the church had predominant control over religious ritual and belief. As early as the 1st Century, institutions representing "orthodoxy" were banning, forbidding or destroying the "heretical", separating it from what eventually would become canon and religious practice. The 21st Century provides new ways for spiritual knowledge to spread, bypassing traditional methods. Modern Martin Luthers can nail a manifesto to an internet door while the media's obsession with non-canonical texts provides no shortage of material for movies and television. A multi-media barrage challenges orthodox concepts and scriptural definition, often blurring the line between religion and entertainment. The initial clash between the churches and media has evolved over the last century to a point where the media may now produce beneficial results, educating many who may have either left the church or never joined it.

Un film problématise en images et en sons ce dont il traite. Le type d’analyse faisant apparaître cette relation étroite entre les formes du contenu et les formes de l’expression est l’analyse figurative. En voici la méthode exposée par Nicole Brenez en 1998 dans De la figure en général et du corps en particulier. Tout d’abord, il doit être admis que le film prime sur son contexte. Ensuite, les composantes d’un film sont des éléments. Puis, ces éléments sont autant de questions. Enfin, le cinéma problématise ce dont il traite. Seulement, ces quatre présupposés ne vont pas de soi. Ils induisent un double mouvement : le film pose des exigences à l’analyse que seule l’analyse rend visibles. Ce double mouvement dépasse le film pour questionner le cinéma. Cette thèse a pour but de démontrer que, d’une part, l’analyse figurative trouve ses fondements dans l’histoire du cinéma et que, d’autre part, grâce à des analyses figuratives, nous pouvons mettre à jour des changements dans le fonctionnement des images, du montage, des personnages. La méthodologie de l’analyse filmique repose par conséquent sur une étude historico-esthétique des formes cinématographiques. Or, ces formes sont autant de façons de penser le cinéma et de penser au cinéma. C’est précisément la circulation entre les formes du contenu, les formes de l’expression et les formes de l’analyse qui rend visible ce champ sensible d’expérimentations qu’est le film – une pensée-cinéma. / What is a cinematographic thought? A film theorized with images and sounds what it is dealing with. The methodology of film analysis which reveals that close relationship between images, sounds and thought is figurative. It was exposed in Nicole Brenez De la figure en général et du corps en particulier in 1998. First, the analyst must consider that the film is more important than its context. Next, its components shall be understood as elements. Then, those elements are regarded as questions. Finally, the film has to be considered as an interrogation of its subject. However, those four steps aren’t necessarily clear. They lead to a double thought: the film forces the analysis to include elements that are only made visible with the analysis. This double thought goes beyond the film and questions cinema itself. This study’s aim is to prove that a figurative analysis finds its foundations within the history of cinema, and due to these analyses, the changes regarding the construction of the image, editing, and character can be revealed. This methodology lies on an historical and aesthetic study of the cinematographic forms. Those forms are the way cinema thinks. Emerging from this relationship of a form, its expression, and its analysis is a sensitive field of experimentations: a cinematographic thought. / Thèse réalisée en cotutelle avec l'Université de Provence au sein du département d’études cinématographiques, U.F.R. Lettres et Arts, L.E.S.A. École doctorale Lettres, Langues et Arts. Soutenue publiquement à l'Université de Provence le 16 juillet 2010. Mention très honorable, félicitations du jury

Les années 1950 et 1960 apparaissent comme deux décennies d’intense effervescence dans le champ du cinéma thaï. L’adoption, à l’issue de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, du format 16mm par une nouvelle génération de cinéastes donna lieu à l’essor d’une production cinématographique très populaire dans le royaume. Alors que les comédies musicales réalisées par les fondateurs pionniers de la compagnie Phaphayon Siang Si Krung jusqu’en 1941 semblaient promettre la pérenne hégémonie d’un véritable « Hollywood du Siam », ces fictions joyeusement rhapsodiques, filmées avec des moyens de fortune et accompagnées en direct par la légendaire faconde de doubleurs professionnels, rencontrèrent un vaste public de Bangkok aux plus lointains villages de province, dans le cadre de projections en prolongement direct avec les spectacles mixtes d’antan. La disparition accidentelle, le 8 octobre 1970, de l’acteur Mit Chaibancha au cours du tournage d’Insi thong [« L’aigle d’or »] mit cependant un brusque terme à cette expérience, singulièrement tardive, de cinéma oral. La récente constitution d’un fonds d’archives à la Cinémathèque thaï a permis la mise à jour de riches vestiges de cette bien nommée « ère du 16mm ». Cette recherche se propose comme une première tentative historiographique pour exhumer ce patrimoine visuel, à la fois ancré dans la tradition dramatique siamoise et apparu dans le contexte d’une dictature militaire placée sous la complexe influence de son allié américain en ces années de Guerre Froide. / The 1950s and 1960s appear as two decades of intense effervescence in the field of Thai cinema. In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the adoption of the 16mm format by a new generation of filmmakers gave rise to a very popular cinematic production in the kingdom. Whereas the musicals directed by the pioneer founders of the Phaphayon Siang Si Krung company until 1941 seemed to promise the perennial hegemony of a real ‘Hollywood of Siam’, these joyously rhapsodic fictions, filmed with makeshift means and accompanied live by the legendary loquaciousness of professional dubbers, encountered a broad public from Bangkok to the most remote provincial villages, within a screening framework stemming directly from earlier mixed shows. Nevertheless, the accidental disappearance of the actor Mit Chaibancha on the 8th of October 1970, during the shooting of Insi thong [« The golden eagle »], put an abrupt end to this singularly belated experience of oral cinema. The recent composition of an archival fund at the Thai Film Archive permitted the bringing to light of rich vestiges from this well-named ‘16mm era’. This research is a first historiographical attempt to exhume this visual patrimony, both embedded in the Siamese dramatic tradition and generated in the context of a military dictatorship that came under the complexe influence of its American ally during these Cold War years.

The Thesis is focused on life and work of Břetislav Pojar. It is also focused on animated film and gives instructions for basic animation technique, which could be utilized in Art at elementary school. The life of Bretislav Pojar and his work are introduced in the theoretical part of this Thesis. The history of Czech and world animated film and its creators are also introduced. My own lessons are included in a project, which is described in practical part. This project is focused on animation and it was realized in Art. This part also included the reflection from implementation of project. There are photograps of children working on their animations at the end of this Thesis.