The purpose of this study is to identify the existential themes present in the movie Where the crawdads sing (2022) by using the method thematic content analysis. The method is used when the aim is to identify themes or patterns within the data. In the movie the main character, Kya, faces challenges in life that raise existential thoughts and questions that together point to the existential themes being identified. Furthermore, the study examined how the main character deals with these existential challenges by applying Pargament’s religious coping theory. The theory explains how people use religious or spiritual beliefs to cope with stress and adversity. The research questions for this study are:  What existential themes challenge Kya? How does Kya relate and deal with these existential challenges? The result of the study showed that the movie explores themes of social context, to be exposed to threats and thoughts of life and death. When researching how Kya copes with her challenges, it was discovered that nature and social relationships are significant for Kya throughout the movie. However, she uses a reconstructive coping mechanism in order to conserve her significance. Kya does this by getting rid of obstacles in her way.

Home Sweet Home is a short horror film that tells the story of Gavin and his encounters with supernatural energies after he moves to a new room. In the end, the story reveals that his roommate is the initiator. The movie draws inspiration from a variety of classic horror films, with an emphasis on those that are set in homes and bedrooms. Home is usually considered the safest place, but when this familiar place is haunted, it tortures us, and we have nowhere to run. Taiwanese religious elements along with urban legends, are featured prominently in the video as a source of the terror. / Master of Fine Arts / Home Sweet Home is a short horror film produced by a group of Virginia Tech students. The film tells the story of Gavin following his encounters with the paranormal following his relocation to a new room. In the end, the story reveals that his roommate is the initiator. The film is inspired by many classic horror films with a concentration on films containing scenes in the bedroom and at home in particular, such as the Japanese movie" Ju On," the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, and "It Follows," etc. Home is usually considered the safest place, but when this familiar place is haunted, it tortures us, and there is nowhere we can flee. Taiwanese religious elements and urban legends are featured prominently in the video as a source of terror. Details in the film show Taiwanese's unique religious belief culture: a blend of Taoism, Buddhism, and some Hinduism and local beliefs.

The dissertation examines the issue of leisure time and the possibility of self-fulfillment (self- realization) in the context of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Thus, it elaborates the range of leisure time of the given period from the length of working hours through public holidays, Sundays to holidays. Subsequently, it deals with the analysis of individual ways of spending leisure time, in which the search for self-realization can be observed. In several thematic areas, the work focuses on the possibilities of self-realization through stays in nature, sports or through dreaming. On the rich source material, it captures the specific attitude of the groups observed to leisure time and asks questions about the importance of leisure activities for the functioning of society and for its gradual modernization. The dissertation seeks to provide a new perspective on the Czech-speaking First Republic society, with a strong emphasis on theories in the field of sociology of leisure time or lifestyle and is inspired by the theses of humanistic psychology. Key words: self-fulfillment, leisure, nature, sport, movie

A motor-mouthed rapper with a perfect ear wants to turn a golden-voiced oddball into a music superstar but his popstar ex-lover threatens to blow up her meteoric rise.

With the increased rate of overweight and obese youth in the United States many people began looking for ways to increase youth exercise quality and habits; one such way was by using an external distraction during exercise to increase personal motives toward exercise. This study involved 81 high school aged students enrolled in a required physical education class. Students rode an indoor cycling bike for 20 minutes while wearing a heart rate monitor. They were told to maintain a heart rate between their 70 and 79% maximum heart rate. Every 5 minutes students were asked to rate how hard they thought they were working, using a modified rating of perceived exertion scale, and how much they were enjoying the activity. At the end of each day, students were asked if they would continue to cycle if given the option. The first two days had no distraction, days 3 and 4 had class selected music playing, and days 5 and 6 had a class selected movie showing at the front of the room. There is no significant difference in heart rate or rating of perceived exertion between no distraction and adding music, but when a movie is played, both heart rate and rating of perceived exertion decrease significantly. However, a similar decrease in heart rate and rating of perceived exertion is also seen in the control group on the same days of data collection. Including a distraction while exercising has no significant effect on enjoyment of the activity or intention to persist in the activity. Females have significantly higher intrinsic motivation levels throughout the course of data collection, and males' intrinsic motivation significantly declines with each progressive condition. As the decline in heart rate and rating of perceived exertion is seen in both control and treatment groups the decline is possibly influenced by unaccounted for factors such as hard bike seats, boredom, or teacher pedagogy. These factors could potentially account for the decrease in intrinsic motivation during the last two days of data collection.

The process of watching a movie is a common way to be entertained in this day and age. There are multiple ways in which people can enjoy a movie ranging from the big screen at a commercial theater, on their home's television, or even in a car while driving. One outcome associated with watching a destination movie might be that the viewer will be compelled to visit or not the location portrayed in the movie. It is a primary assumption of this thesis that movies have the ability to create or change an individual's image of a destination by its portrayal within the motion picture. This study was conducted in an effort to examine this global phenomenon called movie tourism and contribute to the tourism literature. This study focused on determining the differences between pre and post measures resulting from watching a destination specific movie. The research method was a pretest-posttest experimental design conducted to a convenience sample of 247 hospitality management students enrolled in a major metropolitan university located in the southeastern portion of the United States. The research instrument was a pre and posttest questionnaire that included structured and unstructured questions in order to capture the complex destination image. The treatment between the pre and posttest was a destination specific movie. A 100% response rate was obtained from the pretest group and a 99.2% response rate from the posttest group. Results of the study revealed that: 1) certain perceived destination images were different before and after the movie; 2) level of interest in visiting the destination was not different before and after the movie; 3) destination image had a positive relationship with the level of interest in visiting the destination; and 4) certain audience characteristics had an impact on destination image and interest in visiting the location. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed in the final chapter.

Mitt projekt är en animerad kortfilm där vi får följa ekollonet Acca och hennes dagliga rutiner. Vi ser henne gå från ung till gammal och hur förutsättningarna runt henne förändras. Examensarbetet är också ett utforskande för mig i en nyfunnen teknik och även ett undersökandeav hur en visuell kreatör kan hålla sin process mer hållbar och klimatsmart. / An animated short film in which we follow the acorn Acca through her daily routines. We watch her go from young to old and observe how the conditions around her change. The degree project is also an exploration for me in a newfound technique, as well as an examination of how a visual creator can keep their process more sustainable and climate-smart.

In today's society, most media users are aware that the image of reality that media producers create differs from real life. However, the knowledge about the power that the media holds is forgotten in daily media use. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the image of reality that the media communicates is in many cases more tangible than the actual reality. The media thus has a decisive role in how reality is perceived, and in this case how relationships are perceived. A negative or unrealistic representation of romantic relationships can cause a problem for individuals' perception and attitudes towards their partners, or future partners. In recent years, romantic comedies have slowly become more popular with both men and women. They have started spreading from their conventional and traditional structure to other territories and areas. The genre is characterized by a focus on idealized love. It usually consists of suspense with love being challenged and a happy ending to the story. The plot keeps the audience glued to their seats hoping that love will triumph in the end. This study aims to investigate the representation of relationships in three romantic comedies from the 2010s. Certain expectations of a romantic relationship can be constructed in the films. By scanning the movie database IMDb for the top rated romantic comedies from the 2010s the top three movies were selected, with the three movies being Leap Year (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and Something Borrowed (2011). By applying a thematic analysis, the representation of the main relationships in the movies will be analyzed. Themes will be selected in relevance to the research question.  The relationships in the movies showed interesting similarities and differences in the way gender roles, initiative and complications were represented. Stuart Hall's theory of representation supports the study´s emphasis on the importance of the topic and explains how stereotyping can be used by producers to promote a specific demeanor.

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