Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1972. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 364-369). Filmography: leaves 387-405.

Thesis.--University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1975. / A selected bibliography: leaves 487-511.

Thesis--Rutgers University.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of History, August 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2001. Graduate Programme in Film and Video. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-138). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ66381.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-49).

This thesis is an attempt to account for the contemporary American horror film's increased reliance upon images of bodily dismemberment and decay. At the core of this exploration is an inspection of the body's capability as a metaphor by which our understanding of the relation of self to society is articulated. The horror film is shown to be a genre traditionally disposed towards the interrogation of categories of human identity,and one which is now responding to the kind of cultural developments often referred to by the expression postmodernism. As such the genre is placed in a context of other social discourses about the body, death, disease and decay.In proposing the body as the central metaphor of the modern horror film, and pursuing its significance in a range of recent film texts, the thesis triesto provide a positive basis for understanding an aspect of popular culture often left 'explained' by accusations of exploitation or dismissed by the traditionalists as aberrant. The thesis does not attempt to be a theory of genre per se, nor does it offer an exhaustive account of the field; the outlining of the emergence of a new tendency is not meant to imply that more conventional material has been discontinued. 'Body Horror' is argued to be the most important development in the field however, and the work concludes after demonstrating its vitality in recent examples where its deployment takes radically varied positions with respect to the construction of the masculine subject in particular. The work is broken down into five Chapters. In Chapter One the existing theoretical literature is critically examined. In Chapter Two, the nature of the contemporary horror film is laid out. In Chapter Three the body as a symbo is considered in relation to the genre. In Chapter Four this idea is developed through textual analysis in relation to discourses of death and disease. In Chapet Five the emergence of a postmodern horror film is considered. A conclusion acts as a summary and as a focus in which the implication of the work for feminist and psychoanalytical theories of the subject can be drawn.

published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This dissertation scrutinizes a corpus of films considered to be the stylistic and thematic descendants of Yasujiro Ozu, which I call “feeling of life films.” Focusing upon common themes such as female narrative and the portrayals of the quotidian, this dissertation identifies various methods used in specific films of Ozu, Hou Hsiao Hsien, and Tran Anh Hung that complicate narrative meaning and engage in the discourse of national modernity and history. The female protagonists of these films can be considered “left behind” by the narrative progression of history, serving an allegorical function that critiques standard notions of time and official history. The basis for understanding this phenomenon will be scholarly discourse primarily concerning Ozu’s “Noriko Trilogy,” which marks the transitional period of post-war Japan through the narrative of a woman’s path to marriage. This dissertation seeks to complicate the discourse of reading women in these films by introducing different methodologies of formalist analysis, cultural analysis, theoretic discourse, historiography, and phenomenology. In doing so, this dissertation demonstrates the cinematic importance of these films through their unique formal characteristics and their cultural and historical meanings. / published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This dissertation is a case study of three feature films directed by Gan Xiao’er, a Chinese independent filmmaker. I argue that these films are set apart from other independent films in China because they center on the representations of Chinese Christianity in rural areas in the postsocialist era of China, which is a subject matter under-represented in mainstream media as well as independent cinema in China. Gan’s feature films have also illustrated the social and cultural problems during the Reform period, themes which have been avoided by mainstream media but featured in independent cinema. Gan’s films are also characterized by responses to social and cultural issues from a Christian perspective. I also argue that the representations of Christianity in Gan’s films are ambiguous as both the positive and negative sides of the religion are portrayed. Such portrayals have generated a critique from within Christianity, concerning the religion’s entanglement with the social, cultural and political forces in the postsocialist context. Moreover, the three feature films of Gan’s have not only illustrated the exterior of Chinese Christianity, including the religious institution and activities of Christians, but also formulated an in-depth investigation of the inner spiritual quest of Chinese villagers and Christians. / published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts