This dissertation argues that Robert De Niro's performances in the 1970s mark him as pivotal a figure in the history of American film acting as Stella Adler, Elia Kazan, and Marlon Brando. De Niro's transformations into Vito Corleone, Travis Bickle, and Jake La Motta take the Method to the extreme, permanently changing our understanding of screen performance while revealing the relationships among authorship, agency, and acting. Utilizing rare artifacts from De Niro's recently donated materials to the Harry Ransom Center, I provide hitherto unseen evidence of his meticulous research, his conversations with directors, and his extreme bodily transformations that I argue constitute a truly unique iteration of the Method. Though certainly a student of Adler, De Niro's efforts to reshape productions around his characterizations and exercise his growing power to do whatever it takes - including rewriting dialogue to reflect vernacular speech, improvising scenes for spontaneity, and finding his own costumes – demonstrate a particular commitment to artistic truth, historical accuracy, and verisimilitude that mark him as inimitable within the diverse world of Method theorists, pedagogues, and practitioners. There is nothing, I argue, that appears in a De Niro film that has not been deliberated, discussed, or fought for by the actor, and I consider here how his filmography – including pivotal '70s films such as MEAN STREETS, TAXI DRIVER, THE DEER HUNTER, and RAGING BULL – speaks to a Method performance that extends beyond the screen and behind the scenes. Demystifying De Niro's "Method" therefore allows us to revisit key cinematic contributions to 1970s US film culture and significantly deepens our understanding of actor agency by troubling dominant historical narratives of production and confounding assumptions about on-set hierarchies. / text

Under ungefär en tioårsperiod, från den senare hälften av 1960-talet till den senare hälften av 1970-talet, producerade Hollywood filmer som inte bara tilltalade kritiker, utan även publiken. Dessa filmer var kreativa såväl produktionsmässigt som narrativt, och bröt ofta mot gamla traditioner samtidigt som man byggde vidare på formler för berättande som grundats under studioeran. Frågeställningarna var dessa: Vilka händelser skiljer den här perioden från andra perioder i filmhistorien? Hur skedde förändringarna på olika plan? Och hur såg skildringen av kvinnor på film ut, jämfört med tidigare? För att söka svar användes olika böcker inom såväl filmhistoria som genusstudier, samt läste texter som hittades på internet. Dessutom gjordes en närstudie av tre filmer från denna period, ur ett genusperspektiv: Bonnie and Clyde, Cabaret, och Annie Hall. Dessa år var även mycket händelserika i samhället i stort, och de olika händelserna färgade av sig i filmproduktionen på två olika sätt. För det första blev filmerna vuxnare och mindre "familjevänliga", och för det andra förekom ofta en romantisering av förflutna epoker, som exempelvis depressionsåren. De kvinnliga karaktärerna hamnade i centrum på ett nytt sätt, jämfört med tidigare. Studiosystemet upplöstes av sig själv, mer eller mindre, och i tomrummet efter detta uppstod en kreativt lyckad övergångsperiod, känd idag som "New Hollywood", där amerikanska filmskapare kunde göra filmer som inte följde några av de vid tiden givna normerna. Detta gav en slags konstgjord andning tills produktionsbolagen hade lyckades återanpassa sig.

Jaws(Universal Studios, 1975) set a new standard for Hollywood film production byintroducing the concept of “summer blockbuster,” for a film that changed the way inwhich people thought about sharks. 37 years after the release of the movie, the idea of sharks as ferocious man-hunters still looms large in public opinion. Thisconceptualization of sharks as ruthless killers is mythical rather than factual, and thisresearch tracks the mechanisms that propelled the idea deep into popular culture.The dissertation addresses the problematics of media constructions through a casestudy of the movie Jawsdeparting from its production process, and by applyingBarbara Klinger’s interpretation of “epiphenomena.” The thesis studies how cinematravels into popular culture, by following the traces of the movie into other media, andits dialogue with the surrounding texts generated by PR, marketing andmerchandising; simultaneously, the thesis seek to demonstrate the connection between the movie as mythmaker and the stigmatized portrayal of sharks.

<p>This essay studies stylistic differences as well as homage’s between four films produced in two different contexts, New Hollywood and alternative aesthetics today in America. This is done in order to answer the question how alternative Hollywood works against or with Classical Hollywood Cinema in cases like style and narrative. The Work is done by a theory of neoformalism and the definition made by them of Classical Hollywood Cinema. The essay finds small changes, although kind of important witch are mainly shown in editing and causal motivation. It’s found that, in these films Classical Hollywood Cinema still contributes with a huge part.</p>

This essay studies stylistic differences as well as homage’s between four films produced in two different contexts, New Hollywood and alternative aesthetics today in America. This is done in order to answer the question how alternative Hollywood works against or with Classical Hollywood Cinema in cases like style and narrative. The Work is done by a theory of neoformalism and the definition made by them of Classical Hollywood Cinema. The essay finds small changes, although kind of important witch are mainly shown in editing and causal motivation. It’s found that, in these films Classical Hollywood Cinema still contributes with a huge part.

This master's thesis is devoted to the changes of Miloš Forman's media image, more precisely how period press noticed both his career and work. Miloš Forman is the most acknowledged and most famous czech film director. His story is connected with story of czech cinematography and story of its changes. The thesis wants to find out, why Forman wasn't destroyed even though he left the country, despite his emigration. It is trying to prove that his media image never been strictly negative and Forman itself never became taboo. Forman's person is beyond all standards. He is proof, that if the work is not strong crtitical against regime, it arouses respect despite all the ideology. He was reflected in the various stages, but still in relatively good light. The thesis examines the perception of the media in three life stages: work in Czechoslovakia before going to the United States, working abroad and finally after the Velvet Revolution. Although Forman has participated in many films, thesis focused only on his feature-length work. And because Miloš Forman is a person who transcends the borders of Czechoslovakia, or the Czech Republic, media abroad reflected his career as well, althought the view there was slightly different from the domestic one.

<p>The paper discusses and analyzes differences and similarities in depictions of violence in the two narrative media of films and games. The work is based on existing theories on representation, remediation, narration and immersion – theories which are further developed and discussed by the author. The movies Man on Fire and Kill Bill, as well as the games Ninja Gaiden and Grand Theft Auto are analyzed and used as examples of how depictions of violence in films and games can or should be studied. Also, the possibilities for development of the theories used in the paper are considered. Further discussed are, among other issues, the recognition of the different media as ways to achieve political ends – and the use of stereotype and archetypical narrative elements in relation to more or less concerned attitudes towards violence and depictions of violence.</p> / <p>I uppsatsen diskuteras och analyseras skillnader och likheter mellan användandet av våldsgestaltning i de två narrativa och visuella medierna film och spel. Uppsatsen tar sitt avstamp i teorier kring representation, remediering, narration och immersion, vilka författaren också utvecklar och resonerar kring. Filmerna Man on Fire och Kill Bill samt spelen Ninja Gaiden och Grand Theft Auto analyseras och används som exempel på hur våldsgestaltningen i respektive medium kan eller bör studeras, samt hur de teoretiska verktygen kan utvecklas. Bland annat diskuteras synen på de olika medierna som politiska påverkanskrafter och användandet av stereotypa och arketypiska berättarelement i relation till eventuella problematiserande inställningar till våld och våldsgestaltning.</p>

The paper discusses and analyzes differences and similarities in depictions of violence in the two narrative media of films and games. The work is based on existing theories on representation, remediation, narration and immersion – theories which are further developed and discussed by the author. The movies Man on Fire and Kill Bill, as well as the games Ninja Gaiden and Grand Theft Auto are analyzed and used as examples of how depictions of violence in films and games can or should be studied. Also, the possibilities for development of the theories used in the paper are considered. Further discussed are, among other issues, the recognition of the different media as ways to achieve political ends – and the use of stereotype and archetypical narrative elements in relation to more or less concerned attitudes towards violence and depictions of violence. / I uppsatsen diskuteras och analyseras skillnader och likheter mellan användandet av våldsgestaltning i de två narrativa och visuella medierna film och spel. Uppsatsen tar sitt avstamp i teorier kring representation, remediering, narration och immersion, vilka författaren också utvecklar och resonerar kring. Filmerna Man on Fire och Kill Bill samt spelen Ninja Gaiden och Grand Theft Auto analyseras och används som exempel på hur våldsgestaltningen i respektive medium kan eller bör studeras, samt hur de teoretiska verktygen kan utvecklas. Bland annat diskuteras synen på de olika medierna som politiska påverkanskrafter och användandet av stereotypa och arketypiska berättarelement i relation till eventuella problematiserande inställningar till våld och våldsgestaltning.

This diploma thesis is devoted to the changes of Miloš Forman's media image, more precisely how contemporary press perceived both his career and work. Miloš Forman is the most acknowledged and most famous czech film director. His story is connected with story of czech cinematography and story of its changes. The thesis wants to find out, why Forman wasn't defamed even though he left the country, despite his emigration. I am trying to prove that his media image has never been strictly negative and Forman itself never became a taboo. Forman's person is beyond all standards. He is proof, that if the work is not overly crtitical of the regime, it arouses respect despite all the ideology. He was reflected in the various life stages differently, but still in relatively good light. The thesis examines the perception of Miloš Forman by media in three life stages: work in Czechoslovakia before emigration to the United States, working abroad and finally the stage after the Velvet Revolution. Although Forman has participated in many films, this thesis is focused only on his feature-length work. And because Miloš Forman is a person who transcends the borders of Czechoslovakia, or the Czech Republic, media abroad reflected his career as well, although the view there was slightly different from the domestic one.

This dissertation examines landscape as a concept for analysis and interpretation in film studies by considering the New Hollywood cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Contextualized within the contested notion of nationhood at the time as well as the concern among filmmakers to probe the properties, practices and traditions of American cinema, this was also a period when landscape underwent widespread redefinition as a field of artistic and academic practice. From the outset an aesthetic and pictorial concept, landscape is understood as consisting of a number of interacting ideas and systems of representation which are addressed in terms of intermedial relations. Not something to be encountered or discovered and fixed on canvas or film, landscape involves an ongoing process of construction, appropriation and transformation. Departing from a discussion of the historical role landscape has played in cultural practices of self-representation and self-definition, this study is concerned with how it can be turned against itself and used as a point of departure for adversary and antagonistic views of national myths and media. The organization is roughly chronological, based around a series of reconsiderations of key films, mainly focusing on road movies and genre-revisionist work of the period. Rather than a repository of stable identities and values, each chapter shows how landscape can be advanced in a process of reflecting on attempts to impose meaning, order and linearity. Taken together, Out of Site argues that an engagement with the surfaces and depths of landscape enables new perspectives on the interrelations between the highbrow and the popular, aesthetics and ideology. Bringing attention to how story patterns and audience expectations are displaced, landscape is examined for the questions it raises regarding representational and narrative strategies, the formation of identity and memory, and our own habits of reading.