The invention of the synthesizer meant the possibility of achieving virtually any sound in one mechanism, a superbly convenient device for musical creativity. Perhaps the perfect space for this approval of sound creativity was in the modern electronic film score. The synthesizer also flourished in popular music immediately following its emergence, but a common form began to solidify itself among synthesizer music. Shortly after, improvements in electronic instrument technology led to the democratization of electronic music and equipment, ultimately leading to electronic music as the new mainstream.

Electronic dance music is a genre that has been long in the making. Starting with disco in the 1970s, dance culture genres evolved into house, acid house, techno, garage, 2-step, hardcore, gabba, san frandisco, electro, and many others. This paper studies the transformation of electronic sound, and the contributing/impeding factors involved. Drug use is heavily related to the creation and enjoyment of music, and features prominently in the history of dance culture. Starting with the use of acid in the 1960s and progressing to the use of acid, Quaaludes, poppers, speed in the 1970s, with MDA featured in clubs toward the end of the decade. The 1980s began the recreational use of MDMA, but not until the late 80s in UK acid parties did it become known as the party drug that it is known as today. MDMA use then spread rampantly throughout the US as the UK culture was exported and emulated. UK acid parties were the precursor to raves, which were illegal, and the backlash from the law was incredible and organized. Slowly licensing laws became more relaxed, and permits became easier to obtain, making future raves more legal, but according to ravers, less fun, ending at 2am instead of 8am, and forcing the drugs scene underground, rather than having them openly solicited. Organized crime in the UK got much worse as gangs realized the potential profits of selling drugs, and the scene forever changed because of this in the early 90s. The raves of the early 90s in New York, the Midwest, and San Francisco, were paradise in comparison. San Francisco enjoyed the most freedom, and beach raves became common. The electronic dance culture found a home in large festivals, and perhaps because of this the future of electronic music remains uncertain, especially with the casualties that have recently happened relating to ecstasy use, and complications in organizing such massive events.

Academic work dealing with the overlap between video games and female representation is limited in both volume and proper research. Most texts agree on three supposed flaws with video games: they alienate female participants, there are no games for female players, and female players cannot relate to female characters. This thesis sheds light on these points, not only citing specific counter-examples, but also showing how many of these issues reflect on a larger societal problems.

In the traditionally patriarchal Hollywood industry, the heterosexual man’s “male gaze,” as coined by feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey, is the dominant viewing model for cinematic audiences, leaving little room for a negotiated reading of how visual images are created, presented, and internalized by male and female audiences alike. However, as Hollywood’s shifting feminist landscape becomes increasingly prevalent in the mainstream media, content incorporating the oppositional “female gaze” have become the new norm in both the film and television mediums. Through an extended analysis of the gaze as socialized through gendered learning in children, the “safe space” afforded through the formulaic platform of “boy bands,” and the function of romantic comedies and the emerging feminist rhetoric prevalent in such films as “Magic Mike: XXL,” the conceptual “female gaze” is defined and explored through the demographic of young girls as they grow and push their understanding of desire, particularly as they develop into the mature, media-cosuming women that have become increasingly vocal in the Hollywood sphere.

This video is a visual representation of the frustrations that I suffered from when I, a queer, gender non-conforming, person of color, went to “pasty normals” (a term defined by Jose Esteban Munoz to describe normative, non-exotic individuals) to get a definition of what Punk meant and where I fit into it. In this video, I personify the Punk music movement. Through my actions, I depart from the grainy, low-quality, amateur aesthetics of the Punk film and music genres and create a new world where the Queer Person of Color defines Punk. In the piece, Punk definitively says, “Don’t try to define me. Shut up and leave me to rest.”

Kinetic typographic experiment in curated Tweets from Beverly Hills. All Tweets geotagged 90210. Watch the live feed at pageeasy.com/realtweetsofbeverlyhills

This paper explores how photographs have affected mourning processes in the past and how photo-technology may be able to change the way in which we mourn in the future. It includes an overview of the history of post-mortem photography and discusses the perspectives of well-known media theorists such as Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag. It engages with psychologists by including their perspectives on the effect that photographs have on the mourning process. A project was created to investigate how photo-technology can affect the bereaved. The project places photographs of a mother into pictures of her children taken after she had passed away. These photographs were later shown to her sons in order to explore how this impacts their memories and mourning processes.

Net neutrality is currently one of the most topical government policies up for debate. In the following paper, I will examine three cases in which net neutrality has been threatened by internet service providers and the Federal Communications Commission and reinforced by public interest groups, major website companies, and the public. The online regime has been a critical instrument in the outcome of all three cases, highlighting the role and influence of internet users in the virtual and physical public spheres. Some say that the battle is already lost. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his Republican majority in the agency are set on and have the capacity to push through legislation that will undo strict regulation of ISPs set by the Obama administration. The vote has yet to take place later this month, but the result should not detract the democratic nature and value from the decade-long debate. Net neutrality has been demonstrative of a civil society, one that uses all the tools, techniques, and platforms available to them in the fight against corporate interest. For its relation to First Amendment rights, its goals of redeeming public interest to rightful owners, and its use of new public spheres to organize civic participation, net neutrality is not only necessary for the success of the Internet, but the debate around it is also indicative of and essential to the growth of democratic debates around public policy.

In this thesis paper, I will document and analyze the process of making my graduate thesis film, Just Like Wild Pete. I will start by stating my overall thesis statement, then move into each specific area of the filmmaking process. I will translate my learning at the University of New Orleans Film and Theatre program into real life situations with this film, as well as detail my successes and struggles throughout the process. I will analyze my own work, and constantly look to how I can improve in the future. In the end, I will determine if my thesis proves true, and if I was successful in the individual aspects of filmmaking, as well as the thesis film as a whole.

The contents of this paper will detail the making of my film Into the Green, a University of New Orleans thesis film. I will examine the processes used to create my film in five parts. Part One will cover the various inspirations and influences that I pulled from to create the story. Part Two will cover the entirety of pre-production and will begin to detail the various collaborators who worked along with me. In Part Three I will discuss the shooting process in Arkansas and in Part Four I will cover the film’s journey through post-production. Finally, in Part Five, I will analyze my filmmaking experience and discuss future plans for Into the Green.