In this thesis, I offer a reappraisal of direct cinema through a study of documentarian D.A. Pennebaker's mature-period direct cinema. This is an unexamined period in Pennebaker's career that offers new perspectives on an often-maligned form of documentary. The period under study ranges from 1968 to 1970 and encompasses a range of films, commercials, abandoned projects and personal works. I focus on three films: Eat the Document, Sweet Toronto and One P.M. By shifting the critical focus away from the early and classical period of direct cinema, as well as its ‘canonical' films, I ask: How does direct cinema engage with the world in its later stages? What can be understood about direct cinema by examining works that do not circulate in ‘the canon,' and how does this analysis change our perception of it? Two further questions guide my study of Pennebaker: What are the aesthetic properties and ideological preoccupations that characterise Pennebaker's mature period? What is the political address of this set of films and how does that reposition the politics of direct cinema as a whole? Methodologically, I employ a close textual analysis of the films and an historical analysis of the period, conduct personal interviews with Pennebaker, and engage with intellectual debates within documentary studies to answer these questions. My study builds upon recent trends in direct cinema scholarship, which have opened up new critical horizons by returning the critical focus to the film texts themselves and the cultural and social contexts in which they were produced. I contribute knowledge to documentary studies by focusing critical attention on a neglected period in a key documentarian's career. Additionally, I perform a textual analysis of the period's films that focuses on the materiality of sync sound – the crucial, but largely neglected, aesthetic characteristic of direct cinema – as a means of investigating my ideological and political line of questioning. I also develop two key concepts: the performative documentary, which builds upon existing definitions by Waugh ([1990] 2011), Nichols (1994) and Bruzzi (2006; 2013) and furthers the concept through an application of Brecht's alienation effect; and ‘kinetic progressions,' which, I argue, is Pennebaker's cinematic process of signification that exploits classical direct cinema's emphasis on present-ness and found symbolism to further formally evolve the language of direct cinema in a way that fulfils its potentiality for political discourse.

This thesis argues that the presentation of narrative in film involves a fundamental indeterminacy, derived from the status of the event in film. I elaborate this idea of indeterminacy through Gilles Deleuze's ontology of the filmic image and Daniel Frampton's phenomenology of film-thinking. I analyse various manifestations of narrative indeterminacy, looking at examples from silent-era, classical and contemporary cinema from around the world, both within the studio model and outside of it. I look at how we may theorise narrative agency in light of this indeterminacy and its various forms, proposing an alternative to previous models of filmic narration, as well as examining the implications of indeterminacy for a viewer's activity in understanding narrative and how this relates to narrative agency. Here I use Wolfgang Iser's reader-response theory and his theory of literary indeterminacy to propose that this act of viewing is fundamentally interpretive, exploring the extent to which a filmic equivalent to Iser's implied reader may be identified, and the implications of this for conceptions of the relationship between the various types of viewer proposed throughout film theory. What emerges from this is a theory of the act of viewing that attends to the particular status of the event in the moving image of film and the indeterminacy that follows from this in a manner that previous theories do not, proposing an alternative to David Bordwell's theory of narrative comprehension and the related dismissal of interpretation. I suggest how viewer activity can be theorised alongside – rather than instead of – the 'passive' spectators of ideologically oriented film theory, and that what is required is attention to this intersection of viewing positions in film theory.

The focus of this thesis is contemporary British cinema. Specifically, the emergence of a representational trend within its texts that has resulted in a disproportionate number of films whose protagonists are white, male, and who are in some way, beset by crisis. Two categories of identity are thus explored in this thesis, each of which possesses its own register of meaning, each of which requires (or seems to require) a particular approach in terms of the way that it is represented in film. These two categories are race and gender. In every sense then, this thesis seeks to take part in the dialogue which since the late eighties and particularly during the 1990's, has formed around the idea that contemporary white masculinity is in crisis, and has sought to provide evidence both for and against that idea in the texts of contemporary popular culture. What this thesis aims to add to that dialogue, however, is a greater awareness of the way in which race functions in society and in cultural representations, as well as a better understanding of the extent to which its influence is discernible in the texts of contemporary British cinema alongside the trend towards portrayals of white masculine crisis. Employing a cultural studies trajectory throughout, this thesis draws on areas of whiteness and race theory, masculinity studies, film theory, culture and media studies, plus theories of representation, in presenting its arguments, and uses the tools of close textual analysis during the film readings that are its single largest element. Special emphasis is placed on situating both the arguments put forward and the films discussed in their appropriate cultural context, and the thesis frequently looks for parallels outside cinema as a means of illustrating key ideas. Ultimately, this thesis aims to increase the balance of the discussion on the subject of white masculine crisis by highlighting the first term in the phrase, and to better the understanding of contemporary British cinema in the process.

This thesis examines how Hollywood's female star images were created, promoted, and sold to the public, using a case study of Barbara Stanwyck. The research focuses in particular on the models of womanhood Stanwyck offered, her position as a female star in the male-controlled film industry, and her shifting image from the start of her career in 1930 until her final television performance in a continuing-character series in 1969. The research takes a different look at star studies as it is conventionally approached within the discipline of film studies. I use a historical approach that examines stars not just as images but also as part of a film's production, distribution, and exhibition process. I also attempt to develop the dominant approach of examining stars as images by using the historical approach to demonstrate how star images were created and promoted, and I argue that an understanding of these historical and industrial processes provides a better knowledge of the fashionability of stars. In writing the thesis I therefore rely on previously unused primary materials found in various papers and archival collections, fan magazines, and newspapers. The analysis of these materials demonstrates the relationship between Stanwyck's image and the cultural and industrial events or trends of the time by locating the image in its original context. The chapters are arranged chronologically by decade, but they are primarily organized around a key historical, social, or industrial aspect that describes the focus of that decade. In my conclusion I offer explanations for the shifts in Stanwyck's fashionability and I consider the usefulness of the historical approach to understand star images.

My thesis explores debates on the commercial and textual priorities of New Hollywood cinema through examination of the career of John Hughes. I argue that scrutiny of Hughes' career and the products associated with him expose the inadequacy of established approaches to cinematic authorship and New Hollywood cinema. By mounting a historically grounded investigation of Hughes' career, his status within the cinema industry, and his work as a commercially successful and agenda-setting filmmaker, I aim to reevaluate existing perspectives on post-1970s mainstream popular U.S. media. Drawing on an extensive array of previously unexamined primary materials, the thesis focuses on Hughes' shifting status as a “creative producer” within the U.S. film industry, as well as on the construction of the John Hughes “brand” during the 1980s and 1990s. I explore how Hughes secured considerable industrial power by exploiting opportunities presented by expanding ancillary markets and changing production agendas. I argue that established models for conceptualising industrial trends, such as Justin Wyatt's “high concept”, fail to capture the complexities of Hollywood's commercial strategies in this period. I conclude that historical research can challenge previous assumptions and contribute to a more detailed and precise understanding of the operations of the U.S. film industry in this period. By scrutinizing the films that Hughes wrote, produced and/or directed, I consider how Hughes' films are complexly determined industrial productions that are shaped both by a set of radically fluctuating commercial imperatives, as well as by Hollywood's standardized formats and frameworks. The production of Hollywood cinema may be a collaborative enterprise, but I argue that certain individuals and institutions can exert greater control over aspects of the process. In conclusion, I suggest that such a historical methodology can illuminate not just the work of one particular filmmaker but can shed new light on the broader operations of Hollywood as a commercial culture industry.

The diary film as a unique, personal, and private cinematic genre for a long time has not received its fair share of attention in academic research. This thesis therefore focuses mainly on the historical development, characteristics, and aesthetics of the diary film per se, conducting a critical dialogue between them in order to explore a field of study that should be clarified instead of staying ambiguous. The discussion of this thesis can be divided into two parts: first, I pay specially attention to the historical context of the diary film in the 1950s to 1960s in America. Combing through different film theories regarding amateurism and different personal filmmaking approaches proposed by Marie Menken, Maya Deren, and Jonas Mekas, the first part of the thesis aims to locate the origins of the diary film. Moreover, with the discovering of the early historic material of the avant-garde film movement and the diary film in Taiwan, a transnational connection of the diary film between America and Taiwan has been established. The second part of the thesis focuses on the analyses of the diary film texts from various filmmakers in America and in Taiwan across different periods of time: they include Jonas Mekas, Hollis Frampton, Saul Levine, George Kuchar, Shine Lin, and myself. By the close reading of these films, I provide concepts from different perspectives as analytic tools in the diary film research: the parenthetical structure of the voice-over and the image in the diary film, and the different modes of diary filmmaking (perceptive, retrospective, and access) in terms of temporality and technology. To conclude, this thesis not only wishes to suggest forward-looking views on this marginal field, but also to reconstruct and reinvent the research of the diary film in Taiwan.

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.

This thesis conducts a study of stardom in contemporary Hollywood cinema through the conceptual models offered by political economy and performance analysis. It suggests that a fuller understanding of the meaning of star texts involves a consideration of industry, of performance, and of interpretative frameworks adopted by audiences. The thesis is structured in two sections: the first examines the political economy of stardom in contemporary Hollywood, presenting an evaluation of industrial changes over the last forty years. The following section builds upon this analysis, focusing on issues of performance and stardom. In Section One, Chapter Two examines stars as both a form of labour and capital, and assesses the extent to which the contemporary freelancing star is able to exploit his or her star image under the package-unit mode of production in Hollywood. It examines how contemporary stars have gained substantial power through the publicity value they accumulate, and argues that their importance to the industry has been underestimated in existing research. It argues that the shift from production as a major activity towards licensing, distribution, and ancillary markets has changed the function of stars in the industry. The importance of the Screen Actors Guild and talent agencies is used as an example of the reconfiguration of this relationship. Chapter Three outlines theories of post-Fordism and considers whether they are able to explain the function of stars in contemporary Hollywood?s mode of production. Turning to questions of property rights, it suggests that the recognition in US law of the right of publicity, and the rise of flexible contracting, had the effect of conferring industrial power on stars. In doing so, it argues that the power of stars was consolidated by the flexible package-unit mode of production and the legal recognition of the right of publicity in US law.

In the field of Greek film studies, the 1960's are widely seen as the heyday of the 'Old Greek Cinema' (PEK), while the binary model 'Old/mainstream' versus 'New/artistic' still dominates historical, theoretical and critical discourse on Greek film. The contribution of this thesis is that, on the one hand, it considers the 1960s under the light of the rise of 'New Greek Cinema' (NEK) and, on the other, complicates the relationship of PEK and NEK by focusing on the culture surrounding Greek cinema of the time and by exploring the continuities and interrelations between the 'Old' and the 'New'. Particular emphasis is given to the debates about 'quality' national cinema, including issues of realism, Greekness' and 'popular authenticity', the crucial contribution of state policies and institutions such as the 'Week of the Greek Cinema' in Thessaloniki and cine clubs, the establishment of international art film in the domestic market, and the emergence of a young generation of film critics and cinephiles who promoted the idea of an indigenous art-house film culture. This thesis highlights also the 'Old Greek Cinema's' attempts to raise the cultural status of commercial film and address international audiences and its subsequent openness to formal, thematic and artistic experimentation normally associated with NEK. The rise of history as a thematic concern of Greek cinema of the 1960s is another main focus of this thesis, which attempts to reveal how the Civil-War trauma, and oppositional historical perspectives (typically associated with NEK) found way in disguised forms in the narratives of mainstream films. Finally, through a close examination of the thematic and stylistic concerns of short films made in the 1960s (which include the early works of some of the major NEK figures) it demonstrates the continuity between the cinematic developments of the 1960s and the 1970s.

This project sets out to scrutinize three decades of feature length fiction films about the British Empire produced by American and British filmmakers beginning in the 1930s through to the end of the 1950s. It compares British and American film in these three decades because such a comparative study has yet to be done and situating such a study within the changing historical contexts is important to chart shifting patterns in filmmaking in these two cultures. Focusing on film narratives that favour sites of modern colonial conflict as setting, namely India, the African colonies and Ireland, the project will chart how American and British filmmakers started from significantly different positions regarding the British imperial project but came to share increasing homogeneity of approach during and after the Second World War. This thesis shows that the relationship of American and British filmmakers to the British Empire changed dramatically after the Second World War and followed political developments. The new special relationship which grew strong after the war had far reaching consequences to the colonial and former colonial nations: the way in which American and British filmmakers portrayed this transition has important implications within film history.