This thesis explores the intersection of phenomenological, bio-political and ethical facets of spectatorship in relation to female suffering and gendered violence in contemporary film produced in Europe (mainly drawing on examples from France) and the United States. I argue that the visceral and affective cinematic embodiment of female pain plays a vital role in determining the political and ethical relationships of spectators to the images onscreen. Drawing on phenomenological theory, feminist ontology and ethics (primarily the work of Hélène Cixous), as well as the ethical philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Jean-Luc Nancy, I establish the bio-political and ethical positions and responsibilities of spectators who encounter female suffering in film. In doing so, I highlight the ways in which adopting a phenomenological approach to theorizing and practicing spectatorial perception can open up new areas of ethical engagement with (and fields of vision within) controversial modes of filmmaking such as European New Extremism and body horror. I analyze how suffering female bodies embody contemporary corporeal, socio-political and ethical problematics in what I define as the “cinema of exposure.” I argue that through processes of psychosomatic disturbance, films within the cinema of exposure encourage spectators to employ a haptic, corporeally situated vision when watching women experience pain and trauma onscreen. I explore how encounters with these suffering female bodies impact spectators as political and ethical subjects, contributing a crucial bio-political dimension to existing work on spectatorial engagement with cinematic affect. The goal of this thesis is to highlight the continued importance of feminist critiques of gendered and sexualized violence in film by attending to the emotional, physical, political and ethical resonances of mediated female suffering. This thesis contributes productively to those areas of film and media studies, women's studies and feminist philosophy that explore the construction of female subjectivity within contemporary culture.

This essay examines the themes of paranoia and claustrophobia as elements of horror in John Campbell’s novella “Who Goes There?” (1938) and John Carpenter’s film-adaptation of said novella, called The Thing (1982). The novella and the film utilize the lack of trust and reliability in between the characters as elements of fear as well as supernatural elements in the form of a monster. This essay focuses on the different parts of the story running through both versions, mainly the setting, the characters and the monster, to show how the themes of paranoia and claustrophobia are used throughout these as elements of fear and horror. With the help of Sigmund Freud’s concept of the uncanny, as well as other sources, this essay argues that while the monster plays an important role throughout the story, the threats created by the paranoia and claustrophobia are equal to the monster itself.

This thesis explores my practice as it has progressed into video and video installation. I detail my use of cinematic tropes and mechanisms as they function within a spatial installation. I discuss the relationship of my work to other artists such as Pierre Huyghe, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, and Kevin Cooley who also deal with themes of landscape, spatial displacement, and video viewing. My work has evolved to video installation from a need to experience the traditionally flat viewing plane of photography in a more experiential way. The Locus installation is multi sensory, in that it addresses smell, sound, and vision. In my work, I employ methods such as obfuscated video and localized yet unconnected sound landscapes to consider notions such as the viewer’s self-awareness, fear of solitude, and the ‘other.’ I explore the other as a concept stemming from paranoia and anxiety of the unknown. This includes feeling an unfamiliar presence nearby or a known location that suddenly feels strange and unusual.

Cult media is often an area of media studies that is difficult to define. Cult media branches through numerous time periods, genres, and fandom patterns. Cult trends are also constantly evolving over time, changing from word-of-mouth and point-of-sale advertising to social networks and Internet culture. But have the rudimentary basics of how media cults develop and spread their message changed along with the progressing marketing presentation? This dissertation explores the definition of media cults, their history, and marketing styles over time, ultimately exploring the tools utilized to market cult media and examine how these tools are now synthetically applied to many media products in hopes of garnering a passionate cult audience.

L’objet de cette analyse est de dépeindre un siècle de littérature fantastique à travers le statut du narrateur qui implique d’envisager aussi le statut de son alter-ego, le narrataire. L’idée principale repose sur la théorie d’une évolution depuis les narrateurs d’E. A. Poe jusqu’à ceux de Richard Matheson, via les auteurs français et anglo-saxons tels Charles Nodier, Jules Verne, Guy de Maupassant, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Hoxard Phillips Lovecraft.L’histoire de la littérature fantastique peut se subdiviser en trois périodes principales qui ont permis au fantastique de naître (par la critique des genres), de triompher (par la critique de la narration elle-même), et de survivre (par la critique du langage). La littérature fantastique suit l’évolution générale de la littérature, mais le narrateur se présente comme un cas à examiner dans ses interactions avec les événements surnaturels qu’il raconte,avec son propre récit, avec son propre personnage, avec son éthos. Ce narrateur “indigne de confiance” est, même pour la narratologie, un mythe. / The purpose of this analysis is to depict one century of “littérature fantastique” through thestatus of the narrator which implicates also the status of its alter ego, the narratee. The mainidea rests on the theory of an evolution from Edgar Allan Poe’s narrators to Richard Matheson’svia French and Anglo-Saxon authors like Charles Nodier, Jules Verne, Guy de Maupassant, RobertLouis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Henry James, Howard Phillips Lovecraft.The history of “littérature fantastique” is divided into three important periods, each of thempermitting it successively to be born (by generic criticism), to triumph (by the criticism of narrationitself) and to survive (by the criticism of language).“Littérature fantastique” follows the generalevolution of literature, but its narrator is a realcase to examine in its interactions withsupernatural events he tells, with the narrativeitself, with its proper character and with its“éthos”. This unreliable narrator is, fornarratology, like a myth.

Master's thesis presents comparison of motifs and images of fantastic appearance and terror in the novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley and its film and theatre adaptations, and studies their changes. It deals not only with theoretical problems of fantastic appearance, terror (horror) and adaptation, but especially the Frankenstein myth and its influence on creating these images in given texts. Thesis describes the development of fantastic and horrific images from the literary text towards visual and performance media. The thesis studies the transformation of these images within three film adaptations made by directors J. Searlse Dawley (1910), James Whale (1931) and Kenneth Branagh (1994), and one play written by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle (2011). Key words: Frankenstein, Frankenstein myth, fantastic appearance, fantastic, terror, horror, adaptation

The thesis is a ten-page analysis on two films, Fatal Attraction and Lakeview Terrace. The thesis begins with a brief introduction to the horror genre and its subgenre in which the two films and original screenplay are categorized, psychological horror. It covers all the important elements of a film and screenplay: conflict, arc, goal, structure and plot. The thesis also consists of feminists’ reactions to Fatal Attraction, and examines whether the original 60- page screenplay helps or worsens the image of women. The screenplay also raises the question if having the villains need to be insane to prove a point. Further in the thesis is a description of the original screenplay Crimes of Passion and its main characters Jennifer, Alex and Keith. Jennifer, the heroine, becomes the target of scorned lover and police officer Keith. Alex, Keith’s rival, must protect Jennifer. The analysis ends with the restated questions the audience must have in mind and answer while reading the screenplay.

In this paper, I will share in detail the entire process of creating my thesis film, The Woodshed. I will cover each step from writing and pre-visualization to producing, directing, production design, cinematography, editing, and sound. I will mainly focus on the style of directing I employed and the key decisions I made as an editor to best tell my story. I will then evaluate my decisions to determine the success of the project.

In this paper, I will detail the process that went into the making of my thesis film, Extra Meat. The areas I will cover include: Writing, Directing, Production Design, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, as well as Technology. Special emphasis will be given to new casting and directing styles I have developed to encourage the strongest possible performances. I will then evaluate the success of the decisions I made.

In this paper, I will cover the step by step process of making my thesis film, Dantalion. These steps include writing, directing, production design, makeup, cinematography, editing, and sound. I will primarily focus on the pre-production work done for each one of these departments and how it affected the outcome of the finished film. I will then evaluate the outcome to determine the success of the project.