Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, November, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (p).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1956. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves i-x).

In recent years the Brigham Young University Motion Picture Studio has been producing films with the specific purpose of appealing to the non-member or non-LDS (an abbreviation for Latter-Day Saint or Mormon) person. As a part of the Church's missionary program, these films are designed to persuade, convince and bring about conversion to the teachings of the Mormon Church. Consequently, in many phases of film production there is a bias factor. Members of the Church (employees of the Brigham Young University Motion Picture Studio) are endeavoring to determine the most effective themes and techniques to utilize in communicating to a non-LDS audience. The member, with his set attitudes and opinions, is attempting to understand and persuade the non-member. Because of this bias or slant, the following questions can be raised for examination: 1. Does an LDS produced non-member or missionary oriented film effectively communicate to the non-LDS person? 2. Do LDS produced films, designed as a missionary tool, cause a shift of attitudes within the non-member? 3. How do non-LDS people respond to the technical aspects (acting, visual effects) of an LDS produced film?

No description available.

For about the first fifteen years after its commercial introduction motion picture entertainment throughout the United States was supported almost entirely by the mass of urban industrial workers, immigrants and their families. Beginning a few years before 1910 motion pictures began acquiring regular support from a limited element of the more affluent citizens until by the end of 1916 they constituted motion pictures' primary audience. This paper examines the audience development and conversion as it occurred in the downtown theaters of Portland, Oregon. Motion pictures were shown to two diverse audiences in Portland during the 1890s, regularly on a mass level to the lower income strata and sporadically to regular stage theater audiences. Their expectations differed greatly. Urban workers craved entertainment for the sake of diversion while middle and upper class audiences required responsibility and purpose in their entertainments. After the turn of the century when big time vaudeville established itself in Portland films were supported almost entirely by the lower class element in arcades and vaudeville theaters. Motion pictures in these venues catered to their audiences' tastes. During the 4-5 year period after nickelodeons developed in 1906 a small number of Portland's middle class became regular patrons, due partially to national imposition of licensing and establishment of a censorship board fostering a more respectable image. After 1910, when national support for motion pictures had been proven permanent and unsatisfied, large movie palaces emerged in Portland. These theaters and their amenities created atmospheres consistent with those of stage theaters, providing comfortable and familiar surroundings for middle class audiences. Industrywide developments such as increased story length, better quality productions and evidence of social responsibility enhanced the ease of middle class transition from the stage theater to the movie theater.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Kansas, 2008. / Adviser: Catherine Preston. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, December 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

This project explores a curious facet of early cinema that has not been studied as yet: the relationship between Turkish modernity and the culture of spectatorship within the context of the late nineteenth century’s viewing habits along with the era of early and silent cinema in Istanbul. The aim of this project is to examine the evolution of viewing habits in Istanbul at a particular period in which a radical cultural transformation was experienced, namely from the 1890s to the 1930s, when the late Ottoman era with its pre-cinematic shows, the cinematograph, and silent films led to the early Turkish Republic and the end of silent cinema. In order to cover the shift in the reception of early cinema, this study makes use of revisionist works on early cinema and on modernity in Ottoman history. To this end, newspapers, novels, memoirs and consular trade records that formed the majority of the primary sources of this project are analyzed. The transformation of Istanbulite spectatorship was initially experienced through a rupture in the late nineteenth century created by the global flow of mechanical images. The cinematograph was viewed by a multi- ethnic public that was accustomed to seeing both traditional and other more widely recognized pre-cinematic shows such as the shadow play, public storytelling, dioramas, panoramas and magic lanterns. At first the early cinematograph displays were haphazard and parts of other shows. Yet, the international influence of the early cinema attracted a curiosity-driven public even if the same public was critical of the imperfect technology of the apparatus. With the outbreak of World War I, nationalist resistance played a role in the reception of popular European films, particularly Italian melodramas. The end of the war caused the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Turkish Republic, after which, cinema started to be seen as an educational tool in the service of nation-building.

Abstract not available