This thesis explores contemporary Canadian cinema by investigating the convergence of films, policy and criticism as they are implicated in the idea of canon. Both fluid and multiple in its frame(s) of reference, the term canon extends beyond a list or core of privileged texts to include the processes of evaluation. Posited as a performative construct, the national cinema canon can be seen as offering a strategically deployed expression of national cultural identity, with appraisals of each film's value arising from the intersection of critical and governmental discourses; however, narrow admission criteria along with the displaced goal of developing a distinctive national art cinema reinforce perceptions of absence-of Canadian culture and/or identity-by delimiting canonical boundaries to exclude more than they include. Focussing on feature film production since 1984, and adopting a predominantly English Canadian perspective, this thesis aims to examine the underlying assumptions that direct canon formation; rather than attempting to reject or replace the existing canon, this process of rereading entails working within the prevailing discourses in order to generate an awareness of the politics of selection. Emerging from a tradition of liberal humanist nationalism, canon formation in the Canadian context invokes conflicting conceptions of high cultural enlightenment and mass commodity success which have become entrenched as a continuing tension between cultural and industrial goals. These tensions are further complicated by a "double conscious" perspective that simultaneously values and rejects American cinema culture. Chapter One explores the factors shaping the admission criteria of origin and value, while Chapter Two addresses the relationship between national culture and canon formation. Chapter Three considers the ways in which Canadian cinema is defined through policy, including a case study of the 1999 Feature Film Advisory Committee Report, which encapsulates the directional challenges facing cultural policy development. Approaches to devising a descriptive canon are addressed in Chapter Four, in which hybrid categories are suggested that could be used to supplant the nationalist perspective with an acknowledgement of the fluidity of the metaphysical frontier of culture, and hence the transnational, or perhaps post-nationalist, aspects of Canadian cultural experience.

The United States Supreme Court placed the major Hollywood studios in violation of antitrust laws in 1948, leading to the end of the classical Hollywood studio system of the 1930s and 1940s. Subsequent changes in the corporate organization and mode of production of the major studios signaled the end of the traditional B-movie as a product of block-booking policies. / B-movies became a distinctly different entity in the 1950s, however. From the institutional effects of the antitrust ruling, to changing audience demographics, the emergent patterns in production, distribution and exhibition had a profound effect on the evolution of the B-movie from its origins in the early 1930s to its new role in the cinematic marketplace of the 1950s. Increasingly the result of newly formed independent companies, B-movies innovated such industrial components as new genre cycles and demographic patterns. / This dissertation takes a political economy approach to examining the B-movie in the 1950s as an economic product, with a specific emphasis on independent filmmaking. The implication for film studies lies in answering questions about the unique nature of the B-movie filmmaking process: how is the mode of production of a B-movie different from that of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking? How does the low-budget nature of independent cinema determine its mode of production? How is a B-movie limited and/or defined by the low budget nature of its mode of production, and how does this affect the film's aesthetics? How do B-movies function in, and what is their value to, the film marketplace? Changes in film production, distribution and exhibition will be examined, as will patterns in film spectatorship in relation to the changing institutional landscape of the film industry in the 1950s. / The B-movie was a volatile entity during the 1950s, with both major and minor studios questioning the economic viability of low-budget production. B-movies existed in opposition to the cinematic mainstream in the 1950s, a legacy that was passed on to independent filmmakers of subsequent decades. Analyzing the mode of production of these B-movies is essential in understanding their aesthetics, as well as their historical role in the film industry.

The cinema exhibition industry in South Africa is experiencing stagnant cinema attendances. The strategic planning approaches being utilized by management in this industry currently are not fully encompassing of the width and breadth of the challenges and opportunities inherent in this industry and have been unable to solve the problem of stagnant cinema attendances. The study used a combination of recent, innovative approaches to scenario planning as a strategic planning tool, along with quantitative research to determine the perceptions of industry professionals in order to chart a course for the future of the cinema exhibition industry in South Africa The major conclusions in this paper are that scenario planning can be used to plan for a profitable future in the cinema exhibition industry in South Africa because of the emphasis the technique places on the uncertainty inherent in the future and the degree of influence that external factors have on the future of this industry. Cinema exhibitors in South Africa have not sufficiently taken into consideration the drivers of cultural, social, economic, and technological change that will determine the relative place of cinema attendance in South Africa of tomorrow. The major recommendations are that cinemas should become more than just cinemas by evolving into multipurpose interactive public "meeting places" where watching films is but one of a range of leisure-time activities and that cinema exhibitors should fully embrace technological advances and the opportunities that they bring, and not view them as a threat. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This project presents an overview of the entertainment industry's acceptance of women historically within its job market and a changing climate due, in part, to emerging digital technology. Findings suggest the female-disadvantage in procuring a behind-the camera job in the entertainment industry is on the decline. Also, the disparity between the number of women versus men working in this industry appears to be narrowing. New technology seems to be speeding up these processes, due largely in part to its relatively low cost and accessibility. An apparent shift in societal views of gender roles couples with this new technology to help level the career field between men and women in this new media age. This project also serves as a reference guide for individuals seeking to enter a career in the entertainment industry. / Department of Telecommunications

During this period the state's interest in the film industry took several different forms. The area of films policy explored in this thesis is the economic protection of the commercial film industry against the high percentage of American films screened in Britain and the Empire. I begin in 1925 because it was not until then that active steps were taken by the government, in response to agitation from producers and those who saw film as a bond of Empire and advertisement for British goods and 'way of life', leading to the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927. This proposed, for political, cultural, moral and economic reasons, that renters and exhibitors should acquire and show a percentage of British films. There was no subsidy for producers or a heavy duty levied on American film imports. The origins, impact and character of official film policy are explored in the thesis with particular attention to financial and political aspects. An attempt is made to explain why policy was limited to film quotas together with an assessment of their impact on the industry's economic development. Details are also given on how the film industry's affairs became caught up in wider debates on tariff policy in the 1920s and in Anglo-American relations ten years later. The first three chapters deal with the evolution, promulgation and initial impact of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927. Chapter 4 examines the deliberations of the Moyne Committee, established in 1936 to review the film industry's progress. The last three chapters analyse the three major influences on policy during the making of the 1938 Films Act: the campaigns of British film trade interests; the state of Anglo-American relations and film finance. In the final assessment the major influences that shaped policy are outlined together with conclusions on the industry's position and problems on the eve of the Second World War.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis(M.A.)--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1979. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 346-365) and index. Also issued in print.