8 Univerzita Karlova v Praze Filozofická fakulta Katedra filmových studií Diplomová práce Jitka Kotrlová Stínová kinematografie: mytologie australského gotického filmu 70. let Shadow Cinematography: Mythology of the Australian Gothic Film of the 1970's Praha 2015 Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Petra Hanáková, Ph.D Abstract: The thesis focuses on the mythological aspects of films of the so-called Australia gothic in 1970's. In a detailed form of thematic analysis it discovers three fundamental myths within the gothic cycle which then examines the semiotic method of Roland Barthes. The first part is dedicated to the specific situation of the film industry and describes the principles of film funding. The second part is focused on the concept of national cinematography in relation to Australia. The third part is dedicated to the gothic imagination and definition of Australian gothic within the contemporary discourse. The fourth part focuses on the term "mythology". The main part of the thesis presents the three myths emerging from the cycle of Australian gothic films. The first one is the myth of the feeling of isolation that focuses on the meaning of an isolated man in the inland and on the alternation of this myth in the form of a person isolated in the society. On the examples of the films Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg,...

This work deals with the symbolism of trees in the Old Testament considering the mythology of the ancient Near East, using relevant literature, concordant exploration, and synchronic and diachronic analyses of biblical texts. It aims to present an intersection of the most important aspects of the appearance of trees in the Scripture, both in a literal and figurative sense. Drawing on work with biblical and mythological texts from the ancient Near East, it presents the tree as a comprehensible symbol with strong explanatory power, which constitutes its potential to contain even the most complex messages of the Scripture and of the human condition as such.

Diploma thesis TV series Třicet případů majora Zemana (Thirty cases of major Zeman) after the year 1989: revitalization, reflection and deideologization analyzes the overall return of the normalization propaganda series within media, political and social discourse after the year 1989. To fulfill this purpose, it examines not only changes in the reception of the series and the development of the audience interest both in the mass and network platforms, but it also offers detailed insights at the audience structure and the first release in the Czech television. In the next part the thesis also deals with satirical and mythological aspects exploring a wide range of representations in literature, music or film and also captures revelatory the establishment, structure and communication processes of the fandom subculture, which is in the Czech cinematic discourse completely beyond the common categories and whose observation fills an empty space in Czech academical research regarding the audiance behavior. The presented text further analyzes the learning potential of series and evaluates current efforts on its implementation. In the conclusion the diploma thesis outlines, based on the previous findings, actual questions whether the series is being deideologizated and what character such de-ideologization has....

Author's name: Magdalena Hošková School: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Arts Department: Institute of Linguistics and Finno-Ugric Studies Title: Spells as a Part of Finnish Folklore Supervisor: Mgr. Jan Dlask, Ph.D. Number of pages: 77 Key words: spell, Finnish spells, Finnish folklore, Kalevala, Finnish mythology, tietäjä, shaman, prayer, healing magic, homoeopathic magic, John Abercromby, James Frazer, neoshamanism, neopaganism This thesis deals with spells as a part of Finnish folklore. It depicts the circumstances of the spells' genesis, as well as their structural features and different purposes of their use. It is considered that most spells were created during the era of late paganism and early Christianity. This is true not only of Finland but also of Europe in general. The thesis also analyses the role of the shaman as the spiritual leader of Finnish people living in the era before the spells' creation and thereafter analyses the role of the shaman's successor: the tietäjä, the charmer who created spells and used them to help people in his community. So the tietäjä used his spells for the same purpose as his predecessor, the shaman, used trance states, which he entered via drumming, chanting and dancing. In the trance state, he talked to animal spirits and ancestors' spirits and...

Classical mythology has been one of the main sources of inspiration for European artists for centuries. It also remained current during the 20th century. From the 1920s, one can see increasing interest in classical myths; it becomes a source of inspiration even for artists of avant-garde art movements. The 20th century artist approach themes from classical mythology from a position of newly acquired artistic freedom. Release of iconographic conventions and academic rules, emphasis on psychology and individuality of a modern man brings specific forms of reception and reinterpretation of classical myths. In many cases, classical mythology carries allegorical meanings in a relation to contemporary political and social events, often in a very critical tone. But it also represents a tool for one's personal coping with reality. The thirties and early forties of the 20th century with dark atmosphere affected by war conflicts represent the culmination period of classical myths in visual arts. The tendency can be observed both in the art of European and Czech origin. Antiquity and classical mythology become the symbols of a return to the roots of European culture and civilization, symbols of the common European humanistic heritage. The collection of nearly 180 works of modern Czech art inspired by classical...

This work deals with Christian tradition in Ireland and northwest Scotland in period from 5th to 12th century. The work is divided into two parts. The first one is an introduction into historical and cultural context. In the second one I used a religious model of Mr. Ninian Smart who distinguishes religion into seven dimensions. That dimensions are doctrinal, mythological, ritual, social, ethic, emotional and artistic. In each of these dimensions I deal with about four topics which are typical for Celtic {--} Christian tradition and on them I illustrate the uniqueness of that tradition. That uniqueness is in high ability for enculturation of Christianity together with ability for new innovative approaches. Some of these new approaches are introduction of new penitential practice, phenomenon of pilgrimage or interconnectedness of monasticism with apostolate.

This work analyses the American family in context of society and its demands. It focuses on the cannonical works of the Modern American drama, namely plays of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard and David Mamet. The playwrights are analysed in two distinctive groups according to similar themes they share. Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller depict the family under increasing pressure from the outside as well from the inside. The unit disintegrates, members of the family escape and thus the unit loses its funtions. The pressure is imposed by the tenets of the American mythology that governs the society, which, in turn, influences the family. The common theme of the first group of playwrights is the feeling of loss. This comprises of two dimensions - spatial and tempoval. The second group of playwrights share the same theme of loss with its spatial and temporal implications. They are characteristic by their distinctive use of language that depicts the prevalent sense of doom, apocalypse, futility and sterility. The search for identity is also implied by the restlessness of characters. The detrimental effect of harsh business environment on the family is explored with regards to masculinity. The work shows the family in the context of the 1950s, an era when the family was elevated to...

The submitted doctoral thesis examines the function and performance of the motive of a snake in four selected texts about artists of the German romantic period and perceives the snake as an attribute reflecting the problems of the artistic existence and a way to the artistic work, possibly of the artistic work at all. When interpreting the single motives of the snake, three-phase procedure as applied by Erwin Panofsky in description of the motives in the pictures has been chosen by analogy for literary texts. The interpretation is based on the structural position of the motive of the snake in the text and its performance in the text. Subsequently, the principal role is revelation of contexts which updates the given motive of the snake - in particular they are biblical snakes, mythical snakes and a serpentine line as a line of beauty which was the subject of the period aesthetic discourse. The meaning of the motive of the snake in the texts is given primarily by the mutual interaction of theme contexts which is in the single texts realized by various ways. The motive of the snake as formed in the single interpreted texts is a highly complex motive in all the cases. Thanks to the possibility of connotation with the snakes from the sphere of the Bible and mythology the literary motive of the snake becomes a...

Based on the semiotic analysis, this diploma thesis analyses mythological frameworks of chosen magazines. It consists of two parts, a theoretical and a practical one. The theoretical part is focused on semiotics as science, examines a sign and its historical development, describes myth, its history and research, as well as defines a theoretical starting points leading to definition of mythological framework. This definition is built on the theory of decoding and encoding of Stuart Hall, as well as his representation acknowledgements, as well as on the works of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Roland Barthes examining the myth. The practical part consists of definition of research-subject and semiotic analysis of mythological frameworks in front pages of Reflex and Respekt magazines. Findings of this analysis are then compared. This comparison leads to confirmation or disproval of hypotheses the author articulated prior to the analysis.

The topic of this diploma thesis is the development of the character of vampire and its portrayal in literature for children and youth. The thesis focuses on the analysis of five literary works for children and youth written in German language, which portrays the character of a vampire as a main protagonist and its many changes and development. The analysed works are Der kleine Vampir by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, Das Vamperl by Renate Welsch, Der Spinat Vampir by Gudrun Pausenwang, Pozor, přilétá Molly! by Dagmar H. Mueller a Drákula a já by Andreas Schlütera. The main aim of this thesis is to answer the question of the type of transformation has the character of vampire undergone in the literature for children and youth. Its main goal is not to fully cover all available works in the genre, but to choose the most representative ones which show the different features. The analysis of the change is based on the characteristic of the characters and its goal is to show us the development of the character in contrast to the traditional vampire character. The archetype was established upon three works of literature: The Vampyre by John Polidori, Carmilla by L.S Le Fanu and Dracula by Bram Stoker. The introduction part focuses on the anthropological context of the topic and the origin of vampires in...