The literature on J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is prolific. People have written on various topics dealing with issues such as translation, etymology and diverse areas concerning the language. In this essay, I examine whether linguistic features such as reporting verbs, adverbs of manner and adjectives contribute to the depiction of heroic and villainous characters. Before conducting this research, my assumptions were that there would be a great difference in the value of the words depending on the character they were associated with. I wanted to see if the heroic characters used verbs and adverbs with positive connotations, and the villainous characters verbs and adverbs with negative connotations. I also wanted to know if the adjectives describing the characters could, in themselves, clearly indicate whether a character was a hero or a villain. The results of my research suggested that the choice of particular verbs and adverbs contributed only indirectly to the depiction of the characters. Without context, it was not possible to know if the character was a hero or a villain simply by identifying the verbs and adverbs used to describe their speech. By contrast, the choice of particular adjectives did appear to indicate more clearly whether a character was hero or villain. Finally, the results of my research indicated that context, rather than the use of particular linguistic features was often the most important factor in contributing to the portrayal of characters in the novel.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:27:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silenciamento res.pdf: 2324388 bytes, checksum: b48b59a53bc50825fd9295df49f80dea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-08 / This thesis is built on the assumption that the erasure of the female body to interpret the male is a mean of acquiring voice and power. The objective is to demonstrate, through the analysis of the verbal-visual discourse of the performances of crossplayers when interpreting male characters, that the figures of the hero and the villain in works of female authors, have power and show that for crossplayers to assume the representation of such figures, the conditio sine qua non is the silencing of the feminine. The corpus of analysis consists of two performances presented by Brazilian crossplayers: the first concerns a clipping from the manga Clover authored by the CLAMP group (composed entirely of women) focusing on the hero Kazuhiko Fay Ryu, and the second an excerpt from the manga Inuyasha, authored by Rumiko Takahashi, aiming at the villain, Sesshoumaru. The work is divided into four chapters. The first discusses concepts of Japanese pop culture, focusing on the manga (comic books). The second presents the world of cosplay practice (activity that involves representing characters derived from popular media, including the manga) and crossplay (segment in which cosplay practitioners interpret characters of the opposite sex). The third is based on the theoretical framework, in which I elaborate on a literature review of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Visual Grammar, gender studies, fundamentals of Takarazuka Theater (theater company composed entirely of women) and studies on performance. The fourth chapter includes: a) the transformation of crossplayers described from supplementary materials available in a video and tutorials that illustrate the preceding steps of stage performance; b) analysis methodology, based on the model of the pentad of Burke (1973), composed of agent, act, scene, agency and proposal, to which selected categories among the other theoretical axes are added; c) the analysis of the two performances, available in DVD. In order to broaden the informative horizon tangent to the practice of performances resulting from intertextual movements with manga I include an attachment with the testimony of Brazilian crossplayers and an appendix with an account of my own experience in cos/crossplay. Along with the test results, this material is also considered in the search for an answer to the question that imposes itself from the title of the work: "Silence or subversion? The representation of the social role of women in the performative discourse of manga crossplayers / Esta tese é construída a partir da hipótese de que o apagamento do corpo feminino para interpretar o masculino é um meio de adquirir voz e poder. O objetivo é demonstrar, por meio da análise do discurso verbo-visual de performances de crossplayers ao interpretarem personagens masculinas, que as figuras do herói e do vilão, em obras de autoria feminina, possuem poder e evidenciar que, para as crossplayers assumirem a representação de tais figuras, a condição sine qua non é a do apagamento do feminino. O corpus de análise é composto por duas performances apresentadas por crossplayers brasileiras: a primeira diz respeito a um recorte do mangá Clover de autoria do grupo CLAMP (composto integralmente por mulheres) com enfoque no herói Kazuhiko Fay Ryu, e a segunda um excerto do mangá Inuyasha, da autora Rumiko Takahashi, enfocando o vilão, Sesshoumaru. O trabalho encontra-se dividido em quatro capítulos. O primeiro aborda conceitos da cultura pop japonesa, com foco nos mangás (histórias em quadrinhos). O segundo apresenta o universo da prática do cosplay (atividade que consiste em representar personagens oriundas de mídias populares, entre as quais, os mangás) e do crossplay (segmento do cosplay no qual as/os praticantes interpretam personagens do sexo oposto). O terceiro tem por base o referencial teórico, em que realizo uma revisão bibliográfica da Análise Crítica do Discurso (ACD), da Gramática Visual, dos estudos de gênero, dos fundamentos do Teatro Takarazuka (companhia teatral composta inteiramente por mulheres) e dos estudos acerca de performance. O quarto capítulo contempla: a) o processo de transformação das crossplayers, descrito a partir de materiais complementares veiculados em um vídeo e em tutoriais que ilustram esta fase anterior à apresentação no palco; b) a metodologia de análise, baseada no modelo do pentad de Burke (1973), composto por agente, ato, cena, agência e proposta, ao qual são acrescidas categorias selecionadas entre as que compõem os demais veios teóricos; c) a análise das duas performances, disponibilizadas em DVD. Com o fim de ampliar o horizonte informativo que tangencia a prática de performances resultantes de movimentos intertextuais com mangás, incluo um anexo com depoimentos de crossplayers brasileiras e um apêndice com o relato de minha experiência em cos/crossplay. Juntamente com o resultado das análises, este material é também considerado na busca de uma resposta para o questionamento que se impõe desde o título do trabalho: Silenciamento ou subversão? A representação do papel social da mulher no discurso performático das crossplayers de mangás

D’Esope, acteur romain, à Heath Ledger, star hollywoodienne, de nombreuses sources rapportent des cas d’acteurs « possédés » par leur personnage de méchant. Mythes sans fondement ? Elucubrations de spectateurs en quête de frissons, voire stratégie commerciale ? Peut-être, mais là n’est pas l’essentiel : qu’elles soient véritables ou fantasmées, le nombre et la constance de ces anecdotes au fil de l’histoire en montrent bien l’importance. Notre imaginaire de spectateur semble nourri de ces dérapages fantasmés, de ces histoires d’acteurs s’étant, selon l’expression consacrée, « perdus dans leur rôle » - parfois jusqu’à en mourir.Après s’être intéressé brièvement à certaines de ces anecdotes, à ce qu'elles révèlent de notre rapport à la scène, ce travail propose un renversement de perspective : il s’agit d’interroger la possibilité d’un risque de confusion entre acteur et personnage, non plus à travers le prisme du regard porté sur le comédien, mais en s’intéressant au vécu des acteurs eux-mêmes – en tentant de se dégager des projections fantasmatiques pour essayer de comprendre ce qui se passe, réellement, « dans la tête d’un comédien » devant incarner un personnage méchant. A cette fin, nous nous intéresserons au travail de l’acteur dans ce qu'il a de plus concret, de plus anodin en apparence, du maquillage au cœur qui bat, des douleurs de genoux aux bouffées de plaisir, des rituels d’avant-spectacle aux rires ou aux larmes d’après-spectacle, des tensions à la complicité entre partenaires. Nous plongerons pour cela dans le quotidien des acteurs du Théâtre du Soleil, à travers une vaste étude de terrain mêlant observations de répétitions et entretiens. / From Aesop, the Roman actor, to Heath Ledger, the Hollywood star, numerous sources report instances of actors “possessed” by the evil part they are playing. Groundless myth, wild speculation on the part of spectators in search of thrills, or even marketing strategy? Perhaps, but that is not what matters most: whether real or fantasized, the number and the consistency of these stories throughout history bear evidence of their importance. Our imagination as a spectator seems to feed on these fantasized slips, on these stories of actors who, as the saying goes, lost themselves in acting and sometimes even died from it. After paying brief attention to some of these stories and to what they reveal about our relationship to the stage, a reversal of perspective is proposed : the risk of confusion between the actor and the character he is playing is no longer investigated through the lens of one’s perception of the actor but through paying close attention to the personal experiences of the actors themselves – we try to evade fantasies by attempting to understand what is really occurring in the actors’ mind when playing an evil character- To this end, we analyze the actor’s work in its most concrete and seemingly most innocuous aspects, from making up to the beating heart, from knee pain to flashes of pleasure, from the rituals before going on stage to laughter and tears shed once the performance is over, from tension to complicity with the partnering actors. We slip into the everyday life of the Théâtre du Soleil company by means of a wide field study which combines observation of rehearsals and actors’ statements of their own experience.

This study addressed the question: “Does Western media framing of different actors in ethnic conflict influence the likelihood of intervention being advocated in the media?” In order to answer this question, this study used a content analysis of USA, UK and Australian print media, and explored the media framing of conflicts in Rwanda, Kosovo, and East Timor. The study examined newspaper articles prior to intervention and, using Piers Robinson’s media framing model (2000), measured the quantity of “empathetic” and “distancing” coverage in relation to suggestions for intervention. The results of this study show that simplified representations of these complex conflicts often lead to a dangerous polarisation in Western media. Ethnic conflicts are discussed either within a “barbaric” frame, where readers are presented with well-defined heroes, victims and villains and are encouraged to support intervention; or with a “native” narrative, where the situation is reported as a distant problem between “squabbling tribes”, and the media consumer is encouraged to support non-intervention.

La figure du couple machiavélique, présente chez Shakespeare, Laclos, Barbey d'Aurevilly, Henry James, James M. Cain, entre autres, est étudiée selon une triple approche. La première approche, d'inspiration structurale, vise à dégager les éléments constitutifs de la figure et son scénario permanent. L’analyse conduite sur la base de cette approche confirme l'existence de deux matrices, l'une fondée sur le couple Macbeth, l'autre sur le couple de libertins des Liaisons dangereuses. La seconde approche, qui relève d'une démarche herméneutique, met en évidence le substrat biblique de la figure du couple machiavélique dans sa version shakespearienne, qui serait une réécriture du récit de la Chute de la Genèse. La version laclosienne du couple machiavélique serait pour sa part le marqueur de la dégradation des relations amoureuses dans leur conception post-courtoise. Enfin, la troisième approche est esthétique: elle vise à étudier la construction de la figure, son effet sur le lecteur, et sa valeur ajoutée par rapport à la figure canonique du Méchant. Elle s'attache aussi à définir l'esthétique du mal associée à la figure du couple machiavélique. / The figure of the Machiavellian couple, which appears in Shakespeare, Laclos, Barbey d’Aurevilly, Henry James, James M. Cain, among others, is studied through a three-fold approach. The first one is a structural one and aims at identifying the basic elements of the figure and its scenario. This approach confirms the existence of two matrix, one based on the couple of Macbeth and the other on the pair of libertines of Laclos’ novel Les Liaisons dangereuses. The second approach is interpretative and underlines the biblical basis of the figure of the Machiavellian couple in its Shakespearean version, which is a rewriting of the Fall of Adam and Eve while the couple of Laclos signals the deterioration of romantic relationships in a courtly meaning. The third approach deals with aesthetics and aims at studying the forms and poetics of the figure and its effect on the reader as well as its added value in relation to the “Canon figure” of the Villain. This third approach deals also with the aesthetics of Evil linked to the figure of the Machiavellian couple.

In Günter Grass's Danzig Trilogy and novella, Im Krebsgang, an antagonistic female type makes a repeated appearance. She appears in the guise of Susi Kater and Luzie Rennwand in Die Blechtrommel, and as Tulla Pokriefke in the other works, Katz und Maus, Hundejahre, and Im Krebsgang. This antagonistic female type is not like other women in these works. A review of Le Deuxième Sexe by feminist Simone de Beauvoir reveals several crucial components contributing to woman's position in society. Most essentially, a woman's natural attributes and (dis)abilities and the conventions of society have enforced her historical submission to man. This thesis analyzes how the antagonistic female type, or villain, compares and contrasts with other female figures in these works by Grass, according to a paradigm derived from Beauvoir's description of woman. From this analysis, a better understanding of the female villain's nature emerges. Indeed, such a comparison demonstrates that certain female figures in the works of Grass transcend their historically oppressed or subdued status by refusing to submit to those natural handicaps and societal restrictions identified by Beauvoir, and thus become a threat to man's status or security as an antagonistic female type, or villain. However, the villain figure is not always inherently evil, but possesses the capacity to change. The villain and victim can reconcile their differences and may even form a friendly relationship. This evolving villain-victim duality becomes most clear in Grass's work, Im Krebsgang, and suggests the possibility of assuaging contemporary conflicts as educators sympathize with the experiences of both extremist groups and victimized parties and help them come to terms with their differences.