This thesis aims to provide an overview of how certain gendered narrative tropes have made their way from action-adventure film and television into video game stories of the same genre, of the...Show moreThis thesis aims to provide an overview of how certain gendered narrative tropes have made their way from action-adventure film and television into video game stories of the same genre, of the differences that have arisen between these types of media, and of why we can recognise these differences. It does so through an analysis of the 21st century in television and film, in order to outline gendered tropes regularly found in these media. This is followed by a discourse analysis of three case studies: Tomb Raider (2013), Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and The Last of Us: Part II (2020).Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
open access
My thesis explores the ways in which Eiichiro Oda’s successful manga series One Piece uses cultural references to prevent singular storytelling. It studies the incorporation, adaptation, and...Show moreMy thesis explores the ways in which Eiichiro Oda’s successful manga series One Piece uses cultural references to prevent singular storytelling. It studies the incorporation, adaptation, and transformation of popular cultural elements in the characters Donquixote Doflamingo and Usopp. This process highlights the continuous flow of cultural capital, which in turn opens up and acknowledges the plurality and diversity of perspectives, voices, and narratives.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
closed access
Why do boys seem to prefer the films rather than the books? In this thesis I try to come up with an answer by comparing the representation of gender within two Young Adult books and their...Show moreWhy do boys seem to prefer the films rather than the books? In this thesis I try to come up with an answer by comparing the representation of gender within two Young Adult books and their adaptations (The Hunger Games and Divergent). And analyse the way in which stereotypes are being represented and if these stereotypes are in any way appealing to the young boy or girl reader.Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This research incorporates my analyses, based on close-readings, of cultural representations of the posthuman, each of which embodies different anxieties and power-relations. I depart from the...Show moreThis research incorporates my analyses, based on close-readings, of cultural representations of the posthuman, each of which embodies different anxieties and power-relations. I depart from the assumption that there are three dominant anxieties represented here: the fear of disembodiment; the fear of a loss of human uniqueness; and a fear of totalitarian control in relation to technology’s dehumanizing potential. By close-reading Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell (1995) I address issues concerning the representation of the female cyborg as disembodied. Philip K. Dick’s Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) and the novel’s adaptation into Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner (1982) are analysed as challenging ideas about human nature and human uniqueness as based on more affective notions such as empathy. The analysis of the game We Happy Few (Compulsion Games, 2016) focuses on how the game thematises concerns about the dehumanizing potential of technologies in relation to notions of control and state-regulation. The aim of this research is to achieve a better understanding of the social and economic influences that shape different representations of humans and posthumans, and to demonstrate how definitions of what it means to be human are produced and represented in order to conceal their inherent fabricated, artificial character. I will demonstrate that fears and anxieties surrounding potential dystopic outcomes of human enhancement are all informed by (a fear of the loss of) power and control, and ideas of inequality and potential social disruption already present in society today.Show less
