This thesis sought to interpret what the main protagonist of Caramelo, or Puro Cuento critically interrogates, and to what extent her act breaks with dominant power structures, examining her view...Show moreThis thesis sought to interpret what the main protagonist of Caramelo, or Puro Cuento critically interrogates, and to what extent her act breaks with dominant power structures, examining her view on womanhood and sexuality compared to sexist archetypes. Notably, the tandem Celaya-Awful Grandmother forges a bond to deeply revisit societal sexism, showing that inside benevolent sexist ideals there is a subjacent willingness for a redefinition of womanhood and sexuality outside sexism. As a ghost, her Awful Grandmother Soledad embodies for Celaya the needed support to act upon and become her desired self: an independent, educated young woman. By choosing not to reproduce the hegemonic discourse around fairy-tale-like love stories, Celaya explicitly refers to telenovela narratives and her opportunity to choose which narrative –comedy or tragedy– she wants to be the protagonist of. This final reflection poses a firm suggestion on how telenovela narratives can mirror these redefinitions on womanhood and sexuality that populate Chicana feminist writingsShow less
Thesis examines the Italian spy comic book series Alan Ford and its cross-cultural reading in Yugoslavia and ex-Yugoslav states as not only an ideological critique Capitalism, but also of Marxism...Show moreThesis examines the Italian spy comic book series Alan Ford and its cross-cultural reading in Yugoslavia and ex-Yugoslav states as not only an ideological critique Capitalism, but also of Marxism-Leninism and Yugoslav socialism.Show less
This thesis examines the representation of female Presidents of the United States in popular culture. This thesis asks how these fictional depictions relate to the cultural understanding of the...Show moreThis thesis examines the representation of female Presidents of the United States in popular culture. This thesis asks how these fictional depictions relate to the cultural understanding of the actual office, and in particular how the characterization of these female Presidents reflects and challenges the public perception of the presidency as a masculine institution. To this end this thesis investigates Commander in Chief's portrayal of President Mackenzie Allen, State of Affairs’ depiction of President Constance Payton and House of Cards’ characterization of President Claire Hale Underwood with a focus on the presidents’ rise to power, their marriages and modes of motherhood, their issue competency and crisis management, and their femininity.Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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As the first episode of BBC's astronomically long-running science fiction show Doctor Who opens on November 11th, 1963, the audience is treated to a set of images portraying a foggy junk yard, in...Show moreAs the first episode of BBC's astronomically long-running science fiction show Doctor Who opens on November 11th, 1963, the audience is treated to a set of images portraying a foggy junk yard, in which an apparently out-of-use police box is standing. The print on the front of the police box (“Police Telephone / Free for Use of Public / Advice and Assistance Obtainable Immediately / Officers and Cars Respond to Urgent Calls / Pull to Open”) lingers on the screen before “An Unearthly Child” turns to a scene showing what seems to be a teenage 1960's school girl, outrageously outwitting her school teachers. In what follows, the audience, together with the girl's teachers Ian Chesterton (a role by William Russell) and Barbara Wright (played by Jacqueline Hill), discover that the girl, Susan Foreman (Carol Ann Ford), has as an unlikely dwelling place the police box from the opening scene. In addition, she does not even live there alone, but together with her grandfather – a figure known only as the Doctor (at this moment portrayed by William Hartnell). It transpires that the discarded police box is not at all a discarded police box, but rather a “bigger on the inside” space-and-time travelling machine know as a TARDIS. Moreover, Susan and the Doctor turn out to be not a 1960's school girl and her grandfather but “wanderers in the fourth dimension […] exiles […] Susan and I [The Doctor] are cut off from our own planet.” In other words, though they look completely human, the Doctor and Susan are time-travelling aliens; and not only that – they possess a technology and knowledge far more advanced than our own. This is apparent most obviously in the simple fact that they have – and know how to work with – a time travelling machine, but also for example when the Doctor responds to Ian's objection that “You're treating us [Ian and Barbara] like children” how “The children of my [The Doctor's] civilisation would be insulted!”; the Doctor implies that even the children on his and Susans home world would understand much more about technology and science than Ian and Barbara currently do. In a way, we might think of the Doctor and Susan as post-humans – as an attempt by the series' makers to imagine what it might mean to think beyond humanity and away from a human-centred focal point. This is a streak that the series would continue in the 53 (and counting) years to come; if only since the Doctor is, after all, the protagonist to the series. Because a sense of the posthuman seems so central to Doctor Who, this thesis will explore the ways in which the series, through being an object of science fiction as well as one of popular imagination, explores what it might mean, and in doing so, highlights the difficulties of, thinking in the lines of a philosophical current that has in recent years come to be know as posthumanism.Show less
Since the turn of the century, there has been a notable increase in the popularity of depictions and exhibitions featuring Japanese prehistoric figurines, better known as dogū. These artefacts from...Show moreSince the turn of the century, there has been a notable increase in the popularity of depictions and exhibitions featuring Japanese prehistoric figurines, better known as dogū. These artefacts from the Jōmon Period (about 15.600 to 3200 years BP) with a supposed ritual purpose increasingly show up in and outside of archaeology. In this paper I look for a possible explanation for this recently heightened interest. This is done by asking two questions: 1. Where are dogū present, and 2. how can this be explained? Going from Japan’s identity and the nature of their connection with the past, in this paper I look for the ulterior motives and goals behind the presence of dogū where they are most often seen: museums, art, popular culture/media. The first part, an analysis of dogū in Japan, shows that Japan’s view of its Jōmon past has changed since World War II. Out of nationalism a link is created with a past in which Japan was supposedly still unique and pure. Dogū reflect this and have thus come to represent Jōmon heritage. Good characteristics and aspects are selectively emphasized. In this way a generalizing story is created, that unfortunately negatively impacts the diversity that existed in the past. On the other hand, the mysticism and mysterious nature of dogū are a source of inspiration for artists and popular media such as anime, manga and videogames. The second half investigates the presence of dogū in the West, which can be largely attributed to several researchers who publicize across country borders and have brought dogū to Western museums. A case study of the ‘Power of Dogū’ and ‘Unearthed’ exhibitions offers insight into the goals behind this kind of exhibition. The Jōmon period and its dogū are used to represent the cultural traditions of Japan. In the debate on world heritage too dogū are used to promote the Jōmon period, as evidenced by my case study of a debate on Jōmon heritage in Paris.Show less
