Discussing the work of Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda in After Life (1998), Nobody Knows (2004), and, most importantly, Shoplifters (2018), this thesis aims to expand on the way the hybrid...Show moreDiscussing the work of Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda in After Life (1998), Nobody Knows (2004), and, most importantly, Shoplifters (2018), this thesis aims to expand on the way the hybrid documentary genre is defined by contemporary academic literature. Furthermore, it offers a different perspective on the lens through which we view Kore-eda’s recent filmography.Show less
This thesis argues that fiction and eventually play, accumulating into the interactive fiction of video games, can offer a toolset to help cultivate familiarity and understanding between cultures....Show moreThis thesis argues that fiction and eventually play, accumulating into the interactive fiction of video games, can offer a toolset to help cultivate familiarity and understanding between cultures. In a world where cultures are living closer together than before, tensions between cultures are sure to rise. These tensions stem from a lack of shared context causing misinterpretations of the other. I will refer to the works of Wilhelm Dilthey and Robin Collingwood, who have both developed theories of hermeneutics that emphasise the importance of context as meaning-giving. Similar contexts provide similar meaning between people and vice versa. A lack in familiarity thus constitutes a lack in understanding, which poses a problem for the cross-cultural encounter. They suggest a hermeneutic method based on empathy in order to increase our understanding of others. In the second chapter, I will illustrate how fiction functions as both a tool to impart knowledge and as an exercise in empathy, which aids the hermeneutic process, drawing on Suzanne Keen’s theory of narrative empathy. When engaging with fiction, audiences temporarily abandon their own context in order to step into the alternate world of fiction. This encourages open-mindedness and empathic understanding of others, which both are of vital importance to the hermeneutic process. In the third chapter, I’ll move on play, showing how it, like fiction, demands a certain openness of mind from the player so they can step into the play-world, which makes play very well-suited to learning by doing. This section on play will be largely informed by Johan Huizinga and Miguel Sicart’s work on play and playfulness respectively. In requiring participation from its audience, they are absorbed into the other, the strange, and the new, and provided with tools to make sense of it. As an immersive and interactive medium, video games thus allow players to gain an intuitive understanding of other cultures on their own terms.Show less
Robinson Crusoe has been known for his adventures on a deserted Island, but not many know of the spiritual journey he went through during his time on the island. Robinson Crusoe starts to rethink...Show moreRobinson Crusoe has been known for his adventures on a deserted Island, but not many know of the spiritual journey he went through during his time on the island. Robinson Crusoe starts to rethink his relationship with God and he starts to base his life's purpose on divine providence. After analyzing his conversion I come to find his attitude towards God and religion has not changed as much as one would like to think after reading about his isolation.Show less
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the extent to which adolescents feel lost in a fictional story (i.e. narrative transportation) affects the extent to which they justify or forgive...Show moreThe aim of this study was to investigate whether the extent to which adolescents feel lost in a fictional story (i.e. narrative transportation) affects the extent to which they justify or forgive the protagonist’s immoral actions (i.e. moral disengagement). Ninety-two Dutch secondary school students (37 males) between 12 and 16 years of age participated and were randomly assigned to an instructed fiction or uninstructed fiction condition. While participants in both conditions read the same story, only those in the former condition were instructed to immerse themselves in the narrative. Participants then completed the Narrative Transportation Scale and a moral disengagement questionnaire. Contrary to expectations, this study did not find a significant link between transportation and moral disengagement. Moreover, the transportation-enhancing instructions appeared to be ineffective. Although the results indicate transportation does not affect moral disengagement in adolescents, several limitations of the study suggest that further research is warranted.Show less
Fiction – in the hands of powerful men and women – can influence society and politics, directly or indirectly. Although the role of a novelist is different from the role of a politician, they both...Show moreFiction – in the hands of powerful men and women – can influence society and politics, directly or indirectly. Although the role of a novelist is different from the role of a politician, they both have responsibilities towards society, especially if they are famous and powerful men like Houellebecq and Macron. The public, citizens in a democracy, also have their responsibility to be active and critical, but may not always be aware of "the art of manipulation". In this age, in which storytelling and "fake news" seem to have more impact (or credibility) than arguments and facts, we might state that the power of skillful writers is more important than ever. In what way are Houellebecq and Macron responsible for (the impact of) their writings, what is the power of their words, and what does this power mean in France today? In this thesis we compare Submission and Revolution, using theories from literature but also from sociology and historiography, notably the concepts of "performativity" and “storytelling”, applicable in several fields. Attentive to their differences, we'll compare a literary and a political book, analysing the use of fiction combined with politics and vice versa.Show less
Current prevalent representations of displacement are ubiquitous and often deeply shocking. Previous studies of refugee representation have focused on the polarisation of pro/anti-refugee...Show moreCurrent prevalent representations of displacement are ubiquitous and often deeply shocking. Previous studies of refugee representation have focused on the polarisation of pro/anti-refugee narratives and highlighted patterns in their depiction at opposite poles (in humanitarian and media/political discourses). However, new methods and mediums for representation indicate the evolution of a third discourse which this thesis identifies. At once material, ethical, political and representational, the current crisis of forced migration demands response beyond the reach of governments, intergovernmental and humanitarian organisations. In looking to narrative to enhance our understanding of the contemporary ‘crisis’, cultural representations find new ways of responding to displacement and hosting— without which the debate cannot be advanced. This paper testifies to one strand of cultural engagement with forced migration by focusing on four narratives published since 2015. Reading across genres from fiction to life-stories to journalistic literature and theatre, this thesis examines new discursive approaches to refugee representation in Patrick Kingsley’s The New Odyssey, collaborative refugee writing projects, Voices from the ‘Jungle’ and Shatila Stories, and Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy’s play The Jungle.Show less
When the reversion of Okinawa occurred in 1972, the island already was a complex amalgamation of various identities: heirs of indigenous Ryukyu culture, second-class Japanse citizens subjected to...Show moreWhen the reversion of Okinawa occurred in 1972, the island already was a complex amalgamation of various identities: heirs of indigenous Ryukyu culture, second-class Japanse citizens subjected to discrimination and war victims betrayed by its own government and colonised by a foreign force. Literally rising from the ashes, Okinawa has been reformulating its identity once again in face of challenges resulting from their marginal position amidst two greater powers. These include war trauma, economic rebuilding, continued discrimination by the mainland and persisting US base issues. Similar to a kaleidoscope, one can reposition individual elements to create a new constellation. Depending on the observer, different views and meanings can be constructed and interpreted. This thesis examines how Okinawans as a minority have emphasised and/or rearranged certain cultural symbols or narratives, creating new identities and using them as weapons, in order to negotiate a better standing within Japan following the period after the revision. Some developments that immediately come to mind are the emergence of civil society based on universal values of democracy, peace and ecology and the embedding of Okinawans as historical victims of the Japanese government and the mobilization of historical memory. I will be primarily focussing on contemporary post-reversion literature in my analysis, intending on researching the presence of these new identitities within contemporary novels. My objective is to observe if and/or how the ‘main model’ mentioned above is reflected and if the tendencies of modern literature have shifted accordingly.Show less
In this thesis, I have analysed the encoding of cultural attitudes in the translation of post-war retrospective fiction, as displayed in the speech and thought presentation of the characters in...Show moreIn this thesis, I have analysed the encoding of cultural attitudes in the translation of post-war retrospective fiction, as displayed in the speech and thought presentation of the characters in Erwin Mortier’s 1999 Flemish novel, Marcel. The novel contains a fascinating insight into the cultural attitudes of everyday Belgian citizens who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. For the purposes of my research, I have used Antoine Berman’s 1985 model of translation tendencies in order to identify and subsequently analyse the effect of the process of translation on the representation of the cultural attitudes of the Belgian collaborators as displayed the English translation of the novel when juxtaposed with the original Flemish version of the novel. In my final analysis, I have both justified the importance of the source text over the translation in its irreplaceability with regard to the conveyance of cultural attitude. In addition to this, I have drawn fresh conclusions about the role and function of the translations of culturally-bound source texts. More specifically, I have highlighted the status of culturally-bound works of post-war fiction as foreign texts in their own right. In doing so, I have argued that these texts serve to make more explicit the cultural attitudes displayed in original works of post-war fiction.Show less
Tim Walker is a contemporary fashion photographer who calls himself a 'story teller'. Although many of his photographs show characteristics such as narrative and fiction a single photograph can not...Show moreTim Walker is a contemporary fashion photographer who calls himself a 'story teller'. Although many of his photographs show characteristics such as narrative and fiction a single photograph can not tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Because of the particular characteristics his photographs possibly lead the viewer to experience daydreams. Daydreams might take form of mental stories. In this way Walker's photographs might evoke stories in the viewers mind.Show less
In 2010 the BBC launched a new series called Sherlock, a contemporary adaption of the Holmes stories. In this recent adaption created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gattis, the original characters are...Show moreIn 2010 the BBC launched a new series called Sherlock, a contemporary adaption of the Holmes stories. In this recent adaption created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gattis, the original characters are presented with a modern twist. Gattis and Moffat are known for their work on the BBC series Dr Who, a programme with a central character himself notably indebted to Holmes. The villains in the BBC series Sherlock challenge Sherlock to commit wicked deeds, and therefore perhaps to become a villain himself. This thesis will argue that in this way the show sets out to destabilize and call into question notions of an essential distinction between heroism and villainy.Show less
The thesis is discussing enhanced e-books in the realm of new media. Enhanced fiction novels as a literary genre of narrative still have low acceptance in the market of digital publishing. The...Show moreThe thesis is discussing enhanced e-books in the realm of new media. Enhanced fiction novels as a literary genre of narrative still have low acceptance in the market of digital publishing. The present thesis is focusing on two aspects which might account for the low popularity of reading enhanced fiction novels: the thesis questions first if enhanced e-books and their additional embeddings neglect the tradition of linear storytelling, a defining feature of the literary genre of narrative. Second, the thesis analyses if and to what extent enhanced e-books restrict imaginative freedom of narratives. These two characteristics, the linearity of storytelling and the power of imagination, are the raison d'être of narratives and might suffer from the enhanced form of fiction novels. The paper analyses these two aspects with a look at the precise nature of enhanced e-books and what function digital amplifications fulfill within them. Above the thesis raises the questions if enhanced fiction novels still follow the traditional idea of narrative in the sense of a story embedded in a narrative discourse and, finally, how digital enhancement influence the interpretation of the narrative.Show less
