This thesis utilizes narrative and formal analyses of the two highest-grossing science fiction pictures from the year 2005 in order to illustrate how imaginary cinematic worlds have been...Show moreThis thesis utilizes narrative and formal analyses of the two highest-grossing science fiction pictures from the year 2005 in order to illustrate how imaginary cinematic worlds have been infiltrated by the national trauma of 9/11 and its political and societal aftermath. With a main focus on drawing parallels between a post-9/11 American society and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and War of the Worlds, this thesis strives to illuminate a larger and more complicated relationship between mid-2000s sci-fi and the new world these films were made in. It offers the reader insight into the themes and modes of thinking that pre-occupied Americans after not only the 9/11 attacks, but the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as well. It draws upon theories on the symbiotic relationship between national identity and cinematic representation that have often been discussed by scholars such as Siegfried Kracauer and Alison Landsberg.Show less
This thesis analyzes the representation of Kazakhstan as a multiethnic nation in contemporary Kazakhstani cinema. Although much has been made of how the state has attempted to build the image of...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the representation of Kazakhstan as a multiethnic nation in contemporary Kazakhstani cinema. Although much has been made of how the state has attempted to build the image of Kazakhstan as inherently multiethnic, in focusing on film, this thesis hopes to go some way to exploring the representation of Kazakhstani mnogonational'nost' (multinational-ness) at the popular level. In doing so, the thesis argues that there are several competing representations of 'multiethnic Kazakhstan'. One, arguably the more prominent, represents Kazakhstani mnogonational'nost' in a totalized, essentialized and depoliticized manner reminiscent of Soviet categories of nationality. Other emerging representations, meanwhile, appear to offer more complexity.Show less
This thesis analyzes the stereotypical representation of North Korea in the film "The Interview." Furthermore, it explains how this film led to increasing tensions between North Korea and the...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the stereotypical representation of North Korea in the film "The Interview." Furthermore, it explains how this film led to increasing tensions between North Korea and the United States and the controversial hack of Sony Pictures.Show less
The period under Brezhnev has long been considered a period of stagnation, wherein economic growth came to a full stop, the leadership grew old, and the dream of socialism became a disappointment...Show moreThe period under Brezhnev has long been considered a period of stagnation, wherein economic growth came to a full stop, the leadership grew old, and the dream of socialism became a disappointment for many. Films that echoed this disappointment did not seem at odds with anything. However, historians have debated over the idea of stagnation for decades and have increasingly come to the conclusion that it may not have been grounded in reality after all. Life under Brezhnev was ‘normal’ for many with objectively less and less to complain about. So then why did these pessimistic films emerge?Show less
This paper will investigate how the masculinities depicted in Wolf Warrior 2, the Chinese movie with the highest box office earnings of all time, are new and to what phenomena in Chinese society...Show moreThis paper will investigate how the masculinities depicted in Wolf Warrior 2, the Chinese movie with the highest box office earnings of all time, are new and to what phenomena in Chinese society they are related. The paper will start by examining the literature on historical masculinities in Chinese film. Afterwards, the paper will examine the way military masculinity, businessman masculinity and physical masculinity are portrayed. The paper shows that Wolf Warrior 2 brings back the figure of the military man to Chinese cinema but this time he is positioned abroad. In the section on businessman masculinity, the paper will demonstrate how Wolf Warrior 2 dethrones the character of the businessman from its position as hegemonic form of masculinity in Chinese cinema. This happens in response to the businessman's problematic position in modern Chinese society. The last part on the depiction of phyisical masculinity in Wolf Warrior 2 shows that Wolf Warrior 2 features a more physical depiction of the masculine superhero. The Chinese superhero's new physicality is closely related to orientalist discourses about the weakness of Chinese men and the Chinese government's wish of a more prominently active China. These portrayals are typical of a new film genre in which hypermasculine Chinese heroes are active abroad to defend China's interest.Show less
