This thesis argues that the notion of a samurai film genre is actually an Anglophone construct that is used to classify Japanese films from the 'jidaigeki' (period film) and 'chambara' (swordplay)...Show moreThis thesis argues that the notion of a samurai film genre is actually an Anglophone construct that is used to classify Japanese films from the 'jidaigeki' (period film) and 'chambara' (swordplay) genres. Because of the political situation during the Cold War and the orientalist perspective of Western audiences, Western cultural conventions that would eventually create the samurai film genre were thought of as Japanese cultural conventions based on Japanese cultural tradition. Kurosawa Akira's 'samurai films', which were the first to be shown in the West and also the most widely exported outside Japan, have become representative of this genre, despite the fact that Kurosawa’s jidaigeki films often do not follow the cultural conventions that is believed to be the samurai film genre.Show less
This thesis focuses on human rights film festivals, in particular Movies that Matter Festival (MTMF) – a relatively small yet significant human rights film festival based in the Netherlands....Show moreThis thesis focuses on human rights film festivals, in particular Movies that Matter Festival (MTMF) – a relatively small yet significant human rights film festival based in the Netherlands. Alongside the festival itself, I investigate the MTMF 2019 film program and the process of film programming leading to its creation. As a film festival with a focus on human rights issues, one can expect MTMF to attempt a varied and all-encompassing approach to its selection of themes and films. Although MTMF does not centre its film programming (and consequently its film program) to gender and genre inclusivity, it is precisely this that offers an opportunity for the study of gender and genre. In this thesis, I examine how MTMF, and specifically the film programming undertaken in 2019, draws on recent developments in contemporary human rights theory in order to implement inclusivity and diversity. As I shall establish, inclusivity and diversity are pillars of both critical film festival studies and human rights film festivals. To achieve this goal, I have organized this thesis into three main chapters. In the first chapter, I study the significance of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (1948) to human rights theory and human rights film festivals today. Moreover, I investigate the fundamental theoretical concepts from human rights theory that apply to the field of human rights film festivals. In the second chapter, I closely examine 50502020 Pledge for Gender Parity and Inclusion in Film Festivals (2018) and study the MTMF 2019 film program from the perspective of gender and genre. I question the impact a film programmer’s, as well as filmmaker’s gender, may have on a film, especially given that the majority of films released in both commercial and art-house cinemas present the male gaze, as I shall demonstrate. I end with a third chapter that offers a close analysis of the process of film programming, an area which my research reveals to be sadly under-examined by film festival scholars. Here, I delve into the methods and power structures of film selection, deriving from film programmers’ presupposed ideas of on what a human rights film and a human rights film festival could be.Show less
Uitvoerig onderzoek naar de Bromance als genre-hybride in film. Ten eerste wordt de traditie van de term retrospectief belicht. Ten tweede wordt gekeken hoe de Bromance zich verhoudt tot reguliere,...Show moreUitvoerig onderzoek naar de Bromance als genre-hybride in film. Ten eerste wordt de traditie van de term retrospectief belicht. Ten tweede wordt gekeken hoe de Bromance zich verhoudt tot reguliere, klassieke genres zoals sciencefiction, horror of comedy. Is de Bromance als afzonderlijke genre-categorie te beschouwen of heeft de Bromance altijd een samenhang met een ander genre? Om deze vraag te beantwoorden, kijkt deze scriptie eerst naar specifieke genres die met terugwerkende kracht duidelijke kenmerken hebben van de Bromance: de western (hoofdstuk 1), de road movie (hoofdstuk 2), en klassieke comedy's (hoofdstuk 3). Vervolgens wordt in hoofdstuk 4 nagegaan hoe de films die vandaag de dag tot Bromance gerekend worden zich hiervan onderscheiden, en daarbij de vraag te beantwoorden of dat verschil rechtvaardigt dat de Bromance als een op zichzelf staand genre kan worden beschouwt met eigen (vertel)conventies.Show less
This thesis explores the clique-wallflower dynamic in four seminal teenage high-school films: Carrie (1976), The Breakfast Club (1985), Heathers (1988) and Mean Girls (2004).
De gedichten van de veertiende-eeuwse sprookspreker Willem van Hildegaersberch lijken op het eerste gezicht een serieus karakter te hebben. Ze behandelen ernstige onderwerpen zoals de dood,...Show moreDe gedichten van de veertiende-eeuwse sprookspreker Willem van Hildegaersberch lijken op het eerste gezicht een serieus karakter te hebben. Ze behandelen ernstige onderwerpen zoals de dood, onrechtvaardigheid en politieke onrust. Toch wees literatuurhistoricus Theo Meder ook op humoristische passages in de sproken. Deze scriptie werkt die gedachte verder uit: door de sproken in hun context te plaatsen, onder andere van de geldende genreconventies van middeleeuwse boerden, ontstaat een genuanceerd beeld van de humor in Willems sproken. Ook twee filosofische theorieën over de lach en een aantal veelvoorkomende motieven in middeleeuwse humor werpen een nieuw licht op verschillende passages.Show less
