This thesis was inspired by a film. While watching James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta (2005), I came to notice the similarities between the film’s dystopian society and twentieth century totalitarian...Show moreThis thesis was inspired by a film. While watching James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta (2005), I came to notice the similarities between the film’s dystopian society and twentieth century totalitarian regimes—the Third Reich (1933-1945), Fascist Italy (1922-1943), and Soviet Russia (1922-1991)—and their respective treatment of art. In order to answer the question of how art is represented in films about totalitarianism, and contextualize this relationship historically, six films have been analyzed. These films have been selected for their depiction of fictional totalitarian regimes which bear resemblance to the aforementioned three historic ones. A discussion is created which analyzes how art and material culture in the films are used to indoctrinate the people and reaffirm the government’s power. This includes not only propaganda posters and images, but the use of symbols and sigils, as well as the use of art to establish the regime as a new religion. The desire for a “one true art form” to replace the degenerate arts and promote the regime, as seen in the Third Reich and Soviet Russia especially, is not seen in the films, which instead focus more on a holistic ban on art and culture. Finally, the way degenerate art is represented in the film shows it to provide support for the narrative. Most art seen in the films belongs to the characters who embody the rebellion or those with enough power and resources to exist above the illegality of art ownership.Show less
In the last few decades, there has been an emergence of feminist texts that relate themselves to Homer’s renowned myths, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Inspired by these feminist narratives that...Show moreIn the last few decades, there has been an emergence of feminist texts that relate themselves to Homer’s renowned myths, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Inspired by these feminist narratives that revolve around the centring of the female characters within a myth, this thesis poses an analysis of the emergence and importance of mythmaking by women writers. In my research, I have focused on Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls Madeline Miller’s Circe, two of the most recent examples of feminist mythmaking. Both Barker and Miller are able to give a voice to women that have often been silenced in ‘classic’ myths: Briseis and Circe. The texts foreground the complexity of their female protagonists by relating their stories to the patriarchal world surrounding them. Building onto this, both texts reflect on mythmaking and storytelling on an overarching level, thereby offering us a subtle critique on the way myths have been written and read in the past. Strikingly, scholars have recently studied these feminist mythmakings as mere ‘rewritings’ or ‘fictionalisations’ of Homer’s ‘classics’. The effect is a limiting analysis in which the true intertextuality of the stories gets lost in a restricting methodology. In this thesis, I propose a new way to analyze these mythmakings in an appropriate and respectful way, by using the concept of ‘mosaic mythmaking’.Show less
The statement “a picture tells a thousand words” is pretty often used.I want to find out if there is real value in this statement. In this thesis I will discuss the representations of images of the...Show moreThe statement “a picture tells a thousand words” is pretty often used.I want to find out if there is real value in this statement. In this thesis I will discuss the representations of images of the SARS and COVID-19 virus in People’s Republic of China (PRC). Images help us learn, images grab attention and they are helping to explain tough concept. That is why I think it is interesting to take a look at the representations of images of SARS and COVID-19. In this context I speak about images that are directly related to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or are at least have been approved by it. In my research I will focus on two time periodes. 2002-2003, the time of the SARS virus outbreak and 2020, the year of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. I will analyze images from both time periodes to investigate if the images show similarities in representing the virus or have changed over time and I will try to analyze why this is the case.Show less
This thesis sought to answer the question: to what extent are documentary viewers consuming an androcentric image of the Palaeolithic? In order to reach a conclusion, it first examined several...Show moreThis thesis sought to answer the question: to what extent are documentary viewers consuming an androcentric image of the Palaeolithic? In order to reach a conclusion, it first examined several prominent models of human evolution and early subsistence, noting the roles of males and females in each, and any bias or stereotyping that arose. Secondly, ethnographic evidence was cautiously evaluated to determine the extent to which anthropological models of early hunter-gatherers accurately reflect modern hunter-gatherer lifestyles. In addition, representations and depictions of Palaeolithic life, and in particular Palaeolithic women and their work, from various popular media sources were examined. Evolutionary theory, ethnographic and archaeological evidence, and common themes in the representation of Palaeolithic women were examined together to devise a definition of ‘androcentrism’ in this context. This definition was then compared to the treatment of women in five documentaries depicting Palaeolithic life, chosen for their perceived scientific authority and influence over the public’s understanding of the Palaeolithic. The results of the analysis of these documentaries showed they firmly adhered to the definition of androcentrism previously devised. Across all documentaries, women were vastly underrepresented compared to men. Where women were represented, they were shown engaging in a much more limited range of activities than men, and these activities perpetuated a modern, Western notion of women’s ‘place’. Women were tied to activities associated with nature such as gathering and childcare, and were excluded from activities related to culture including stone tool use, ritual and art. Activities that were most commonly carried out by females, such as gathering, were also significantly underrepresented in comparison to perceived male activities such as large game hunting. Having established the significant overrepresentation of males and a privileging of their activities across all documentaries examined, this thesis concluded by offering advice for future documentaries to avoid presenting such an overtly androcentric view of the Palaeolithic.Show less
In the last century the Netherlands went through several large changes. After the Second World War, the Netherlands, as many other West-European countries, modernized which included the creation of...Show moreIn the last century the Netherlands went through several large changes. After the Second World War, the Netherlands, as many other West-European countries, modernized which included the creation of large industry, the process of destratification, secularization, emancipation of women, democratization of politics and the emancipation of minority groups like homosexuals. Supposedly, Iran went through an opposite and backward development. From the glory years of the Shah, when modernization of Iran was top priority, the country rapidly declined, in the eyes of the Dutch, into the realm of a backward religious society which the Netherlands tried to espouse for a long time. The knowledge Dutch people have about Iran is not based on individuals visiting Iran but on how the media portrays Iran and reports on Middle Eastern affairs. However, is this dichotomy between Iran, as an Eastern country, and the Netherlands, as a Western country, so clear? When looking into contemporary documentaries Iran is still portrayed as different country than the Netherlands. Portraying is focused on the religious repression, backward economy, bearded men and veiled women. When comparing the footage of contemporary documentaries with documentaries from the start of this genre in 1960, the same type of footage is shown. Has Iran not changed since then? This type of footage seems to fall under the greater themes of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity and have been present in the Western conception of the Middle East for very long. This research focusses on the discourses of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity in Iranian representation in Dutch documentaries from 1960 until 2018 and the continuity and discontinuity in this representation. This research contributes to the understanding of the development of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity in the 20th and 21st century.Show less
Okinawa’s position within Japan has been historically regarded with ambivalence in Japanese mainstream discourse, which is particularly visible in Japanese cinema featuring the prefecture. Such...Show moreOkinawa’s position within Japan has been historically regarded with ambivalence in Japanese mainstream discourse, which is particularly visible in Japanese cinema featuring the prefecture. Such films have been predominantly produced by mainland Japanese directors, and have often been criticized for depicting Okinawa in stereotypical and essentializing ways. This thesis places Paradise View, the understudied first feature film of Okinawa-born independent director Takamine Gō, in the above-mentioned context and focuses on the film’s thematic and narrative analysis to put it forward as a case study of a film that actively evades and challenges such representations.Show less
This thesis takes a brief look at Edo era Yoshiwara art, and the disparity between what it portrays and represents. Furthermore, it takes a look at the way this art is currently portrayed and...Show moreThis thesis takes a brief look at Edo era Yoshiwara art, and the disparity between what it portrays and represents. Furthermore, it takes a look at the way this art is currently portrayed and spoken about; examining its place in modern art discourse.Show less
