Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2013, Film (Fine Arts)

This thesis provides a historical approach to the question of how lesbianism is made visible in Hollywood film adaptations of lesbian narratives from the 1930s to 2011. Chapter one examines Code censorship and haunting absences in Rebecca (1940), These Three (1936) and The Children's Hour (1961). Chapter two analyzes ambiguous lesbian representation as a type of dual marketing approach designed to appeal to both heterosexual mainstream audiences and queer audiences in The Color Purple (1985), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), and Orlando (1992). Chapter three culminates in an examination of the location of queerness in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009, 2011) focusing on the character of Lisbeth Salander as a queer force aimed at destabilizing heterosexist assumption. It is through my examination of the historical shifts in the process translating lesbianism from a verbal description to a visible depiction on screen in Hollywood adaptations that the social and cultural significance and impact of these historical shifts becomes apparent.

Committee: Ofer Eliaz (Committee Chair) Subjects: Film Studies; Gender; History; Literature; Mass Media; Modern Literature; Scandinavian Studies; Womens Studies

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2009, French, Italian, and Classical Studies

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the ethical implications of voyeurism as a diegetic construct within cinema within the specific context of Michael Haneke's 2005 film Cache. The first chapter uses works by Rene Descartes and Diego Velazquez to frame the question of the deceitful nature of the senses, which contextualize the way we look at film as an entity distinct from lived experience. The second chapter examines theories of montage in order to elaborate upon the difference between narrative and lived experience. The third chapter looks at films by and interviews with Alfred Hitchcock to elaborate upon the previous chapter's discussion of montage and explain the ethics and the legal code of voyeurism as presented in Cache.

Committee: Elisabeth Hodges PhD (Advisor); Jonathan Strauss PhD (Committee Member); Claire Goldstein PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative Literature; Literature; Romance Literature

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2009, German

The purpose of this study was to examine the portrayal of the World War Two “Nazi” figure and the World War Two “German” figure as portrayed in Chaplin's The Great Dictator, Capra's The Nazis Strike, and Hitchcock's Lifeboat. Research of each figure's portrayal in media through the late nineteenth and early twentieth century revealed that “Germans” possess strength, are portrayed as the non-enemy, are focused, and are able to solve problems. In contrast the “Nazi” is barbaric, militaristic, villainous, the enemy, and uses vile brutality to fulfill the mission of the war.By examining the three films I determined that although each film is of a different genre and year, each director similarly portrays the “German” characteristics and “Nazi” characteristics through different aspects of propaganda including the polarization of the enemy, a call for action and the American victory. In addition to the portrayal of the “German” and “Nazi” figures through propaganda techniques, I illustrated how each director uses interactions of other figures with these characters to show the differences between the “German” and “Nazi.” Finally I offered suggestions for additional research on images of the enemy that would further extend the concepts analyzed in this thesis.

Committee: Geoffrey Howes (Advisor); Kristie Foell (Committee Chair) Subjects: Motion Pictures