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  • 1. Gaswint, Kiera A Comparative Study of Women's Aggression

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2018, English/Literature

    This project explores womens aggression in superhero, science fiction, and crime film through a close reading of Wonder Woman, Ghost in the Shell, and Atomic Blonde. All based in genres that are traditionally considered for boys, these films are different from other superhero, science fiction, and crime films because they feature female leads with aggressive tendencies. Using Dana Crowley Jacks theory of womens aggression and Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negras definition of postfeminism, I argue that Diana, Major, and Lorraine revolutionize the image of the lead postfeminist character by offering examples of womens aggression that resist acceptable, palatable representations of womens aggression. Whereas in the past there have been many representations of aggressive women, those past representations have been affected by postfeminism in a way that commodifies and limits their ability to be authentically aggressive. I examine how these new films, Wonder Woman, Ghost in the Shell, and Atomic Blonde, play into and ultimately resist postfeminist representations because of their aggression and how that aggression is played out on the female body. In the following chapters I analyze how the heroines in Wonder Woman, Ghost in the Shell, and Atomic Blonde disrupt postfeminist notions and prior images of womens aggression by explicitly examining aggressive women who are not domesticated or justified by rape.

    Committee: Kimberly Coates (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Brown (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative; Comparative Literature; Film Studies; Gender Studies; Language Arts; Literature
  • 2. Lecker, Michael Treacherous, Deviant, and Submissive: Female Sexuality Represented in the Character Catwoman

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2007, Popular Culture

    This thesis is an examination of sexual and gender representation of the DC Comics character Catwoman throughout her more than sixty-five years. The main goal was to gain insight into America's view of female sexuality through the examination of numerous popular texts involving the highly sexualized Catwoman. This thesis investigates what made the character stay popular for such a vast amount of time. It also examines why the cat motif was chosen and why so many other female characters in the superhero genre embody this animal. In addition to looking at Catwoman, it was necessary to explore her relationship with Batman and see how this strong female character was depicted when placed within the same narrative as Batman, the strong patriarchal figure. Finally, I wanted to see how Catwoman's sexuality was a source of empowerment for her and if this was a legitimate source of power. This study was a textual analysis of comic books, television shows, and movies that the character Catwoman is in. There were several methods used to study these texts for their sexual and gender representations. The fashion theories of Roland Barthes and Vikki Karaminas were utilized in the first chapter. To explain the popularity of Catwoman, the psychoanalytical theories of Marc O'Day and Jeffrey A. Brown, in addition to Mary Anne Doane's theory of women in film, were utilized. The third chapter's look into the power relations between Catwoman and Batman relied on the psychoanalytical theory of Laura Mulvey and the genre theory of Jane Tompkins. The final chapter utilized Audre Lorde's feminist theory on the erotic as a source of power. The major findings of this thesis are as follows. The female characters of Catwoman, Blackcat, and Cheetah, and their association with felines, is important in spreading anti-women and feline messages. The connection between the two has been used for centuries to demonize both participants. In the superhero genre, the correlation is used to depict powerf (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Jeffrey Brown (Advisor) Subjects:
  • 3. Pape, Anthony Overdose: Constructing Television from the Cracks in the Superhero Content Conglomerate

    Bachelor of Science of Media Arts and Studies (BSC), Ohio University, 2021, Media Arts and Studies

    Overdose is a TV show about reacting to one's reality when ingrained expectations stray wildly from what we anticipate. However, if we are getting technical, it is about a twenty-year-old kid named Auggie who gets superpowers when under the influence of narcotics. Auggie, a morally straight and stubbornly innocent young man, faces a moral struggle between clinging to his virtues and helping those in need. On top of this, his world of superpowers is flipped on its head when other meta-humans surface with comically specific and useless powers. Overdose takes inspiration from a wide variety of movies, shows, and comic books with the aim to subvert the superhero genre in a way that has not been done before. Using complex themes, new ideas, and a power dynamic of a superpowered world yet to be seen, Overdose takes aim at the preceding legacy of the superhero content conglomerate.

    Committee: Beth Novak (Advisor) Subjects: Film Studies
  • 4. Monk, Ryan Pretty/Violent: Cinematic Action Heroines From 2015 to 2020

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Popular Culture

    Hollywood filmmakers have recently, and dramatically, changed their depictions of women in Action Movies in the Two-Thousand-Teens. There has been a dramatic disparity between images of violent men and violent women. However, filmmakers are now giving action heroines the same attention they gave to action heroes. This thesis examines Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984, and Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn to make clear much of the progress, and one or two pitfalls, these films have presented audiences with, including the use of tropes that were previously, in terms of Hollywood major motion pictures, mostly only seen in male-led Action Movies.

    Committee: Becca Cragin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Esther Clinton Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Film Studies; Womens Studies
  • 5. DeGalan, Anna Crescendos of the Caped Crusaders: An Evolutionary Study of Soundtracks From DC Comics' Superheroes

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Popular Culture

    While much of the focus of past textual analysis of films within the superhero genre has focused on characterizations of heroes, visual iconography, and the logistics of filming or framing a scene, academia has vastly overlooked the necessity of a film's soundtrack, not only as a basic narrative tool and genre locator, but as a means to further understand how a cultural perception of the material is being reflected by the very musical choices presented on a score. While there has been an influx of research focusing on how a culture perceives its heroes – in this case superheroes – during times of great change within a society (either politically, socially, economically, or culturally; for example, the terrorist attack on American soil on 9/11/2001), I have found there to be a lack of research involving how the musical themes of superheroes reflect our cultural views and feelings at a specific point in time. This phenomenon is in need of further research because there is a need to understand how a culture's perception of this change can be reflected in musical themes found in a film's musical score. The following thesis is an investigation of the soundtracks belonging to superhero films and television shows in order to examine the cultural shifts in the perception of superheroes in America. I will observe this musical phenomenon in relation to major historical events, by way of using a post-9/11 lens, textual analysis of the music scores, and various camera angles and acting cues that are choreographed to the music found in the original soundtracks. This thesis is a case study examining this methodology, showing a dramatic cultural perceptual change reflected in the scoring of musical themes and songs via a thorough examination of the evolution of superhero soundtrack music within the realms of DC Comics' Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman characters.

    Committee: Jeffrey Brown (Advisor); Esther Clinton (Committee Member); Jeremy Wallach (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Music
  • 6. Maulden, Hannah Heroes and Villains: Political Rhetoric in Post-9/11 Popular Media

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Popular Culture

    President George W. Bush experienced a drastic rise in popularity after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, and this popularity continued through his first term and enabled him to be reelected for a second. In this thesis, I seek to explain some of President Bush's popularity by examining American popular entertainment media produced between 2001 and 2004. I look at ways that this media reinforced White House rhetoric and encouraged Bush's continued popularity with the American people. I analyze television shows (24 and Alias), romantic comedy and superhero movies (Two Weeks Notice, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, Maid in Manhattan, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2), and war-themed video games (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Call of Duty, and Freedom Fighters) to examine how they contributed to the establishment of an “Us vs. Them” mentality and the construction of the wealthy white man (i.e. Bush himself) as the American savior, as well as created an environment in which any questioning of the Bush Administration or the War on Terror could be interpreted as traitorous.

    Committee: Motz Marilyn (Committee Chair); Brown Jeff (Committee Member); Gajjala Radhika (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Film Studies; Mass Media; Middle Eastern Studies; Modern History; Motion Pictures; Political Science; Rhetoric
  • 7. Johnson, Seth HISTORY, MYTH AND SECULARISM ACROSS THE BORDERLANDS: THE WORK OF MICHAEL CHABON

    PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

    JOHNSON, SETH WILLIAM, Ph.D., May 2014 ENGLISH HISTORY, MYTH AND SECULARISM ACROSS THE BORDERLANDS: THE WORK OF MICHAEL CHABON (317 PP.) Director of Dissertation: Lewis Fried From the publication of his Master's thesis turned first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon has enjoyed immense critical and commercial success. Yet, to date, scholarship has remained in its infancy. This study traces two common and related themes as they evolve throughout his career: his celebration of genre fiction and his exploration of the intersection between the secular--Jewish, American-Jewish and unhyphenated American culture--and the sacred. The blending of often ghettoized genres, such as science fiction, mystery, comic books and horror, with sacred texts, stories and folklore both elevates the so-called "lower" art forms and reengages history, myth and sacred stories as merely literary genres with an enhanced cultural significance. In addition, this dissertation seeks to illuminate Chabon's representation of Jewishness in America, throughout his body of work. Chabon consistently raises questions regarding the nature of Judaism in America, asking whether one's Jewishness can be largely cultural or whether it is necessarily defined by religious adherence. Though many of Chabon's characters may not be overtly religious, they have not forgotten their roots. Chabon depicts a generation of American Jews who are more comfortable with their place in America, than many of the American-Jewish writers who came before him. He sees contemporary American Jewish culture as one that maintains its traditions and celebrates its history, but can exist outside of religion, in which American Jews can be both Jewish and largely secular. This project aims to show that Chabon is part of a continuum that is constantly reassessing American Judaism, and in good company with his many American-Jewish literary predecessors (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Lewis Fried Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Babacar M'Baye Ph.D. (Committee Member); Yoshinobu Hakutani Ph.D. (Committee Member); Sara Newman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carol Salus Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Literature; American Studies; Bible; Literature; Religion
  • 8. Galbraith, Jeanne Multiple perspectives on superhero play in an early childhood classroom

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Educational Theory and Practice

    This dissertation study examines the phenomenon of superhero play in an early childhood classroom. Superhero play is an understudied and sometimes controversial form of play that is sometimes banned or limited in early childhood classrooms (Holland, 2003). The limited studies on superhero play focus on the teachers' perspectives, often of those who ban or limit it, and on developmental perspectives emphasizing either positive or negative aspects of the play. The purpose of this study is to understand superhero play from multiple perspectives including the perspectives of the people involved, particularly the children and through teachers who support this play, and through theoretical perspectives, including sociocultural and poststructural. This is an ethnographic study focusing on understand superhero play in context through a thorough examination of the school culture, the peer culture interested in superheroes, and the intersections between the school and peer culture. The primary methods are participant observation, with the researcher becoming a member of the school culture and peer culture interested in superheroes, interviews, video recording and revisiting, and document analysis. Findings of the study reveal superhero play to be complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The findings from the school culture and teachers' perspectives highlight how superheroes and superhero play became part of almost every aspect of the school routines and activities. The teachers' perspectives on supporting superhero play align with their valuing children's interests, relationships, and using democratic practices. The findings from peer culture and children's perspectives are presented through both a group and individual analysis. From the peer culture group, shared connections to superhero play included affiliation and inclusion, leadership, power, and the expression of care. Individual differences in the group included emotional connections, physical expression, and learning lan (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Laurie Katz (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Early Childhood
  • 9. Beemer, Lawrence American Superhero Comics: Fractal Narrative and The New Deal

    Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2011, English (Arts and Sciences)

    Coining the term "fractal narrative," this dissertation examines the complex storytelling structure that is particular to contemporary American superhero comics. Whereas other mediums most often require narrative to function as self-contained and linear, individual superhero comics exist within a vast and intricate continuity that is composed of an indeterminate number of intersecting threads. Identical to fractals, the complex geometry of the narrative structure found in superhero comics when taken as a whole is constructed by the perpetual iteration of a single motif that was established at the genre's point of origin in Action Comics #1. The first appearance of Superman institutes all of the features and rhetorical elements that define the genre, but it also encodes the entire genre with the specific ideology of The New Deal era. In order to examine this fractal narrative structure, this dissertation traces its historical development over the last seven decades and offers a close reading Marvel Comics' 2006 cross-over event, Civil War.

    Committee: Robert Miklitsch PhD (Committee Chair); Roger Aden PhD (Committee Member); Samuel Crowl PhD (Committee Member); Eric LeMay PhD (Other) Subjects: American Literature; American Studies
  • 10. Moody, Kyle “Why So Serious?” Comics, Film and Politics, or the Comic Book Film as the Answer to the Question of Identity and Narrative in a Post-9/11 World

    Master of Arts, Miami University, 2009, Mass Communication

    This thesis analyzes a trend in a subgenre of motion pictures that are designed to not only entertain, but also provide a message for the modern world after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The analysis provides a critical look at three different films as artifacts of post-9/11 culture, showing how the integration of certain elements made them allegorical works regarding the status of the United States in the aftermath of the attacks. Jean Baudrillard's postmodern theory of simulation and simulacra was utilized to provide a context for the films that tap into themes reflecting post-9/11 reality. The results were analyzed by critically examining the source material, with a cultural criticism emerging regarding the progression of this subgenre of motion pictures as meaningful work.

    Committee: Bruce Drushel PhD (Committee Chair); Ronald Scott PhD (Committee Member); David Sholle PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; English literature; Mass Media; Motion Pictures; Rhetoric
  • 11. Ehritz, Andrew FROM INDOCTRINATION TO HETEROGLOSSIA: THE CHANGING RHETORICAL FUNCTION OF THE COMIC BOOK SUPERHERO

    Master of Arts, Miami University, 2006, English: Composition and Rhetoric

    This project is an examination of the history of the comic book superhero figure and his/her rhetorical function, and pays particular attention to the political rhetoric in the post 911 comic book. I argue that a shift has taken place in recent years and that the comic book superhero, once primarily a vehicle for idealized morality and patriotic propaganda, has become a major tool for negotiating the ambivalence of social experience. This paper originally included a variety of images. They have been removed in order to eliminate copyright problems. A degree of loss in coherence is the result of this elimination.

    Committee: John Tassoni (Advisor) Subjects:
  • 12. Mason, Lizabeth American Masculinity in Crisis: Trauma and Superhero Blockbusters

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2010, Popular Culture

    This thesis examines the narrative and visual motifs of the three most successful superhero films of the 2008 blockbuster season. Due to their overwhelming popularity, I read the films The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Hancock as national texts. Building off the work of Benedict Anderson, Susan Jeffords, and Siegfried Kracauer, the goal of this project is to identify the means by which these films help construct a sense of the American national identity in 2008. In order to do so, I employ theories of masculinity and trauma to understand the common tropes of the superhero genre. This genre is defined by emphasizing the narrative convention of trauma as a catalyst for the heroic actions of the protagonist. Visually, these films are rife with the imagery of shattering glass which functions as the “allegorical moment” as identified by Adam Lowenstein because it is reminiscent of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. The combination of these visual and narrative motifs within these films creates the dramatic tension for their plots. The means of resolution for this dramatic tension comes through the use of violence that is both retributive and preemptive. Because the three most successful films of 2008 link imagery and narratives of trauma to violent action, it would appear that America not only values but desires such behavior. All three films are characterized by repetition of visual and narrative motifs of masculinity in trauma, revealing that America, during this period, was concerned with trauma's effect on masculinity. Narratively, vulnerability is the ultimate fear within these superhero films, which show traumatized male bodies being protected by masks, armored suits, and isolation. By situating textual analysis within the context of Presidential election campaigning, this thesis attempts to form an understanding of the psychological disposition of America.

    Committee: Kristen Rudisill PhD (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Brown PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies
  • 13. Murdough, Adam Worlds Will Live, Worlds Will Die: Myth, Metatext, Continuity and Cataclysm in DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Popular Culture

    In 1985-86, DC Comics launched an extensive campaign to revamp and revise its most important superhero characters for a new era. In many cases, this involved streamlining, retouching, or completely overhauling the characters' fictional back-stories, while similarly renovating the shared fictional context in which their adventures take place, “the DC Universe.” To accomplish this act of revisionist history, DC resorted to a text-based performative gesture, Crisis on Infinite Earths. This thesis analyzes the impact of this singular text and the phenomena it inspired on the comic-book industry and the DC Comics fan community. The first chapter explains the nature and importance of the convention of “continuity” (i.e., intertextual diegetic storytelling, unfolding progressively over time) in superhero comics, identifying superhero fans' attachment to continuity as a source of reading pleasure and cultural expressivity as the key factor informing the creation of the Crisis on Infinite Earths text. The second chapter consists of an eschatological reading of the text itself, in which it is argued that Crisis on Infinite Earths combines self-reflexive metafiction with the ideologically inflected symbolic language of apocalypse myth to provide DC Comics fans with a textual "rite of transition," to win their acceptance for DC's mid-1980s project of self-rehistoricization and renewal. The third chapter enumerates developments in the comic-book industry and superhero fandom in the past twenty years that are attributable to the influence of Crisis on Infinite Earths. My final assessment is that although Crisis on Infinite Earths failed in some respects to have its intended effect on “the DC Universe” and its readership, it did serve as a powerful mythological mediator in the introduction of new ways for superhero stories to interact with their own fictional and historical contexts and with their audience, and it fostered new generic expectations and reading practices among the s (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Angela Nelson (Advisor) Subjects: Literature, American