Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, American Culture Studies

This dissertation utilizes the videographic essay method to visually analyze the queer aesthetic that distinguishes certain American film and television programs in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The salient features of the queer aesthetic, which includes strategies ranging from lighthearted farcical camp to intense graphic violence, emerged as a critical response to homophobic depictions in mainstream Hollywood horror films of the 1980s and early 1990s and as an aesthetic expression of social protests by queer activists of the time. The empowerment of proudly claiming queer identity led to the development of the independent New Queer Cinema movement. I examine the visual techniques utilized in this politicized film movement to illustrate how queer filmmakers incorporated visual tropes from the horror film genre to convey the terror of the AIDS epidemic as well as ongoing political repression and violent homophobia. To illuminate the notable features of the aesthetic that coalesced in New Queer Cinema films, I analyze the films of gay filmmaker Gregg Araki, who is known for combining stylized camp and violence with tropes of the horror genre. This study shows how queer filmmakers subsequently began to incorporate the queer aesthetic into contemporary horror films and television productions. I closely examine Ryan Murphy's application of the queer aesthetic in his television series American Horror Story following the queering of the horror tropes in the New Queer Cinema films. Mobilizing moving images and sound in analyses makes it possible to demonstrate aesthetic choices in ways that are not possible in a traditional written dissertation, even one featuring still images. By using videographic essays, the dissertation concretely illustrates the evolution of the queer aesthetic and how it has merged in some instances with horror genre conventions. This dissertation also illuminates the increasingly nuanced depiction of queer identities wi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Cynthia Baron Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Lubomir Popov Ph.D. (Other); Bill Albertini Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mark Bernard Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, English

Coming out is widely understood as a crucial, repeated scene of a queer person making their queerness known to others. Rather than consider coming out in film as one specific cinematic moment, I argue that the means by which queerness is made legible to the spectator constitutes coming out, even if that coming out is preceded by an outing or occurs non-verbally. Engaging with the speech act theories of J.L. Austin and queer theories of Judith Butler, I trace the performative differences between coming out and outing speech acts in the films The Children's Hour (1961) and Love, Simon (2018), arguing that outing creates an instable queer subject that must be made coherent through coming out. I also examine how the cinematic apparatus can either construct a closet or allow for non-verbal coming out in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and God's Own Country (2017), creating a uniquely non-identitarian approach to coming out. The divergent endings met by queer characters in these four films further demonstrate how the process and aftermath of coming out play a role in narrative conclusion, establishing coming out as one of the most critically important aspects of a queer film.

Committee: Katie Johnson Dr. (Advisor); Elisabeth Hodges Dr. (Committee Member); Anita Mannur Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2006, American Culture Studies/Popular Culture

This dissertation examined five films with queer female characters who perform on stage: When Night is Falling, Better than Chocolate, Tipping the Velvet, Slaves to the Underground, and Prey for Rock and Roll. These films were divided into “glossy” and “gritty” categories. “Glossy” films, like When Night is Falling, Better than Chocolate, and Tipping the Velvet, follow formats similar to Classical Hollywood Cinema—they include beautiful lighting, falling in love, and happy endings. In contrast, the “gritty” films, like Slaves to the Underground and Prey for Rock and Roll, more closely follow formats found in New Queer Cinema—the lighting is harsh, conflicts are not smoothly resolved, and the endings are not necessarily happy. The objective of this project was to speculate on the extent of performativity in queer identity. Jill Dolan's theory of the utopian performative provided a framework to talk about how cultural productions can function as venues for change. Richard Dyer's work on queer film provided a lens through which the form and content of the case study films were scrutinized. Judith Halberstam's theory of queer time and space and Terry Goldie's comparison between queerness and national identity provided a way to talk about how queer-themed cultural productions are unique and vital to many queers' sense of identity. The five case study films were thoroughly analyzed through these and other theories of cinema, performance, and sexuality. In addition to this textual analysis, a survey was administered through several queer- and lesbian-themed websites and magazines, asking women to answer questions about their experiences with these films. The survey yielded seventy-four responses over four months. They revealed that queer women recognize the ways in which they perform queerness in everyday life, and they recognize the same signifiers in others. The surveys also suggested that queer women enjoy “glossy” films more than “gritty” films. I conclude that for som (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Cynthia Baron (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2021, Art

Monsters are powerful symbols of transformative agency, heavily ingrained in Western culture. With transmutating creatures living rent-free in our collective imagination, I have to wonder: why is it taboo for queer people to transform? Tracing a historical line from biblical angels, Greek mythology, the gothic novel, and contemporary horror cinema, I create a framework for understanding monsters as revered, transformative figures in important texts throughout the centuries. Just as LGBTQ+ activists reclaimed `queer' as a radical identifier, I reclaim `monster' as an uncompromising symbol of bodily agency, engaging with Queer readings and critical media theory along the way. Using my MFA Thesis artwork God Made Me (And They Love Me), I weave my soft sculpture beasties through historical imagery, religious text, folklore, and media pieces depicting `monster' and `monstrosity'.

Committee: Amy Youngs (Advisor); Caitlin McGurk (Committee Member); Gina Osterloh (Committee Member); Scott Deb (Committee Member) Subjects: Art History; Fine Arts; Gender Studies; Glbt Studies; Mass Media

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Ohio University, 2023, Film

"Discreet": The Process and Analysis of Depicting Queer Identity and Desire On Screen in Genre Cinema is an accompanying paper to my 14-minute thesis film, "Discreet." The paper examines the process behind the creation of the short film. It also looks at some of the contemporary LGBT+ media that came out alongside the making of the film and how it influenced my approach to depicting queer identity on screen.

Committee: Lindsey Martin (Committee Chair); Roger Cooper (Committee Member); Rajko Grlić (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2021, Film Studies (Fine Arts)

Scholarship regarding mythic narrative structures use predominately male-centered narratives to analyze male-centered heteronormative films in American popular cinema. In such mythic narratives, women are usually a destination for nurture, or a trophy for the male conqueror. This, in turn, condenses scholarship to analyze films within the structures of male-centered, heteronormative, mythic narratives. Consequently, this leaves women-centered mythic structures vastly understudied and underutilized when analyzing films that pertain to women's cinema and queer cinema. The objective of my thesis is to infuse women-centered mythology with cinematic discourse. In particular, my thesis seeks to reclaim and reshape the myth of Lilith to be used as a narrative structure to analyze women-centered films in queer cinema in ways that examine both the sexual oppression and sexual pleasure of lesbian sexuality.

Committee: Erin Schlumpf S. (Advisor); Ofer Eliaz (Committee Member); Brian Collins (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Folklore; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Camp is a critical sensibility and a queer reading practice that allows women to simultaneously critique, resist, and enjoy stereotypes and conventional norms. It is both a performative strategy and a mode of reception that transforms resistance into pleasure. Scholarship on feminist camp recognizes a tradition of women using camp to engage with gender politics and play with femininity. Most of the scholarship focuses on women's camp in mainstream and popular culture and how they talk back to the patriarchy. Little work has been done on feminist camp outside of popular culture or on how women use camp to talk back to feminism. My dissertation adds to conversations about feminist camp by exploring a new facet of camp that talks back to feminism and challenges a feminist audience. I examine the work of three contemporary feminist and queer independent filmmakers: Anna Biller, Cheryl Dunye, and Bruce LaBruce to explore the different ways they subvert cinematic conventions to interrupt narrative, play with stereotypes, and create opportunities for pleasure as well as critique. I argue that these filmmakers operationalize a feminist camp gaze and open up space for a feminist camp spectatorship that engages critically with ideas about identity, sex, and feminism. In addition, I consider the ways in which other types of feminist cultural production, including sketch comedy and web series, use camp strategies to deploy a feminist camp gaze to push back against sexism and other forms of oppression while also parodying feminism, ultimately creating space for resistance, pleasure, and self-reflection.

Committee: Linda Mizejewski (Advisor); Shannon Winnubst (Committee Member); Treva Lindsey (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Gender Studies; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Spanish and Portuguese

My dissertation, “Chile coliza: cuerpo, espacios discursivos y redes sociales en la literatura y el cine chileno contemporaneo de tematica LGBTQ” examines the intervention of queer bodies, language and visual images in urban and virtual spaces through LGBTQ-themed literature and film from post-dictatorship Chile (1990) to present day. My project intervenes in the political debate regarding gender and sexualities in Latin America, which has been propelled by the #Metoo and #NiUnaMenos movements and the sexual dissidence activism. Recent events, such as the debate on marriage equality in Chile in November 2017 or the passing of gender identity legislation in January 2018, show the current relevance of the debate around sexuality. Furthermore, members of the LGBTQ community in Chile have carried out different strategies in order to destabilize the heteropatriarchy and the neoliberal system that underpins it since its implementation in Chile during Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990). On one hand, the diversidad sexual seeks to intervene within institutional power structures in order to achieve the same rights as their heterosexual fellow citizens. On the other hand, disidencia sexual advocates for a more confrontational tactic that implies the total collapse of the neoliberal system and the Eurocentric epistemology. Nonetheless, both collectivities have impacted contemporary Chilean literature and cinema. But, how and to what extent does LGBTQ literature and film create synergies with urban and online spaces in Chile? Which discourses do sexual diversity and sexual dissidence articulate to contrast heteronormative discourse on gender, sex, and sexuality? Drawing on hemispheric queer/gender and coloniality/decoloniality theories, I argue that the synergies between literature, film and social media have provided an opportunity for the LGBTQ community in Chile to consolidate a political position that contests heteronormativity by unapologetically visibilizing queer (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ana Del Sarto Dr. (Advisor); Laura Podalsky Dr. (Committee Member); Paloma Martinez-Cruz Dr. (Committee Member); Fernando Blanco Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Gender Studies; Latin American Literature; Latin American Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

This doctoral study concerns itself with the visual representations of The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (a.k.a. Reeling) with specific attention paid to their marketing campaign materials, as exemplified by the annually created festival POSTER. It is my aim to situate these posters alongside the historical contexts of queer identity, socio-political advocacy, and LGBTQ+ cinema. This analysis will navigate the 36-year period of the festival organization's existence, providing key, in-depth interrogations into the decades, images, and trends both visual and narrative. My unpacking and theoretical discussions of the festival's visual culture has been informed by the practices of semiotics and film genre theory. These methods were employed to answer the primary research question: How have the POSTER advertisements, as visual signifiers for The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, symbolized their organization's mission, represented queer identities, and engaged with the politically contested history of queer cinematic representation? Through the analytical process, a series of emergent sub-questions materialized: 1) How have visual representations of The Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival changed over time? 2) How does the festival POSTER, as a promise of subsequent programming, reflect and/or resist the historical, generic, trajectory of LGBTQ+ cinema? 3) How has the festival organization and its corresponding representations responded to fluctuating political movements and their gradual commercialization? Each of the preceding questions provided a distinct vantage point, and allowed me to examine the problems of representation from varying perspectives. This result serves to elucidate the value and significance of such images for the greater LGBTQ+ community which the Reeling event presumes to serve. The film festival as a cultural institution (re)produces visual histories which can have a crucial effect (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James H. Sanders (Advisor) Subjects: Art Education; Film Studies; Glbt Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Popular Culture

Diana Inosanto reimagines the 1980s AIDS epidemic in her film, The Sensei (2008) and implements cultural issues on rurality, sexuality, and tolerance within the overall narrative structure. Finding it important to use the works of Rick Altman, John G. Cawelti, and Fredric Jameson, I theorize how postmodernism affects film genres and their evolution through pastiche and historical events. Within this genre cycle, The Sensei fits into several other film genre types that include the queer film, AIDS film, and martial arts film. Drawing from the works of Richard Dyer, B. Ruby Rich, Kylo-Patrick Hart, and David West, I place The Sensei into each category to develop thoughts on how hybrid genres work into film creation. Analyzing the works on myths of the small town and rurality, assumptions about queer migration, and stigmatizations about AIDS, I attempt to disprove these myths and assumptions through the works of Bud W. Jerke, Judith Halberstam, Michael Kennedy, and Emily Kazyak. My overall goal is to project social awareness about queer cultural geography, issues with AIDS in rural areas, and the vitalization of anti-bullying issues that have saturated our media landscape within the last two decades using Inosanto's The Sensei as a vehicle to evoke thought.

Committee: Becca Cragin PhD (Advisor); Jeffrey Brown PhD (Committee Member); Marilyn Motz PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Film Studies; Folklore; Gender; Womens Studies