Media, Communication and Performing Arts
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Item Webfilm theory(Queen Margaret University, 2007) Kurtzke, SimoneSince its inception in 1989, the World Wide Web has grown as a medium for publishing first text, then images, audio, and finally, moving images including short films. While most new media forms, in particular, hypertext, have received scholarly attention, research into moving image on the Internet had been limited. The thesis therefore set out to investigate webfilms, a form of short film on the WWW and the Internet, over a period of 9 years (1997-2005). The thesis was theoretically embedded in questions regarding new media as new field of research, since the increasing visibility of new media had resulted in the emergence of the discipline of 'new media studies'. This context raised issues regarding the configuration of new media studies within the existing academic disciplines of media and cultural studies, which were explored in depth in the literature review. The case studies of the thesis explored and analysed webfilms from a vantage point of actor-network theory, since this was arguably the most appropriate methodology to a research object considerably influenced by technological factors. The focus was on the conditions of webfilm production, distribution, and exhibition, and the evolution of webfilm discourse and culture. The aim was to seek answers to the question 'How didwebfilm arise as (new) form of film?' In the process of research, a number of issues were raised including the changing definition and changing forms of webfilms, the convergence of media, and the complex interdependency of humans and their computers. The research re-evaluates the relationship between human and non-human factors in media production and presents a fresh approach by focusing on the network as unit of analysis. The thesis as a whole not only provides new information on the evolution of webfilm as a form of film, but also illustrates how the network interaction of humans and nonhumans lies at the heart of contemporary new media and convergence culture.Item The Corbicula Cycle : postmodernism and identity in on the edge, throught the night, and in the shade(Queen Margaret University, 2007) Leddy, DavidThis practice-based research is based around the creation of a triptych of performances entitled The Corbicula Cycle. The three performance pieces are: On The Edge, Through The Night and In The Shade. The aim of the practice is to take the supposedly 'low' artistic forms of the murder-mystery, Cinderella narrative, blackface minstrelsy and drag cabaret and interpenetrate them with theoretical content from postmodernism and identity politics whilst combining formal elements of dramatic writing and performance art practice. The emphasis of both the research and the research outcomes is a practical one. The DVDs and playscripts represent the core of the submission, with this thesis serving to support and contextualise the practice. Thus the contribution of this work is demonstrated not through new theoretical findings but through new artistic findings in the three performances. In terms of postmodernism, the research focuses on intertextuality; deconstruction; simulacra and simulation; split and shifting subjectivity; parody, pastiche, irony and the mixing of the genres. In relation to identity politics, the piece takes a postmodern view, covering cultural theories relating to gender, sexuality, class and race. The overarching objective in combining these different knowledge paradigms is to create a series of open, polysemantic texts which can be read in different ways by different viewers. Thus, it is hoped that the pieces can be shown successfully outside of an academic context and be open to readers other than an 'expert-spectator' audience of academics and artists. None of these artistic or theoretical constructions is innovative in itself. However, this research represents a modest contribution to knowledge through the subtly new ways it combines the paradigms of cultural theory, dramatic new writing and performance art with the generic artistic models of the murder-mystery, the Cinderella narrative, drag cabaret and blackface minstrelsy. It also provides substantial new insights through critical reflection upon process and products, exploring the play between artistic aims, principles of composition and audience response.Item Female identity and the British female ensemble drama 1995-1998(Queen Margaret University, 2007) Ball, VictoriaThis thesis focuses upon a distinctive form of 'feminine-gendered' fiction, that of the British female ensemble drama, that has proliferated across televisual schedules since the late 1970s and which has received little academic attention. Although not a discrete genre, the female ensemble drama is nevertheless identifiable as a distinctive form of 'feminine-gendered' fiction that is largely written and/or produced by women, which diegetically focuses on particular communities of female characters and which is predominantly aimed at female audiences. The purpose of this text-based analysis of the female ensemble drama is to engage with a central concern of feminist television criticism, that of the gendered identity of this particular media form and the constructions of gender within it given its association with women at these three sites of production, text and audience. While I provide a historical overview of the development of this form of drama in relation to its textual precedents I isolate a particular moment in the history of this form of drama, that of the late 1990s, for closer analysis. Firstly I isolate the late 1990s to provide knowledge and understanding of the way in which the 'feminine' identity of this form of drama has contributed to its academic neglect within this socio-cultural period. Secondly I provide a close textual analysis of the constructions of 'women' within three female ensemble dramas in order to engage with and explore the textual negotiations they embody surrounding discourses of feminism and post feminism, de- and re-traditionalization in this particular period. While these themes have begun to be addressed in feminist television criticism they have largely been explored in relation to constructions of femininity in American dramas. This analysis then, allows for an exploration of these discourses in relation to a regional form of British drama. It is through investigating the academic neglect of this form of drama; providing a historical, thematic and aesthetic overview of the female ensemble drama as well as a detailed analysis of three of the female ensemble dramas of the 1990s that I contribute knowledge and understanding of this particular regional form of 'feminine-gendered' fiction to the field of Feminist Television Studies.Item Community development in cyberspace: a case study of a community network(Queen Margaret University, 2001) Malina, AnnaThis thesis investigates the background, emergence, use and significance of a community based information network, the Craigmillar Community Information Service (CCIS), in Edinburgh, Scotland, to assess its relationship with community development and note also the local network's relationship over time with the community, the city and society. Desk research, i.e. reviews of literature and examination of various documents combined with information gained in the field helped to weave contextual, conceptual and theoretical frameworks to assist in analysis. Data was gathered in the field by means of qualitative interviews with City of Edinburgh (CEC) officials, system developers and CCIS users. Additional data was collected and checks were subsequently made as a result of routine observations of CCIS operating within their base in Craigmillar; and also via virtual observations of on-line structure and content over time. Local media reports and an assessment of regeneration delivery services in Craigmillar, commissioned by CEC also provided insights in the analysis. The main objective was to collect data that would accurately reflect the true nature and significance of the CCIS system. A qualitative methodology was employed in this study. Desk research began in mid 1995, and on-line and real-time observations in 1996. Interviews were carried out in the field during 1997 and early 1998. In the final chapter of this thesis, conclusions emerging from analysis of the data are offered as a means of developing deeper understanding of CCIS and community development in cyberspace. Overall, it is hoped to extend general knowledge of community networks, and broaden understanding of the developing field of social informatics. In light of conclusions drawn, theoretical frameworks are reviewed in the final chapter and potential is outlined for further research into the evolving roles of community-based initiatives situated elsewhere, their socio-technical relations and their significance in different societal settings.Item Motivation and method in Scots translations, versions and adaptations of plays from the historic repertoire of continental European drama.(Queen Margaret University, 2000) Findlay, WilliamThis study adopts a twin approach to investigation of writers' motivation and method in translating, versionizing, and/or adapting into Scots plays from the historic repertoire of Continental European drama. First, it considers, through historical/critical research, the work ok, and statements by or about, selected writers representative by period of the development of a modern tradition in translating such plays for the Scottish stage from the 1940s through the 1990s. Second, it presents, through practice-as-research, self-reflective commentaries on two playscripts prepared as part of this study in order to allow self-recording and self-analysis of the process from the perspective of motivation and method. The playscripts are a version of Gerhart Hauptmann's Die Weber (The Weavers), and a co-translation of Carlo Goldoni's Le Baruffe Chiozzote (The Chioggian Squabbles; or, in this translation, The Chioggian Rammies).Item Media Personality and Fan Community: A Study in Modern Communication and Culture(Queen Margaret University, 2000) Roberts, CatherineThis study examines the relations between the media personalities and their audiences. Its broad interest is with the implications for contemporary social experience of the fact that modern communication and culture involve mediated interaction. Its focus is on broadcasting's use of personality presenters to interact with viewers and listeners and on audiences' experiences of this. This thesis explains that broadcasting has developed a personality system to relate to audiences and discusses the characteristics of this system. It considers the importance of genre in determining the type of presenter used and the significance of their personality. It is argued that an awareness of the construction of personae has undermined broadcasting's traditional personality system where sincerity is crucial. The fact that nowadays professional personalities operate as commodities in a competitive marketplace is highlighted and the role played by management companies in their careers is explored. This research project provides a case study of the media personality Phillip Schofield. His role as a presenter and his place within popular culture are elaborated. His persona is examined in detail and shown to be consistent with the discourses of broadcasting's personality system. This study proceeds to investigate the consumption of the personality system. It reviews the existing literature on para-social interaction and the mediated relationships of intimacy at a distance that develop between persenters and their audiences. It contributes to this knowledge by presenting the findings from qualitative research into viewers' relationships with a media personality. This empirical study involved conducting in-depth interviews with four of Phillip Schofield's fans and spending time with the fan community these interviewees belong to. The formation of this group is outlined and the fact that sociability is an important aspect of fandom is stressed. Concentrating on the subjects' responses to Schofield, this research demonstrates that one form of fandom is rooted in the intensive cultivation of a para-social relationship.Item Female 'Self Culture' in Edinburgh: The Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society.(Queen Margaret University, 2002) Kelman, K A.The Ladies's Edinburgh Debating Society met on the first Saturday of each month between 1865-1936 to discuss the books they were reading and to debate prearranged issues. For the first fifteen years its members produced a magazine which carried fictive and general interest articles. This thesis will study the archive of the Society and the magazine that it produced to arrive at an understanding of the women's reading practices, their intellectual lives and their attitudes to the society in which they lived and how these experiences impacted upon them. At a time when women's societal role was limited and access to education was based on wealth or the philanthropy of others, these women were able (through their privileged place in the middle and upper classes) to construct their own canon of improving reading and to set guidelines for the education of others. Working against the hegemonic discourse of the time, yet seeking to exert some controlling influence over others, the women's attempts at self culture throw into rellief the context of their cultural experiences and the correlation between self improvement and women's emancipation. This thesis argues that prevailing ideas about Victorian women's existence in 'separate spheres' needs to be revised. It argues that the members of The Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society make a move from the private to the public sphere through their utilisation of culture. Moreover, they are able to blend this notion of spheres to make society their concern through collective and individual action; improving themselves and the community in which they lived.Item The Fall and Rise of the Anicom: the Sitcom Genre in U.S. TV Animation (1960–2003)(Queen Margaret University, 2004) Dobson, Nichola M.The thesis examines the animated sitcom, from 1960 until present, and attempts to locate its development within the genre of situation comedy. Television animation has long been regarded among film, television and animation theorists as a 'lower cultural form' than its theatrical, or 'live action' counterparts. This thesis seeks to establish a pattern of generic development, in a form which has been critically and theoretically neglected over that time. A lack of a consistent definition within critics and theorists has subsequently led to a lack of a coherent canon of theory. It is for this reason that animation is approached from several areas including film theory and cultural studies. Through original empirical research, the thesis examines the animated series in terms of its generic status, and contributes to the debates surrounding definitions of animation and the question of genre in animation. The thesis charts the development of the series, and presents the term 'anicom' to convey the unique nature of the form, its contribution to the sitcom genre and the larger form of animation as a whole.Item East Meets West: The Perception of Japanese and Chinese Theatres in the Context of Edinburgh International Festival Programming Policy(Queen Margaret University, 2007) Hsieh, Chia-cheEast Meets West: The Perception of Japanese and Chinese Theatres in the Context of Edinburgh International Festival Programming Policy aims to explore the issues around intercultural translation and whether or not intercultural theatre can even truly represent non-domestic texts without distortion. In order to explore this in detail, this thesis uses as its research target an in-depth analysis of two productions produced at Edinburgh International Festival (EIF). Edinburgh International Festival was chosen as an appropriate cultural platform for this discussion due to its international recognition. In order to reveal the Eurocentric-oriented ideology within the Festival's policy and discuss the implications of this Eurocentric ideology for possibilities of intercultural translation, the thesis will explore the changes in programming policy by different EIF Festival Directors since 1947. Edward Said's 'Orientalism' is used as major reference regarding the Eurocentric ideology, and the concept of Western interculturalism. Several occidental and semi-western views are explored with relation to Broadway production on oriental themes in order to further explore Said's idea of Orientalism. The thesis shows how this idea is present in the EIF's context, based on an in-depth analysis of two intercultural productions of 'Macbeth': Ninagawa and Kunju. The aim is to show how these two productions represent a Western audience's voice. Since the question of identification is one of the major concerns in intercultural theatre practice, the thesis discusses the issues of identity and analyses potential for indigenous Asian theatre forms to engage in intercultural exchange in a way that would be built on equality rather than changing those forms to suit Western audiences' understanding. Accordingly, two intercultural productions of Ninagawa and Kunju 'Macbeth', which were presented on EIF's stage in 1985 and 1987 respectively, and their performance texts will be analysed in terms of the implication of EIF's programming policy on Japan's and China's theatre works presented at the Festival. The resulting research outcomes indicate that equal exchange and authentic representation between different cultures may be impossible.Item Dramatic Techniques in Performing Aeschylus' Agamemnon: The Oresteia at the Royal National Theatre(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2005) Burke, A. C.This thesis explores the theoretical and dramaturgical challenges faced by modern productions of the Oresteia with particular reference to two modern Royal National Theatre productions: Sir Peter Hall's (1981) and Katie Mitchell's (1999). It argues that to appreciate these challenges requires a detailed knowledge of the theatricality of the original text. In support of this position, this thesis contains a detailed analysis of Aeschylus' Agamemnon exploring how the playwright creates the play's world in text and performance. The discussion's focus concentrates on how theatrical space (seen, implied, and diegetic) constructs the world of the play. Concomitant in this discussion is an analysis of how Aeschylus invites the audience to decode the play's theatricality through its knowledge of epic literature and its own non-theatrical spatial environments and practices. To facilitate this understanding, the text and performance are explored with reference to political, domestic and ritual space. In considering these productions, the assumption of theatre reviews that productions can be described as adhering to either modernising or archeologically inspired staging practices is challenged. It is argued that modern productions should be analysed with reference to directorial, translator, and actor intentions. Through a methodology based on interviewing theatre practitioners, the productions of Hall and Mitchell are seen to be irreducibly modern, yet still maintain a relationship with Aeschylus. Hall's use of ancient staging conventions is seen to be a modern interpretation of the theatrical past, which aimed at communicating the foreignness of Aeschylus. In contract, Mitchell's use of modern staging techniques made the Oresteia familiar to a modern audience, but, by suggesting political, domestic, and ritual equivalents, still articulated with the ancient performance.