Appleseed and the Evolution of Military Affairs

In the traditions of science fiction anime the film Appleseed (Aramaki, 2004) is a statement about the power of technology, its positive influences, and the consequences of its potential abuse. These ideas span from... [ READ MORE ]

Blade Runner and the Asian Aesthetic

While the mise-en-scène of a film provides a vehicle for visual appreciation, and putting the film into context regards genre, chronological placement and suggesting a given environmental condition, this only provides... [ READ MORE ]

Control Room, Al Jazeera, and the Public Sphere

Investigating Noujaim’s Control Room will demonstrate how this documentary promotes the role of the Al Jazeera network as a means of providing an Arabic public sphere. By its display of differing world views pertinent... [ READ MORE ]

Frankenstein and the Depths and Complexities of Fear

In examining some of the conventions that, particularly of its day, and of its genre into the twenty-first century, this essay will provide an increased understanding of what makes a horror film what it is, giving it more substance... [ READ MORE ]

Melville, Le Samouraï and Tradecraft

While Le Samouraï (Melville, 1967) presents numerous examples of tradecraft this essay will expose a selection to demonstrate how male professionalism is represented in Jean-Pierre Melville’s works. The title... [ READ MORE ]

Maus - a Survivor's Tale: Representation of a Holocaust

The Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus : A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman will serve as a basis for exploring representation and stereotyping in a modern text, focusing on the historical context of the Jewish... [ READ MORE ]

Narratology and The Zone: The World of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

This essay will serve to outline and investigate the evolution of the First Person Shooter (hereafter FPS) using S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl (hereafter SSoC) from Ukraine based GSC Game World by gauging... [ READ MORE ]

The Music, The Politics, and the Pacification of Shihad

Deeming the central role music plays in popular culture, and the impact of politics upon the music industry it is worthwhile investigating how these two topics converge. To do so I will focus on the career of... [ READ MORE ]

Realist Indonesia

In investigating the history of East Timor we will discover how this territory is central to the paradigm of realism in relation to Indonesia. Issues of power and control are the hallmarks of realism and are made practical... [ READ MORE ]

Saving Private Ryan and the Realities of Modern Warfare

While realism tends to be considered more often in terms of art cinema, delving in the day to day, it can also be found elsewhere. War, a sub genre of action adventure cinema, has become more concerned with realism... [ READ MORE ]

Ultravox

I’ve been asked to talk about the band Ultravox. Since this is a paper on the Social History of Popular Music I thought I’d look at things from that perspective, in view of the generation, the feelings of the time, rather than... [ READ MORE ]

Terminator 2, Aliens, and the Progression of Women in Action

Using Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Cameron, 1991) (hereafter “T2”) and Aliens (Cameron, 1986), the extent to which progressive representation of women has been shown in contemporary Hollywood cinema will be... [ READ MORE ]