Browsing by Subject "Film"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Men on the margin: onscreen outsiders and American masculinity
    (2015) Phillips, Andrew John; Rijsdijk, Ian; Marx, Lesley
    The central purpose of this thesis is to examine ideas of solitude and alienation as they relate to the masculine identity of men - particularly American men as represented in Hollywood films. The subjects include several outsider characters from history and fiction, which are divided into two primary categories: those men who have rejected society and sought solitude for themselves, especially in nature; and those who have been rejected by society, who find themselves on the relative margins of the patriarchal society they expected to embrace them. There is one question at the core of this exploration: If masculine identity is socially determined in accordance with strict normative values, what then of the outsider, who has ostensibly rejected, or been rejected by, society and is in many ways no longer subject to its rules? After a general introduction to psychological and philosophical notions of solitude and alienation, I use the first chapter to develop a theoretical framework for discussing hegemonic American masculinity, which is potently represented on screen by the Hollywood film industry to both reflect and inform the society that funds it.
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    Paramedics, poetry, and film: health policy and systems research at the intersection of theory, art, and practice
    (2019-08-07) Brady, Leanne; De Vries, Shaheem; Gallow, Rushaana; George, Asha; Gilson, Lucy; Louw, Moira; Martin, Abdul W; Shamis, Khalid; Stuart, Toni
    Abstract Violence is a public health issue. It is the consequence of a complex set of interacting political, social, and economic factors firmly rooted in past and current injustice. South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, and in some areas, the rates of violence are comparable to a country that is at war. Increasingly, paramedics working in high-risk areas of Cape Town are being caught in the crossfire, and in 2018, there was an attack on a paramedic crew nearly every week. These attacks are a symptom of much deeper, complex societal issues. Clearly, we require new approaches to better understand the complexity as we collectively find a way forward. It is in this context that we are collaborating with paramedics, poets, and filmmakers to tell human stories from the frontline thereby bringing the lived experiences of healthcare workers into policy making processes. In this commentary, we share a series of poems and a poetry-film that form part of a larger body of work focused on the safety of paramedics, to catalyze discussion about the possibilities that arts-based methods offer us as we seek to better understand and engage with complex social issues that have a direct impact on the health system.
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    Playing catch up: a critical examination of filmmaking and the film sector in Zambia
    (2025) Mambwe, Elastus; Modisane, Litheko
    This study examined the development and the state of filmmaking in Zambia from 1964 to 2021. Using the Political Economy of Film as the theoretical lens, the study sheds light on the ways that filmmaking has evolved during three key dispensations in Zambian political economic history, namely, the (United National Independence Party) UNIP years (1964 –1991), the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) years (1991 – 2011), and the Patriotic Front (PF) years (2011 – 2021). This was done with the assumption that a country's political and economic positionality can significantly affect the development of its film sector because it establishes the context in which filmmaking, a cultural, economic and meaning-making activity, occurs (Wasko, 2003; McQuail & Deuze, 2020). The study also sought to understand why Zambia did not develop a recognisable film sector in Africa despite having had a long history with filmmaking that dates to its colonial past. The examination was done in two layers, the first of which analysed film sector or industry-related elements as they have been experienced in post-colonial Zambia, while the second layer comprised a reading of selected Zambian film texts in the three epochs. The study appropriated the Small Nation Cinema approach (Hjort and Petrie, 2007) as an analytical frame, assuming that it could be used to examine the cinema of countries at the margins of film scholarship and the global film industry order. The qualitative study employed various data collection methods, including key informant (in-depth) interviews, observation and the analysis of selected Zambian productions. The study's findings show that the prevailing socio-political and economic conditions have influenced the context of film production in postcolonial Zambia. These conditions have determined the resources available for production and distribution and have influenced the state's overall approach to film in the different epochs. Further, filmmaking and the emerging screen industries continue to be plagued by old and new challenges, including the lack of funding or film financing, limited education and skills training in various aspects of film, little or no access to distribution channels, and an absence of government policy and support, necessary to develop filmmaking. The study also shows how television remains crucial to the development of screen production in the country but also highlights how this does not always serve the film industry well. Another key finding is that digitalisation, exemplified by the migration to digital broadcasting and the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms, is driving new optimism and opportunities in Zambian screen production. Lastly, a critical examination of selected film texts across the epochs reveals how didacticism and social value storytelling characterise many Zambian films. However, the study notes that this tendency is beginning to change as filmmakers embrace more narrative styles and aesthetic influences in recent years. Overall, the study highlights Zambian filmmaking and positions it as an activity of historical, cultural and, more recently, economic significance. It offers clear examples of filmic texts, textual practices, filmmakers, and information essential to appreciating Zambian filmmaking. By situating Zambia as a small cinema nation, the study expounds on how this ‘smallness' has affected the development of filmmaking in the country. The study also contributes to emerging national discourses on the development of the creative industries or the creative economy.
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    The viewer as conscript: dynamic struggles for ideological supremacy in the South African Border War film, 1971-1988
    (2003) Craig, Dylan; Bickford-Smith, Vivian
    Fourteen South African films made between 1971 and 1988, and dealing with the Border War, are examined. The focus ofthis examination is on the ways in which films were used to persuade the white public to accept the legitimacy of the Border War. The period under examination is one during which the Apartheid government moved South African society ever closer to what has been termed a 'garrison state'. Rather than following the approach indicated by the notion of 'film as history', the current work attempts to use films as sources of data to explicate the nature of the ideological manipulation at stake in each case. The literature reviewed clarifies the socio-political context around both the Border War and South African Border War film, and justifies the use of these films as sources of data for a historical analysis. A close analysis of the films reveals the appearance, growth in prominence, and disappearance of several critical themes in Border War films during each of the war's main phases (1971-5; 1975-80; 1980-8). Moreover, what is clear from the analysis is the relationship between each film's thematic composition and particular developments in the Border War and/or the South African government's strategies for fighting it, at the time. By subjecting the critical themes identified and the changes in these to further theoretical refinement, three analytic categories are suggested: changes in the structures of power, social transformation, and the government's shifting ideological agenda. These categories allow the dissertation to be concluded with an evaluation of the thesis that locally made films between 1971 and 1988 portray dynamic struggles for control over the ideology that sanctioned the legitimacy of the Border War.