http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/topic/54/film-and-media Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Mon, 18 May 2026 18:54:52 -0400 Mon, 18 May 2026 18:54:52 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1959/occupation-and-the-road-not-traveled-in-habibi-rasak-kharban-2011 By Alya Osman - In adapting the twelfth-century story Layla and Majnun, Susan Youssef’s 2011 film Habibi Rasak Kharban re-imagines the Arabic folk tale in the context of Israeli occupation of Palestine, wherein the significance of journeys arises primarily from those not taken. Placing Youssef's film in conversation with Nizami's original poem (composed in 1118), this article examines Youssef's representation of literal and figurative journeys, focusing on the role of nature, mobility, stigma,notions of displacement and encounters with the ‘Other,’ and. Subsequently, I argue... Mon, 19 Sep 2022 02:51 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1959/occupation-and-the-road-not-traveled-in-habibi-rasak-kharban-2011 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1957/how-media-influences-the-use-of-violence-in-protests-an-analysis-of-the-black-lives-matter-and-#stopthesteal-movements By Clay B. York - Two of the most prevalent protest movements in recent history were the Black Lives Matter and the #StopTheSteal movements. While there are many differences between the two, one of the most prevalent is their use of violence. Whereas the BLM movement remained largely peaceful, the StS movement did not. Despite previous research indicating that several factors such as communal identities, state repression, and viewing nonviolent methods as ineffective cause protests to turn violent, the research conducted in this paper found that one other factor was more important than those discussed by previous... Tue, 07 Jun 2022 08:52 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1957/how-media-influences-the-use-of-violence-in-protests-an-analysis-of-the-black-lives-matter-and-#stopthesteal-movements http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1951/biased-narratives-in-the-media-coverage-of-fatal-shootings-during-black-lives-matter-demonstrations By Halie A. Hoffman - During the summer of 2020, two fatal shootings occurred following Black Lives Matter protests. The first event involved Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the second Michael Reinoehl in Portland, Oregon. Two shootings, each committed by members of opposing political ideologies and opposite their victims, present an opportunity to check for ideological bias in the news by comparing CNN and Fox coverage, sources who lean opposite on media bias scales, in the immediate aftermath of fatal shootings. Results suggest that CNN relied more heavily on episodic framing of the Portland event, thereby... Fri, 15 Apr 2022 02:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1951/biased-narratives-in-the-media-coverage-of-fatal-shootings-during-black-lives-matter-demonstrations http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1938/gothic-romance-in-the-haunting-of-bly-manor-the-modern-transformation-of-the-victorian-gothic By Lotte De Boer - This article explores the expression of the Gothic romance genre in the 21st century, by examining Mike Flannagan’s The Haunting of Bly Manor. Very little literature focuses on contemporary expressions of this genre. The Gothic reflects the social, cultural, and political anxieties of society, and these naturally differ between works depending on the time they were written. Due to emancipation, the conventional central problem of the Gothic Romance – love as the main obstacle – is no longer feasible in our contemporary society. Furthermore, many of the repressed themes often... Fri, 11 Feb 2022 09:20 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1938/gothic-romance-in-the-haunting-of-bly-manor-the-modern-transformation-of-the-victorian-gothic http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1885/the-modern-american-family-in-amcs-the-walking-dead By Kasandra J. DiSessa - AMC's The Walking Dead (TWD) has maintained a dedicated viewership since its premiere in 2010 and serves as a well-known example of zombie media in today’s culture. The zombie genre has long been recognized for its subversive potential, but is often critiqued for failing to subvert certain institutions, such as the heterosexual, nuclear family. TWD has been critiqued in previous scholarship for sharing this failure. However, analysis of more recent seasons of TWD shows that the show has steadily increased its representation of different family types, and this increase of non-heterosexual... Wed, 10 Mar 2021 08:13 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1885/the-modern-american-family-in-amcs-the-walking-dead http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1883/the-fleeting-nature-of-techno-horror-kairos-failure-to-appeal-to-gen-z By Wooju Chong - Techno-horror is a sub-genre of horror defined by the use of science or technology as the source of horror, and often, this genre is used to critique modern technology. However, due to the intertwined nature between techno-horror and contemporary technology, when that technology becomes obsolete, so does the horror presented in the film. In this paper, first, I will separate the relative concepts of “horrifying,” where a film’s horror exists solely in the world of the narrative, and “terrifying,” where a film’s horror can extend beyond the film and into the... Wed, 03 Mar 2021 04:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1883/the-fleeting-nature-of-techno-horror-kairos-failure-to-appeal-to-gen-z http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1879/sensationalism-of-trauma-in-american-film-and-literature By Clare M. Nee - The Virgin Suicides written by Jeffrey Eugenides, as well as Sofia Coppola’s film adaptation, utilize the literary and cinematic tropes of suicide to explore female suicides as romantic notions and assertions of agency within the teenage world of five sisters. In a world in which suicide and mental illness are rapidly on the rise, one might ask: is it ethical to use suicide merely as a plot device to explore a narrative other than its own? The novel and film adaptation use suicide as a vehicle to exploit and sexualize the adolescent female body through a voyeuristic, collective male narrative... Fri, 19 Feb 2021 11:43 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1879/sensationalism-of-trauma-in-american-film-and-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1877/inglorious-basterds-a-satirical-criticism-of-wwii-cinema-and-the-myth-of-the-american-war-hero By Nadine Hussein - This article explores the way in which Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds challenges the myth of the American hero and criticizes the glorification of war cinema by satirizing the viewer directly. The particular focus is on the subtly with which Tarantino creates a network of parallels and analogical relations which dissolve the distinction between hero and villain. This article also argues that Tarantino effectively manipulates the audience into confronting the self-aggrandization of the American collective memory of WWII and exposes the ease at which the viewer is propagandized. Tarantino... Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:53 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1877/inglorious-basterds-a-satirical-criticism-of-wwii-cinema-and-the-myth-of-the-american-war-hero http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1868/stereotypes-in-bollywood-cinema-does-article-15-reinforce-the-dalit-narrative By Khushi Gupta - The vacuum created by the absence of any response or resistance from the Dalit characters elaborate that the oppressed themselves cannot speak and thus are spoken for. Having denied Dalits their voice, the non- Dalits have become a self-appointed spokesperson of the Dalits throughout history. Such depiction in Bollywood have resulted in the misrepresentation and misappropriation of Dalits experiences. The continuous stereotypical representation as submissive, dark-skinned, shabby and under-confident individuals continue in the films. There is a repeated portrayal of men and women being outcasted... Tue, 26 Jan 2021 11:54 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1868/stereotypes-in-bollywood-cinema-does-article-15-reinforce-the-dalit-narrative http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1848/examining-the-complex-subjective-filmography-of-oliver-stone-a-comparison-and-critique-of-jfk-to-nixon-and-platoon-to-heaven-and-earth By Mang Lu - Oliver Stone's filmography has levied an unprecedented effect on the popular understanding of American history, especially of the turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His style has been described as highly subjective, fantastical, impassioned, insensitive, and unabashedly masculine. It is rather undisputed, however, that his features are not without cultural, racial, or religious shortsightedness. Stone's narrative style is particularly strong when working within a certain set of circumstances with respect to story and historical substance. Western, male... Tue, 08 Dec 2020 12:20 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1848/examining-the-complex-subjective-filmography-of-oliver-stone-a-comparison-and-critique-of-jfk-to-nixon-and-platoon-to-heaven-and-earth http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1842/the-illusion-of-empowerment-a-feminist-analysis-of-disneys-hercules By Kasandra J. DiSessa - Disney’s Hercules, which features both a strong male lead and a strong female lead, has the potential to appeal to, and therefore influence, a larger group of child viewers than the more gendered movies, such as the traditional Princess movies. Meg, the female lead, is often touted as a feminist character and praised for her independence from men. However, Meg still lacks agency and acts within the confines of traditional gender roles, thus reinforcing stereotypes about gender while seemingly subverting them. This essay includes a feminist media analysis of Hercules, focusing specifically... Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1842/the-illusion-of-empowerment-a-feminist-analysis-of-disneys-hercules http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1819/stage-as-moment-cinema-as-memory-the-diverging-aesthetics-of-two-mediums By Abigail Tulenko - This paper argues that film is a medium defined by its relationship to memory. Building upon aesthetician György Lukács's temporal theory of cinema, I contrast film's inherent relationship to memory with the “eternal present” of the stage. Audiences viewing a film have a continual awareness that what they watch on screen was filmed in the past and edited together retrospectively. Cinema replicates the selective encoding process of our memories on-screen when a director and editor piece together the shots and scenes that compose a completed film. Often there is a large amount... Tue, 20 Oct 2020 12:26 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1819/stage-as-moment-cinema-as-memory-the-diverging-aesthetics-of-two-mediums http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1814/recycled-tropes-and-the-persistence-of-islamophobia-in-american-films By Meagen Tajalle - In this essay, I provide a content analysis of commercially and critically successful films that perpetuate popularized Islamophobia, which is often masked as irreconcilable religious and cultural difference although it has in fact been consistently manufactured and weaponized throughout history in order to further Western empirical interests. Recycled tropes and stereotypes in cinematic depictions can be traced back to historical orientalism and political Islamophobia, both of which were instrumental in garnering support for the War on Terror. Specifically, I examine the racial, religious, and... Sat, 10 Oct 2020 08:43 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1814/recycled-tropes-and-the-persistence-of-islamophobia-in-american-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1812/redemption-and-reconciliation-in-oedipus-at-colonus-and-gran-torino-a-comparative-reading By Linda Gao - This paper presents a comparative analysis of Oedipus at Colonus, a play written by the ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles, and Gran Torino, an American film directed by Clint Eastwood. The two literary productions, although remote as they seem, contain significant parallels and similarities that reveal trans-temporal themes of human life. The paper first analyzes the shared arc of narrative: both stories depict the journey of alienated, polluted sinners moving away from isolation and sin; by attaining humbleness, re-establishing social relationships, and atoning externally for their past sins,... Thu, 08 Oct 2020 07:22 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1812/redemption-and-reconciliation-in-oedipus-at-colonus-and-gran-torino-a-comparative-reading http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1810/the-sanctity-and-disgust-of-the-female-body-in-rosemarys-baby By Leina Hsu - This paper explores the woman’s body as a site of sanctity and disgust in the film Rosemary’s Baby. The character of Rosemary Woodhouse is depicted as a pure, virtuous, and feminine figure. She is positioned against other corrupted, sinful women, which reinforces a binary of womanhood. When Rosemary is sexually violated, her sanctity is vandalized. Her subsequent pregnancy introduces a new dimension to the binary: that between sacred motherhood and “disgusting” pregnancy experiences. Rosemary struggles to reconcile her ideals of purity with the horrific transformation her... Mon, 05 Oct 2020 04:50 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1810/the-sanctity-and-disgust-of-the-female-body-in-rosemarys-baby http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1789/negotiating-the-concept-of-national-allegory-homosexuality-departure-and-homecoming-in-pedro-almodandoacute;vars-pain-and-glory-and-midi-zs-nina-wu By Qingyang Zhou - Often regarded as the glorious palace showcasing contemporary world cinema (“Press Conference”), the Cannes Film Festival epitomizes the roles of an accreditor, an archaeologist, and a political activist. It jumpstarts the careers of emerging auteurs from around the globe, casts light on obscure cinematic traditions, and engenders debates on controversial social issues in specific nations and regions. Encounters with the foreign constitute an integral part of the festival experience for the majority of the audience. As a result, filmmakers from less renowned national industries (i.... Sun, 06 Sep 2020 07:54 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1789/negotiating-the-concept-of-national-allegory-homosexuality-departure-and-homecoming-in-pedro-almodandoacute;vars-pain-and-glory-and-midi-zs-nina-wu http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1788/toxic-royalty-feminism-and-the-rhetoric-of-beauty-in-disney-princess-films By Stephanie X. Hu - At Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom, light cascades across the night sky before spiraling down through the stars. The castle that towers within the dark shines bright amongst the fireworks’ sparkling ceruleans and violets. Once the night show rises to a crescendo of color and song, the snaps of cameras coalesce with the symphony as spectators strive to capture the moment in time. Such a scene stands as a cherished childhood dream, cemented at the heart of the contemporary American identity. Since the birth of Walt Disney’s animation studio, countless children have become spellbound... Thu, 23 Jul 2020 02:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1788/toxic-royalty-feminism-and-the-rhetoric-of-beauty-in-disney-princess-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1782/gender-dynamics-in-the-sheik-as-novel-and-as-film-adaptation By Sophie Hammond - The 1921 Hollywood film The Sheik tells the story of Lady Diana Mayo, a spirited English peeress who, on a trip to the French Sahara, is kidnapped by and eventually falls in love with the Arab sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. The film made Rudolph Valentino an international heartthrob, showered Paramount Pictures in money, and nearly singlehandedly founded the genre of “oriental romance” Hollywood films. The film’s power over the public imagination relied on American fantasies of the Orient as a place of billowing sands, luxurious silks, and heated, primal romance (Teo 110). But The Sheik... Fri, 28 Feb 2020 08:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1782/gender-dynamics-in-the-sheik-as-novel-and-as-film-adaptation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1771/hyperreality-and-the-consumption-of-the-subject-as-object-in-black-mirror By Megan Kirkwood - Jean Baudrillard’s essay ‘The Precession of Simulacra’ from Simulacra and Simulation (1981) is a key postmodern text to understanding the contemporary technological Western world. ‘The Precession of Simulacra’ explores Baudrillard’s central concepts of simulacra, simulation and hyperreality. Baudrillard argues that we now live in a world of signs, that ‘just about everything is a matter of signification, […] obviously connected with an explosive growth in media, but related also to changes in the conduct of everyday life’.[1] In ‘The... Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:45 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1771/hyperreality-and-the-consumption-of-the-subject-as-object-in-black-mirror http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1701/the-feminine-threat-reconsidering-the-damsel-in-distress-in-early-disney-films By Hugo Ljungback - “Disney perpetuated a male myth through his fairy-tale films,” argues Jack Zipes (1995, p. 37). He writes that Walt Disney framed “women’s lives through a male discourse” in his films (p. 36), and that he reinforced “nineteenth-century patriarchal notions” and “benevolent attitudes toward women” (p. 37). This paper looks at Walt Disney Pictures films released in the 30-year period between 1937 and 1967, from the company’s first feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to The Jungle Book, the last film Walt Disney himself... Mon, 06 Nov 2017 09:52 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1701/the-feminine-threat-reconsidering-the-damsel-in-distress-in-early-disney-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1489/isis-and-the-global-image-war-an-archival-perspective-on-iconoclastic-performance-and-bio-political-authority By Christian Rossipal - The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – also known as ISIL, IS and Daesh – has during the last years disseminated videos throughout the Internet in a new recruitment and media strategy focusing on the destruction of cultural heritage. This phenomenon will be used as a point of departure to reflect on the related global image war and the accompanying dissemination of moving images through multimedia archives and pseudo-archives on the Internet. Drawing mainly from Pasi Väliaho – but also Wolfgang Ernst, Ömür Harmanșah and Charles Merewether &ndash... Wed, 02 Nov 2016 10:36 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1489/isis-and-the-global-image-war-an-archival-perspective-on-iconoclastic-performance-and-bio-political-authority http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1468/new-media-adaptations-of-classic-literature-from-pride-and-prejudice-to-the-lizzie-bennet-diaries By Noelle M. Kozak - Pride and Prejudice, the work of nineteenth century novelist Jane Austen, has been celebrated for over two-hundred years since its first publication. It has been adapted, reinvented and re-imagined over and over again to the delight of both loyal readers and interested newcomers. One such adaptation is the new media sensation, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Developed as a web show, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries successfully honors important themes found in Pride and Prejudice, namely its strong female characters, to tell a story that remains true to Austen's roots while engaging a new generation of viewers... Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1468/new-media-adaptations-of-classic-literature-from-pride-and-prejudice-to-the-lizzie-bennet-diaries http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1461/interpreting-political-unrest-in-hong-kong-through-the-midnight-after-2014 By Justin Wong Jun-sheng - Hong Kong is standing at a crucial social and political juncture in its history. A former British colony, it has retained its unique legal system, electoral system, and political democracy. These systems have worked together to create a society in which residents are entitled to their rights with a strong and equal rule of law that governs the society. The 1st of July 1997 marked the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC (HKSAR). Many fear that as time progresses, the PRC... Mon, 17 Oct 2016 08:43 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1461/interpreting-political-unrest-in-hong-kong-through-the-midnight-after-2014 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1443/the-colonial-subject-seeing-the-unseen-and-the-construction-of-subjectivity-in-apocalypse-now-and-la-noire-de By Eric N. Hahn - The complex and multifaceted nature of cinema is further complicated by the unmistakable tension between the quasi-objective potential inherent in the medium—the camera merely operating as an observer—versus the unrestricted camera which functions as a metaphysical transport to the psychological and even physical experience of a distinct body. Upon close examination, it can be said that both of these modes of address are unique to cinema and arguing for the significance of one over the other is a fool’s errand. As such, this paper does not address this arguably problematic dichotomy... Fri, 09 Sep 2016 09:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1443/the-colonial-subject-seeing-the-unseen-and-the-construction-of-subjectivity-in-apocalypse-now-and-la-noire-de http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1442/a-contemporary-analysis-of-action-films-with-female-leads By Myranda A. Dapolito - A doorbell rings. Off screen, we hear a sing-songy “Coming!” A woman dressed in a cerulean track suit rushes to the door, expecting to find her daughter home from school. Instead, she finds another woman, blonde and leather jacket-clad. With one startling punch, the blonde woman simultaneously initiates a fight and inserts herself into the home. The two women proceed to destroy the living room of the house: shoving each other into framed pictures, propelling into tables, throwing shelves of painted china, becoming more and more bloodied by the second. The fight reaches a standstill... Wed, 07 Sep 2016 08:26 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1442/a-contemporary-analysis-of-action-films-with-female-leads http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1423/the-danish-girl-2015-and-the-deconstruction-of-gender-identity By Annalena Lorenz - Before, however, Lili’s “ailment” was merely referred to as insanity, schizophrenia, homosexuality or indeed perversion, a condition which needed to be cured by imposing the most extreme measures, such as radiotherapy. The pathologization persists, albeit under a different name (Gender Identity Disorder) and with less immoral remedies being prescribed. In other words, gender identity still is, and is likely to remain for yet some time to come, a prevailing issue in today’s discourse, while scholars and activists alike persist in their endeavour to change society’s... Tue, 14 Jun 2016 11:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1423/the-danish-girl-2015-and-the-deconstruction-of-gender-identity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1471/motives-for-engaging-with-the-kardashian-reality-television-family By Kayla Hammer - Reality television has been around for more than a half-century, dating back to the hidden cameras in Candid Camera in 1948. Today, one of the most popular reality television shows is Keeping Up with the Kardashians, an inside look at a celebrity family based in Los Angeles. This study explored why college-aged women feel a personal connection to the show and why they've been following the family for nearly a decade. Based on six interviews conducted with interested viewers, the study found that these women watch the series to escape reality, participate in surveillance, and feel personal connectedness... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1471/motives-for-engaging-with-the-kardashian-reality-television-family http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1474/exaggerations-and-stereotypes-of-schizophrenia-in-contemporary-films By Nikita DeMare - Due to filmmakers focusing on violence, traumatic events, and hallucinations when depicting characters with schizophrenia, critics have scrutinized the representation of mental disorders in contemporary films for years. This study compared previous research on schizophrenia with the fictional representation of the disease in contemporary films. Through content analysis, this study examined 10 films featuring a schizophrenic protagonist, tallying moments of violence and charting if they fell into four common stereotypes. Results showed a high frequency of violent behavior in films depicting schizophrenic... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1474/exaggerations-and-stereotypes-of-schizophrenia-in-contemporary-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1476/examining-preadolescent-television-programming-and-the-rise-of-generation-me By Johanna Rosen - The results showed that the top five values in the most popular preadolescent shows from 2007 were fame, achievement, popularity, image, and financial success. In contrast, the top five values in 1997 were community feeling, benevolence, image, tradition, and self-acceptance (Uhls & Greenfield, 2011a). The value of fame rose from the 15th spot in 1997, to the first spot by 2007, while the importance of valuing community feeling and benevolence dropped to the bottom of the list by 2007 (Uhls & Greenfield, 2011a). Greenfield expresses his concern with these results: "When being famous and... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1476/examining-preadolescent-television-programming-and-the-rise-of-generation-me http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1478/a-content-analysis-of-celebrity-instagram-posts-and-parasocial-interaction By Janabeth Ward - Instagram allows users to share a snapshot of their lives with a mass audience in a matter of seconds. This capability and power has not gone unnoticed by celebrities, who are highly aware of the impact their social media accounts have on fans and the relationships they create. The purpose of this study is to find fan engagement and the parasocial phenomenon in celebrities' Instagram activity. It analyzed 50 Instagram posts of three female singers—Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, and Ariana Grande—to find which categories of posts engage fans. It also investigated the parasocial phenomenon... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1478/a-content-analysis-of-celebrity-instagram-posts-and-parasocial-interaction