http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/american-cinema 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 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:57:15 -0400 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:57:15 -0400 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/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/1130/an-examination-of-native-americans-in-film-and-rise-of-native-filmmakers By Julia Boyd - This paper explored the role of Native Americans in the Hollywood film industry and their actions to establish authentic representations of their population and culture in the media. Using academic literature, film analyses, and contemporary film reviews and articles, the author created a synthesis of the history of Native Americans in film. The author concluded that by becoming producers, directors, and writers of their own stories, American Indians have regained control of their images and been able to combat stereotypes and the exclusion of Native Americans in the creative process. Positive... Sat, 30 May 2015 11:59 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1130/an-examination-of-native-americans-in-film-and-rise-of-native-filmmakers http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1011/living-with-evil-crime-and-sexuality-in-bonnie-and-clyde-and-chinatown By Joel S. Kempson - Through the late 1960s the French New Wave became a pronounced and significant factor in the creation and development of Hollywood films. Such movements had gained popularity through an ability to engage with a younger audience by means of a more youthful focus, by taking advantage of a counterculture brought about by the disillusionment with hierarchy exemplified by protests against the Vietnam War, political assassinations, experimentation with drugs, gay liberation and a rise in sexual freedom. Partly in an attempt to take advantage of this, but also encouraged by favourable taxation on filmmaking... Sat, 14 Mar 2015 04:03 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1011/living-with-evil-crime-and-sexuality-in-bonnie-and-clyde-and-chinatown http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/209/the-breakdown-of-censorship-in-american-cinema By William K. Boland - In America, the years from 1946 to 1962, labeled the “post classical era” of cinema, were years in a state of transition. American culture was simply unstoppable and alive, constantly changing and growing toward a more open society. However, though there was a shift in American values toward openness in addressing sexuality and violence as well as other societal issues, it was in direct conflict with the conservative government currently in power. This conflict of ideals resulted in a caustic, explosive period of heightened awareness of violence, sexuality, social problems, and individuality... Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:50 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/209/the-breakdown-of-censorship-in-american-cinema