The HOAX is an examination of abusive power and lack of regulation in the homeowners' association industry; a business and quasi-government system whose key selling point is the protection of property values. The documentary follows an investigative reporter, homeowners, and HOA reform activists as they illustrate shocking evidence of financial and psychological hardships throughout Texas and Nevada. A few of these people, including the filmmaker, are the subject of adverse actions from various players in this quasi-governmental system.

This documentary film follows the group NoiseFold as they rehearse and perform their unique style of interactive video art before an enthusiastic audience. Originally hailing from the vibrant art community in Santa Fe, New Mexico, founders David Stout and Cory Metcalf return home to prepare for a special performance along with the addition of collaborator and cellist, Frances-Marie Uitti. Shot in black and white, the film aesthetically borrows from early cinema and incorporates a blend of cinéma-vérité and direct cinema styles for the purposes of creating a film that is both visually and sonically rich.

Classless: On Being Middle Class in America is a documentary film that explores what it means to be middle class in America. The film combines personal narrative, folksy reporting, and comedy as the film's director— Joe Brown, tries to reconcile his own status anxiety with everyday understandings of social class. Classless takes the form of a journey; the film travels through the American South, Northeast, and the Mountain West while trying to get at the heart of our middle class American Dream. Classless forwards three main arguments: (1) the American middle class is not as all-encompassing as seems; (2) Americans are more concerned about inequality than both politicians and the media suggest; and (3) many Americans are not actually middle class, economically speaking.

This thesis explores how pirate cultures and “informal” distribution circuits operate on the ground level and integrate global media texts (mainly Hollywood films) into a small section of the local everyday society of Hanoi, Viet Nam. Situating the pirate stores and its components as active and central, this thesis will examine the physical flow of media through these store sites. In addition, by exploring the interactions between media texts, store owners and workers, customers, and the store’s design itself, this thesis will reveal how media piracy (as a form of distribution and “normal” access) influences and negotiates modernity, cultures, identities, and meanings in Hanoi and Viet Nam.

Sculptor Eric McGehearty incorporates dyslexia, a learning disability, into his artwork to express his challenges with his limited ability to recognize and understand the written word. The film Access Denied focuses on Eric and his disability. Recognized in 1896, dyslexia has been studied and researched by scientists and educators. New assistive technology is now available to aid dyslexics in reading and writing. Specialized schools provide techniques to improve student learning. However, some options are not readily available to the general public; therefore, information about how to deal with the disability is not easily accessed. The aims of this documentary are to raise awareness of available resources to assist with learning as well as to demonstrate a relationship between art and dyslexia.

This project explores the representation of white, American masculinity within the Hollywood bromantic comedy cycle. By analyzing three interrelated components (close homosociality, infantilization, and relationship to patriarchy) of the model of masculinity perpetuated by this cycle of films, this study reveals the hegemonic motives therein. Despite the representation of a masculinity nervously questioning its position within the romantic comedy narrative and the broader patriarchal structure, the results of this representation are, ultimately, regressive and reactionary. Cultural gains made concerning gender, sexuality, and race are doubled back upon in a cycle of films that appeal to regressive modes of misogyny, homophobia, and racism still present in Hollywood filmmaking, and the hegemony of white, patriarchal heteronormativity is rigorously maintained.

This thesis discusses the relatively new approach of art education, by paralleling it to Marxist ideology on art. The Dallas Arts District is one example of a city where museum art education is in conflict: being adopted more vigorously by some and with less acceptance by others. In order to provide a glimpse into the museum ideology of downtown Dallas, previous schools of thought regarding the role of curators and the introduction of educators into museums will be detailed, as well as conflicts between these two factions. The following questions will be addressed: Is museum art education truly a movement which strives to infuse the American culture with a greater appreciation of art? Is there a link to overcoming Marx's key issue of class? How is the movement affecting the Dallas Arts District and to what extent is museum art education being utilized within this forum? Is the emphasis toward museum art education greater in Dallas than in other large cities across the United States, and if so, how has that affected the cities' patrons?

Into the Canyons is a documentary short that provides an intimate portrait of two volunteer Wilderness Rangers working and living in Zion National Park in Utah for a summer. Sarah dreams of being a Park Ranger for the National Park Service, but must wait till she earns US citizenship. Working in an office, Allen wants a change in lifestyle. Together they explore the Wilderness and learn what it means to be a Park Ranger.

This study of radio news stations adds to the field of Twitter research into broadcasters' use of this social media microblogging platform; previous research has predominantly focused on television. This case study, based on a survey with numerous open-ended questions completed in face-to-face interviews, begins to fill in data on how Twitter is being used in major market radio station newsrooms. Limited in scope, this exploratory study used answers from seven members of two radio newsrooms in trying to find out if there were stated goals for tweets; if separate, unique content was being tweeted or was content tied to the stations' on-air product; how tweets seek to increase station listenership and/or increase station website traffic; what were the most frequently tweeted topics; what hyperlinks were included in tweets for internal or external web content; and were tweets personal and/or opinionated, or kept more professional with just factual material. From a strategic management theory standpoint, there is neither a stated plan nor goals sought with these newsrooms' use of Twitter. Unique tweet content includes sending out photos which add visuals to the pictureless world of radio news and live-tweeting of ongoing news events, while complementary content is promotional to push …

Living the vast majority of my life in an area that celebrates diversity but thrives because of illegal cross-border activities (undocumented workers, drug imports) at times the distance between the United States and Mexico is in fact as thin as the width of a fence. Though it is typical for a filmmaker to hope to present a unique take on a subject, given how I have seen the topics of immigration and the perspective of the purpose of homeland security portray, I am confident that there is an opportunity to show these issues in a more personal, less aggressive light with the use of first person accounts instead of a dependence on the most violent aspects of these topics. The main subject will give character to this agency by blurring the lines of his life as an agent and as a citizen.

The Best Medicine is an animated documentary that explores the true stories behind the live performances of stand-up comedians. The film juxtaposes live stand-up performances with candid interview footage combined with animation and illustration. Three subjects– Michael Burd, Casey Stoddard, and Jacob Kubon– discuss alcoholism, childhood abuse, and sexual anxiety, respectively. Their candid, intimate interviews reveal personal information, creating a new context with which to understand live stand-up comedy performance. This illustrates themes of finding humor in dark or painful circumstances and the cathartic nature writing and performance.

This case study evaluated Major League Baseball's (MLB) media product portfolio to identify how broadcast revenues have evolved over the past decade. This research looked back across baseball's long, dysfunctional history with broadcasters in order to recognize the significance of its ambitious use of online content. While MLB had failed to fully utilize the potential of broadcasting, the league's aggressive online strategy through its Advanced Media (MLBAM) division made it the industry leader in broadcasting live streaming sports video. MLBAM expanded its online streaming video to mobile phones and iPad, further expanding the distribution of its content. This research compared MLBAM revenue to traditional broadcast revenue while analyzing the online division's role in promoting the MLB brand. This case study concluded that while MLBAM had made a number of groundbreaking developments, the league could still improve its use of embedded, shared video clips, archived footage and international marketing in order to further extend the brand equity of the MLB, its thirty individual brands and its media product portfolio.