An Animated Screenplay Adaptation Based on John R. Erickson's Novel: The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog (open access)

An Animated Screenplay Adaptation Based on John R. Erickson's Novel: The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

Screenplay for animated feature film. Story and characters are based on a short novel, The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog. first in a series. This adaptation aims to translate the humor and unique dog-centered perspective of the original source into the medium of film. Hank the Cowdog, head of security on an isolated ranch, works undercover inside a pack of coyotes to solve a series of chicken murders. To solve the case, Hank defends his ranch, sheep and chickens from a devious and powerful coyote leader, Scraunch. With help from a variety of friends and a change in attitude, Hank saves the ranch. Screenplay places detective film conventions in an action-adventure cartoon format. Thesis includes notes on adaptation process.
Date: August 1994
Creator: Wier, John W. (John William)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bus Ride to Liberation: a Historical Video Documentary of the Acres Homes Transit Company in Houston, Texas (open access)

Bus Ride to Liberation: a Historical Video Documentary of the Acres Homes Transit Company in Houston, Texas

The Acres Homes Transit Company in Houston, Texas is Texas' first African American owned and operated bus company. Some say it is the first in the South. The company was developed during the height of the civil rights period. It serves as an establishment of economic empowerment during the oppressive civil rights era. The video is a historical visual documentation of the bus company from its beginning to its end. An accompanying written profile describes the research process, the pre-production, production and post-production stages, as well as future proposals for the documentary.
Date: May 1994
Creator: Childress, Doris (Doris Elaine)
System: The UNT Digital Library
China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan: The Convergence and Interaction of Chinese Film (open access)

China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan: The Convergence and Interaction of Chinese Film

This study focuses on the evolution of the movie industries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with an emphasis on the interaction and cooperation in movie production among these three areas. The study consists of three sections: a general description of the development of Chinese cinema before 1949; an overview of the movie industries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China after the civil war; and an intensive study of the recent changes, interactions, and connections among these industries. In the third section, three models are proposed to explain the changing practices in movie production in these three areas. Obstacles preventing further cooperation and the significance of the reconstruction and integration of Chinese cinema are discussed.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Yu, Gwo-chauo
System: The UNT Digital Library
Chinese Leftist Urban Films of the 1930s (open access)

Chinese Leftist Urban Films of the 1930s

This thesis explores the films produced by leftist filmmakers of the 1930s which reflect the contemporary urban life in Shanghai.
Date: August 1998
Creator: He, Xin, 1970-
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Content Analysis of the Depiction of Women in Television Presidential Advertising from 1952 to 1976 (open access)

A Content Analysis of the Depiction of Women in Television Presidential Advertising from 1952 to 1976

From the television advertisements made by presidential candidates from 1952 to 1976, this study analyzed the 131 advertisements that contained women. The analysis used the following descriptors: Number of Women's Roles, Age, Occupation, Marital Status, Locale, Concerns, and Status Relative to the Candidate. The results indicate that women are most likely to be shown as physically present although not speaking, in the 18 to 30 age group, belonging to a non-business atmosphere yet outside the home, and of an unknown marital status, and will not be shown in the same frame as the candidate. Womens' images in these advertisements were most commonly associated with issues involving the cost of living, taxes, pro-Nixon, and social security.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Payne, Beth A. (Beth Ann)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Critical Analysis of Newspaper Development in Taiwan Since the Lifting of Martial Law (open access)

A Critical Analysis of Newspaper Development in Taiwan Since the Lifting of Martial Law

This study reviews the changes in Taiwan's newspaper industry during its current period of transition. Contemporary newspaper development in Taiwan after the lifting of martial law in July 1987 is evaluated in relation to transformations in the newspaper marketplace, journalistic practices, labor relations, and freedom of expression. This study concludes that changes in Taiwan's newspaper business are closely related to changes in the country's political atmosphere. The lifting of the Ban of Newspaper brought freedoms for which journalists had fought for decades; however, journalistic quality has not improved at the same speed. Changes will continue in the journalism industry; whether it grows in a healthy way is a topic for future study.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Chen, Yu-Jen, 1957-
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Descriptive Analysis of the Development and Decline of New Taiwan Cinema, 1982-1986 (open access)

A Descriptive Analysis of the Development and Decline of New Taiwan Cinema, 1982-1986

The emphasis of this research is on the social, economic, and cultural factors generating the New Taiwan Cinema between 1982 to 1986. The study consists of four chapters. Chapter I introduces the background and parameters of the topic. Chapter II discusses the factors which nurtured the rise of New Taiwan Cinema. It also provides historical background information on Taiwanese films. Chapter III discusses the definition and characteristics of New Taiwan Cinema and its major filmmakers and films. Chapter IV focuses on the issue of the end of New Taiwan Cinema. This chapter also covers the general situation of the Taiwanese film industry after 1986.
Date: December 1993
Creator: Lin, Ying-chia, 1969-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Differences in Marketing Mainstream and Independent Feature Films in the United States (1990-1995) (open access)

Differences in Marketing Mainstream and Independent Feature Films in the United States (1990-1995)

The purpose of this study is (1) to examine mainstream studio films and their marketing (2) to examine independent films and their marketing (3) to explore the marketing challenges of independent films (4) to explore new developments in independent film and the emergence of crossover films (5) to explore the benefits of alliances between the major studios and independent film distributors (6) to examine the diminishing differences between major studio films and independent films.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Ford, Conny (Conny M.)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disturbing the Peace (open access)

Disturbing the Peace

Disturbing the Peace is a short, 16mm sync-sound fiction film. Alone one stormy night, a woman must contend with an intruder breaking into her home. The intruder turns out to be a teenage boy. He claims to have broken in only to retrieve a family heirloom he hid there when he and his parents lived in the same house years ago. When the boy finds the heirloom, the woman begins to believe his story, and soon realizes he doesn't have a good home life. The boy asks permission to stay until the storm breaks. She agrees. Should the boy be trusted, or is he telling one lie after another? The police arrive to witness the outcome of the story.
Date: December 1997
Creator: Hatton, William, 1972-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Exhibit Eh: Canadian Dependency, U.S. Hegemony, and the Amorphousness of English Canadian Culture (open access)

Exhibit Eh: Canadian Dependency, U.S. Hegemony, and the Amorphousness of English Canadian Culture

This thesis begins by examining the factors that have resulted in the dependent nature of Canada's political and economic structure, and proceeds to examine how this has contributed to the cultural amorphousness of English Canadian identity. The hegemonic authority of American and trans-national interests, established and maintained in the cultural sphere through the extensive monopoly of the distribution of cultural and media products, perpetuates the amorphousness of English Canadian culture through the appropriation of Canadian space by the international image industry. Such categorization of Canadian space reflects and perpetuates the imaginary representation of Canada within the dominant ideology as an indistinct and amorphous entity, and comes to usurp the materiality that constructs the lived identities of English Canadians.
Date: August 1999
Creator: McIntosh, Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
First Encounter (open access)

First Encounter

The film is about a newly arrived Japanese student's initial period of adjustment at the University of North Texas. This observational documentary film follows the student and witnesses the student's first reactions to various social environments. The purpose of this creative thesis project was to depict the difficulties that international students encounter at the beginning of their stay in America. The initial goal of the video was to provide useful visual research material to people who are interested in the acculturation of foreign students. Because of its realistic character, the video can give its audiences a more immediate and vivid picture of foreign students than existing written literature. By giving an authentic portrait of the students' hardship and adjustments, the ultimate goal of this video was to increase the American people's appreciation of the difficulties encountered by foreign students who come to this country equipped with limited social assistance and resources. An accompanying production report describes the research process, the pre-production, production, and post-production stages.
Date: December 1993
Creator: Teng, Eric Ju-chung
System: The UNT Digital Library
Girl Power: Feminism, Girlculture and the Popular Media (open access)

Girl Power: Feminism, Girlculture and the Popular Media

This project is an interrogation of three examples from recent popular culture of girlculture, specifically texts that target young female consumers: the Spice Girls, Scream and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These examples are fundamentally different than texts from earlier female targeted generic models because they not only reflect the influence of the feminist movement, they work on feminism's behalf. The project's methodology grows out of feminist film theories and cultural studies theories. One chapter is dedicated to each text, and each reading works to reappropriate girlculture texts for a counter-hegemonic agenda by highlighting the moments when each text manages to subvert its mass mediated conservative biases.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Smith, Ashley Lorrain
System: The UNT Digital Library

Harbor: The Act of Autobiography

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
This written thesis accompanies a sixteen-minute documentary video, Harbor, in which the filmmaker explores her relationship with her father who has suffered a stroke. Detailed accounts of the pre-production, production and post-production of the video allow the reader to understand the challenging and rewarding process of making an autobiographical documentary. Theoretical issues are also discussed, including the validity, criticisms, artistic nature and ethical concerns of autobiographical filmmaking. The filmmaker stresses the universality of her story, and how, despite the film's very personal nature, it is applicable for anyone who has dealt with the illness and/or disability of a parent.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Doeren, Catherine Wallace
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Historical/Critical Analysis of the TV Series The Fugitive (open access)

A Historical/Critical Analysis of the TV Series The Fugitive

In many respects, the popular 1960's television series, The Fugitive perfectly captured the swelling disillusionment with authority, alienation, and discontent that soon encompassed American society. This historical/critical study provides a broad overview of the economic, social, and political climate that surrounded the creation of The Fugitive. The primary focus of this study is the analysis of five discursive topics (individualism, marriage, justice & authority, professionalism, science and technology) within selected episodes and to show how they relate to broader cultural debates which occurred at that time. Finally, this study argues that The Fugitive is a part of a television adventure subgenre which we may classify as the contemporary "wanderer-hero" narrative and traces its evolution through selected television series from the last three decades.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Pierson, David P. (David Paul)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A History of Contemporary Independent Film Marketing in the United States (1989-1998) (open access)

A History of Contemporary Independent Film Marketing in the United States (1989-1998)

This study explores the reasons for the rise in independent film's popularity, which have created a unique Hollywood phenomenon, the successful "mini-major" independent studio, dedicated to both art and commerce. Chapters cover the history of independent film, characteristics of both independent and mainstreamfilms with regards to financing, acquisition, distribution and marketing, trends within independent film in the late 1980s and 1990s, crucial distributors and landmark independent films, and key growth areas in the future for independent film.
Date: August 1998
Creator: Ahearn, John P. (John Patrick)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Independent Feature Filmmaking: the Historical Development of Current Methods (open access)

Independent Feature Filmmaking: the Historical Development of Current Methods

The historical development of independent filmmaking has led to a situation in which an independent filmmaker must do two important things to achieve distribution and success. The filmmaker should continue study and mastery of the skills and methodologies needed in development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. These skills and methods help the filmmaker to produce a quality film. The most important thing the filmmaker can do is to see that the film conforms to the Hollywood narrative standard. This standard is ingrained in a majority of the audience and deviation usually meets resistance. The standard not only includes story structure, but the use of name actors and some elements of physical action.
Date: August 1992
Creator: Watkins, Fred P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
India Vaale in the United States (open access)

India Vaale in the United States

This documentary reveals the thoughts and feelings of seven Indian students at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. It portrays that better material comforts in the U.S. condition the decision of Indian students in not returning to India even after the completion of their studies. It also shows their feelings of nostalgia for the social and cultural milieu of their home country, India. For this project 18 Indian students at the University of North Texas were interviewed and seven of them became part of the final documentary.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Bhatia, Parul
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iranian Access Television of Dallas: Cultural Issues, Preservation, and Community Formation (open access)

Iranian Access Television of Dallas: Cultural Issues, Preservation, and Community Formation

This study focused on the televisual and cultural practices of Iranians via public access television in Dallas, Texas. It includes analysis of format and content. It combines demographic, structural, and statistical information with a culturalist and interpretive viewpoint in examining the efforts of Iranians, via access television programs, in preserving their culture and the formation of a coherent and active community in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Karimi, Mohammad, 1959-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Job Rating and Satisfaction of Radio Station General Managers in the Institutional Climate of Deregulation (open access)

Job Rating and Satisfaction of Radio Station General Managers in the Institutional Climate of Deregulation

This study tested the job satisfaction of major market radio station general managers in the aftermath of deregulation. The study consisted of two phases, a quantitative, anonymous, mail survey utilizing the nationally recognized Job Descriptive Index (JDI); and a qualitative follow-up telephone interview. Of 246 general managers solicited, 144 returned usable JDI surveys. The JDI consisted of six separate scales, each measuring satisfaction on a different aspect of the job. The followup telephone interview comprised seven questions designed specifically to explore the effects of broadcast deregulation on the respondents. Two hypotheses were tested. The hypotheses tested for differences in job satisfaction scores between radio station general managers and the normative scores of individuals of similar education and job tenure in other industries. In most of the subscales tested there was no significant difference between the two groups. The qualitative telephone survey found widespread dissatisfaction with the effects of deregulation on the broadcast medium.
Date: May 1991
Creator: Loomis, Kenneth D. (Kenneth Dwight)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Local or Transnational Television Programming: Media Globalization in East Asia, with an Emphasis on Development in the People's Republic of China (open access)

Local or Transnational Television Programming: Media Globalization in East Asia, with an Emphasis on Development in the People's Republic of China

This study focuses on the relationship between Western transnational broadcasters and East Asian media. It analyzes 1) the processes through which Western media players are localized and 2) the impact of media globalization on local broadcasters in East Asia. Recent developments in the People's Republic of China are the primary focus in the discussion of local media.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Zha, Hongyan
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Luxury of Tears: A Secondary Survivor's Story

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
As the written accompaniment for The Luxury of Tears, a twelve-minute documentary video exploring the emotional impact of sexual assault on male survivors and their partners, this document examines the visual texts of both the fiction and nonfiction genres. Specifically, I contend that fiction film manufactures male survivorship with regard to rape events in such manner which contributes to the thematization of social silence. Such silence perpetuates the feminization of rape as a social problem, and dissolves the development of male survivor resources. A discussion of production processes, challenges, and resolutions is included.
Date: December 1999
Creator: McKinney, Kelli
System: The UNT Digital Library
Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and the Crime Films of the Nineteen Nineties (open access)

Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and the Crime Films of the Nineteen Nineties

Martin Scorsese's films, GOODFELLAS and CASINO, and Quentin Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION are examined to determine if the crime film of the 1990s has become increasingly more in the style of film noir. The differences and similarities between the two crime films each director has either written or co-written in the 1990s are delineated to demonstrate this trend. Other crime films of the latter 1990s (SEVEN, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and MULHOLLAND FALLS) are also examined to aid in defining the latest incarnation of the crime film as "Noir Modernist," a term that is demonstrated to be a more accurate description for the current crime films than B. Ruby Rich's, "Neo-Noir of the 1990s."
Date: August 1996
Creator: Magnani, Matthew Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mr. Hassell: The TV Engineer (open access)

Mr. Hassell: The TV Engineer

This thesis project is about a television engineer in the Department of Radio, Television and Film at the University of North Texas. This project records the engineer's activities in the Department and interviews him about his career path. An accompanying written production report describes the pre-production, production and post-production processes of this project.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Chiu, Wen-Chi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Myths and Movies: a Mythographical Methodology of Motion Picture Analysis (open access)

Myths and Movies: a Mythographical Methodology of Motion Picture Analysis

Over the past decade, cinema studies scholars have begun to recognize the value of mythographical methodologies for motion picture analysis; however, most of the scholarly research in this field has focused either on mythic archetypal images or on monomythic narrative structure, rather than combining the two approaches into a unified theory. This essay addresses the problem by proposing a mythographical methodology of motion picture analysis based on Carl Jung's theory of archetypal images and Joseph Campbell's theories concerning the monomythic structure of heroic narratives. Combining the two approaches of myth interpretation results in a more comprehensive methodology for interpreting the mythic elements of motion pictures. This essay illustrates the application of this methodology through a detailed analysis of Terry Gilliam's film, The Fisher King.
Date: August 1996
Creator: Preston, Barry A. (Barry Alan)
System: The UNT Digital Library