Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Movie stars'

This thesis explores the relationship between the social history and the filmic history of the swimming pool. The history of the swimming pool and the history of the movies wove themselves together during the first half of the twentieth century. By 1950, the image of the swimming pool and the image of the movie star were connected in the social imaginary. Discourses about gender, health, discipline and the body were moulded by the architectural environment of the swimming pool, when the movies translated the image of the swimming pool, they carried these ideas along with them. These ideas affected the formation of modern subjectivities. This thesis attempts to demonstrate one of the means by which a particular set of ideas infiltrated the collective psyche
Cette thèse examine le rapport entre l'histoire sociale et l'histoire filmique de la piscine. Elle tente de démonter le moyen par lequel une tendance particulier c'est inflirté dans la psyché collective. L'histoire de la piscine et l'histoire du cinema se sont entrelacé au cours de la prèmiere moitier du vingtieme sciècle. Par l'année 1950, l'image de la piscine et l'image de la vedette étaient liés dans l'imagination sociale. Les discours au sujet de sexe, la santé, la discipline et le corps étaient façonné par l'environment architecturale de la piscine. Losque le cinéma traduit l'image de la piscine, il emporte ces idées avec. Ces idées affectent la formation des subjectivités moderne. Cette thèse tente de dèmontrer le moyen par lequel une tendance particulier c'est infiltré dans la psyché collective.

Cette recherche doctorale examine, dans un pays en proie à une « passion pour l’égalité » (Forsé et al, 2013), le degré d’acceptation à l’égard des très hauts revenus. Elle se situe au croisement de la sociologie des inégalités, de l’économie du vedettariat et de la justice sociale.Déjà présente dans le débat opposant John Rawls (1971 et 2001) et Robert Nozick (1974) au travers de l’exemple de Wilt Chamberlain, la figure de la star nous permet de répondre à une question centrale et contemporaine : les très hautes rémunérations sont-elles justes socialement ? La thèse se base sur un travail qualitatif articulé autour de la réalisation et de l’analyse de 55 entretiens semi-directifs. Elle repose également sur un travail d’analyse quantitative qui a permis de représenter l’évolution des inégalités de revenus ainsi que l’évolution des revenus des sportif.ve.s et des comédien.ne.s les mieux payé.e.s en France et dans le monde. Des régressions linéaires ayant pour variables à expliquer les rémunérations des stars de football ou de cinéma permettent de mesurer l’effet propre des caractéristiques individuelles des stars.La première partie détermine la place occupée par les comédien.ne.s et les footballeurs professionnels, désigné.e.s par la presse comme stars, dans la distribution des revenus en France. La deuxième partie élabore une définition subjective du statut de star et restitue les déterminants, selon les personnes interrogées, de la rémunération des stars. L’analyse des réponses des personnes interrogées à propos des facteurs explicatifs des revenus des cadres d’entreprise permet de mettre en avant la spécificité des stars. La troisième partie analyse l’opinion des Français à l’égard des revenus des stars. Inspirée de l’enquête PISJ (Forsé et Galland, 2011), une liste de 10 métiers – ou statuts — appartenant au décile (voire pour certains au centile ou au millime) supérieur (star de cinéma, star de football, blogueur, mannequin, animateur de télévision, médecin généraliste, professeur d’université, ministre, cadre supérieur et PDG d’une grande entreprise) a permis de constituer un dispositif empirique destiné à apprécier le degré d’acceptation à l’égard des rémunérations des stars dans une réflexion élargie aux plus hautes rémunérations. Il en résulte que le niveau de la rémunération de Cristiano Ronaldo, de Lionel Messi, d’Angelina Jolie et de Gérard Depardieu n’est accepté ni en raison d’une justification libertarienne (Nozick, 1974) ni par rejet de l’arbitraire du mérite individuel (Rawls, 1971 et 2001). Les très hauts revenus — et notamment ceux des stars — font l’objet d’une acceptation qui s’explique majoritairement par la combinaison d’un principe de stratification (logique individuelle de contribution-rétribution) et d’un principe de correction (l’utilité sociale). Enfin, l’examen des variables sociodémographiques montre que plus la personne se situe à gauche du spectre politique, plus elle critique les très hautes rémunérations. L’acceptation des très hauts revenus est donc un jeu à trois pôles entre une logique économique (contribution individuelle-rétribution individuelle), un principe de correction (l’utilité sociale) et un attachement à la notion d’égalité (le positionnement politique)
Drawing on the sociology of inequality, the star system economy and social justice, this PhD dissertation aims to examine whether French people, who live in an “equality-obsessed country“ (Forsé et al. 2013), accept high earnings.The “star”, which has already been used in the debate between Rawls (1971; 2001) and Nozick (1974) through the example of the well-known NBA star-player Wilt Chamberlain, enables us to answer one key and contemporary question: do people believe that high earnings are socially fair? To investigate this issue, I used both qualitative and quantitative methods, working with a total sample of 59 interviewees and conducting 55 semi-structured interviews, each two-hours long on average. The quantitative part of my research consists of a statistical analysis using multiple data sources (INSEE, WID, annual pundit surveys…), in order to provide an account of the evolution of movie and football stars’ earnings, in relation to the general evolution of incomes and incomes in the top percentiles (top 1%, top 0.1%, top 0.01%, and top 0.001%). Regression linear analyses allow us to determine the impact of the stars’ individual characteristics.The aim of the first part of this dissertation is to find how the top paid football players and actors (dubbed as football stars and movie stars by the press) are ranked in France’s income distribution. The second part seeks to provide a subjective definition of the star’s status and to identify, according to the interviewees, how their earnings are garnered. The analysis of the factors explaining the earnings of management executives by the interviewees helps us to insist on the specificity of the stars’ earnings. The third part examines French opinion on stars’ earnings. Using a PISJ-inspired list (Forsé et Galland, 2011) of 10 jobs or statuses belonging to the 10% (or top 1% or top 0.1%) (movie star, football-star, blogger, model, TV host, doctor, university teacher, management executive), I tried to investigate empirically the interviewees’ attitude towards not only stars’ earnings but high earnings in general.Finally, my research shows that interviewees accept the position of Cristiano, Lionel, Angelina Jolie and Gérard Depardieu among top earners, and agree with their earnings exceeding millions of euros. The joint use of the two principles (on the one hand, the stratification principle, based on the acceptance of an economics-based logic, and on the other hand, the corrective principle of social utility) leads to a reasoned acceptance of the earnings of movie stars and football stars. I therefore show that the acceptance of the level of movie stars’ and football stars’ earnings differs from the libertarian approach of Robert Nozick (1974) and from the rejection of individual merit (Rawls, 1971 and 2001). The analysis of the interviewees’ answers in relation to sociodemographic variables indicates that there is a link between the interviewees’ political beliefs and their attitude toward high earnings. The more left-wing they declared themselves, the more critical they were of the perceived hierarchy in earnings and of the very high ones. The acceptance of high earnings can be seen as a ménage-à-trois between an economics-based logic (individual contribution leads to individual earning), a corrective principle (social utility) and the valuation of equality (political belief)

The drive-in theater was a phenomenon unique and prosperous in 1950s America. At the height of their popularity, there were over 4,000 drive-in theaters located across the United States. Their great success came because they were suitable to the mindset of the time-they provided a place for a family to be together without dress code, babysitter, or parking problems, and without having to leave their beloved cars. Construction of 23 drive-in theaters occurred in the Indianapolis area between 1940 and 1974. These varied in size and location, but all contained the essential ingredients-a large concession stand, children's playground, and any other gimmick that would gather their audiences before sunset.By the mid-1960s, the drive-in theater industry began a steady decline which has continued to present. The drive-in theater always faced obstacles, including weather, insects, seasons, and poor technical quality of both picture and sound. Adding to this was the change in the American mindset, increased opposition from community moralists, and especially, the rise in property values.This creative project documents the general history of drive-in theaters across the United States, takes a closer look at the drive-in theaters in the Indianapolis area, and records them in an inventory.
Department of Architecture

The subject of this thesis is the role of television programme Saturday Night Live (or SNL) in launching the careers of a significant number of Hollywood film stars over the last three decades. Started in 1975, SNL is a 90-minute comedy variety show broadcast live by the American television network NBC. Since its inception, it has employed regular casts of performers to present comic sketches. Several cast members, including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal and Adam Sandler, have converted their exposure on the show into film stardom. In exploring the nature of SNL stars' appeal to Hollywood's filmmakers and audiences, the thesis primarily engages in two areas of debate. Firstly, it seeks to continue historicising what has been termed the "comedian comedy tradition" in Hollywood film. It has been noted that the Hollywood film industry has repeatedly turned to comic performers from other media with already well-defined, popular extra-fictional personas for use as star attractions. Certain consistencies have been found in the industry's approach to converting comedians' appeals for presentation within narrative fiction. However, approaches are also affected by historically specific industrial and social factors. I argue that the stars of SNL were instrumental to the development of a new variant of the comedian comedy tradition. Secondly, I suggest that the most important factor in explaining the nature of SNL's influence is shifts in social and cultural values in America since the 1960s. The personas of SNL stars I examine reflect trends in American public opinion connected to generational change. SNL has now employed cast members from across the baby boom generation (those born between 1943 and 1964) and Generation X (1965 to 1982). To consider the impact of generational factors, my analysis is centred around two case studies, the careers of Bill Murray and Adam Sandler.

Robert Ryan (1909-1973) était de ces acteurs qui ne furent jamais starifiés. Pour autant, il ne resta pas non plus entièrement dans l’ombre de ses contemporains les plus reconnus. Rendu célèbre au cours de l’année 1947 par Crossfire (Feux croisés, Edward Dmytryk), il fut, depuis cette zone grise de la « non-starification », ce personnage de film noir à la fois névrosé et violent, tout aussi affirmatif que désorienté – mais pas uniquement. Aujourd’hui oublié comme la plupart des acteurs de cette catégorie, il apparut pourtant dans soixante-treize longs-métrages, parfois réalisés par des cinéastes de renoms tels que Jean Renoir, Nicholas Ray, Anthony Mann, Max Ophuls ou encore Fritz Lang, et sa carrière se prolongea au théâtre et à la télévision. En partant de quelques incarnations pour remonter vers ce qui faisait la singularité du jeu de Robert Ryan, puis en tentant d’inscrire l’acteur dans l’histoire esthétique du cinéma de son temps, le présent texte se penche sur l’un de ces Hollywood standby méconnus, qui firent pourtant office de matériaux essentiels aux films américains classiques
Robert Ryan (1909-1973) was one of those actors who never became a movie star. However, he was not completely in the shadow of his famous contemporaries. Celebrated for his part in Edward Dmytryk’s Crossfire (1947), he was this "non-star" actor playing neurotic, violent, affirmative and disorientated film noir characters, but he was not only that. If he has been forgotten today, like most actors of his kind, he nevertheless made seventy-three movies, sometimes directed by filmmakers such as Jean Renoir, Nicholas Ray, Anthony Mann, Max Ophuls or Fritz Lang, and he also had a career in theatre and television. Through the description of some of his roles, by analyzing the peculiarity of his acting style, and trying to place him within the aesthetic history of American cinema, the following text deals with one of those underrated "Hollywood standby", that were vital to the craft of American cinema

The digital evolution in the film industry has opened possibilities that was only to blockbusters before the digital age. I am talking about mass-scenes. Huge scenes with hordes of people often in huge battlefields. This was earlier in film history an extremly costly undertaking for the filmindustry and was a major reason why the large studio systems in Hollywood collapsed in the 60s. Now we can enjoy large scale battles created with CGI without costly extras, costumes and props. It’s all made with the computer and with ’blue screen’ technology. Is it possible to track the mass-scene back to some sort of origin or at least to who that defined the mass-scene ? If we look closer at mass-scenes used in contemporary movies then a clear pattern often emerges. These scenes can often be traced back to especially two propaganda films from the late 30s. Triumph des Willens by Leni Riefenstahl and Alexander Nevsky by Sergei M. Eisenstein. Of course there are others, but these two stands out from the others regarding mass-scenes. My opinion is that these two classic propaganda films have defined the mass-scenes as we have come to see and understand them in many comtemporary films from Star Wars to Lord Of The Rings.

In this thesis I will try to explore the usage of mass-scenes in comtemporary films and hopefully uncover the strong intertextual ties to Triumph des Willens and Alexander Nevsky.

I will also attempt to define the mass-scene and it’s usage in contemporary film.

This essay deals with the use of linguistic stereotypes in Hollywood movies. It investigates whether attitudes towards English dialects found in studies on perceptual dialectology are reflected in the selected movies and discusses the notion of linguistic identity and how standard and nonstandard speech, respectively, are used symbolically to emphasize features of characters in eleven movies from three different movie series, namely The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Transformers, with a main focus on syntactic and phonological dimensions. The essay finds a correlation between standard speech and features of competence and wisdom, and nonstandard speech and features of solidarity, sociability and traits of stupidity and humor. Moreover, very specific perceptions of certain varieties of English are probably utilized as amplifiers of equally specific characteristics of some characters. The use of dialects and accents in these movies is probably intentional and not coincidental.

This dissertation examines how the major television networks, in conjunction with the Reagan administration, launched a lingering cloud of nuclear anxiety that helped to revive the Cold War during the 1980s. Placed within a larger political and cultural post-war context, this national preoccupation with a global show-down with the Soviet Union at times both hindered and bolstered Reagan’s image as the archetypal conservative, cowboy President that could free America from its liberal adolescent past now caustically referred to as “the sixties.” This stalwart image of Reagan, created and carefully managed by a number of highly-paid marketing executives, as one of the embodiment of peaceful deterrence, came under attack in the early 1980s when the “liberal” Nuclear Freeze movement showed signs of becoming politically threatening to the staunch conservative pledging to win the Cold War at any cost. And even if the nuclear freeze movement itself was not powerful enough to undergo the Herculean task of removing the President in 1984, the movement was compassionate enough to appeal to a mass audience, especially when framed in narrative form on network television. In the early 1980s, debates over the possibility of nuclear war and other pertinent Cold War related issues became much more democratized in their visibility on the network airwaves. However, the message disseminated from the networks was not placed in an educational framework, nor did these television productions clarify complicated nuclear issues such as nuclear winter theory and proliferation. I argue this renewed network attention on nuclear issues was not placed in an historical framework and likely confused American viewers because it routinely exposed audiences to both fact and fiction, undifferentiated at the level of the mass media.

碩士
銘傳大學
教育研究所碩士在職專班
102
The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of Korean movie and TV Stars on elementary school’s fifth and sixth grade students. First, this study was conducted by Elementary Sutdents’ Idol worship Scale and Elementary Students’ Self-concept. Then, the questionnaire was initally confirmed the reliability, validity and existence of the relevant constructs. The study population is fifth and sixth grades public elementary schools’ students for 102 school year in Taoyuan city, and random sampling was used to obtain 506 effective samples. The collected data was statistically analyzed by using the descriptives, t-test, 1-Way MANOVA, and structural equation modeling. The results of the study did confirm 5 factors from "Elementary Students’ Idol worship and Daily Living Behaviors" and 3 factors regarding elementary students self-concept. The results are summarized as follows: (1)High grade students’ daily living behaviors are greatly influenced by their idol worship. (2)This study used SEM to construct the model relating to "Elementary Idol worship and Daily Living Behaviors" and "Students Self-concepts, " and the relationship between two of the factors are significantly positive. This study finally provided conclusion and solid suggestions based on the constructed model as a reference for family, school, communication, media, and public.

碩士
文藻外語大學
創意藝術產業研究所
101
As the professional level and production maturity of channels in Taiwan have been increasingly improving, the viewers can receive programs not only through previous broadcast and cable channels, but also via HD channels, MOD STB (Set Top Box), the Internet and smart phones. In order to gain attention from the viewers in this intense market competition and to fulfill the needs of viewers, television channels should pay attention not only to previously acknowledged program positioning and market segmentation, but also to the overall visual design packaging on television screen (known as layout in Taiwan), as well as to the importance of brand building for the channel. These efforts are made so as to build a unique and clear brand identity in this ever-changing era, to outperform competitors, and to become a leading channel. This case study aims to explore the various brand building strategies of Star Chinese Movies Channel, one of the FOX International Channels in Taiwan. First, it will investigate the channel’s overall visual design packaging on the screen through the theoretical lens of Fumi Sasada. Second, the study will apply David Aaker’s concept of “Global Brand Management System” to analyze the brand-building strategies of Star Chinese Movies Channel.

碩士
國立高雄應用科技大學
文化創意產業系
104
As the rapid evolution of technology in the society, aesthetics and design are not only confined to the cultural and creative industries, but also can be a driver to stimulate any industries. Understanding the visual aesthetics and developing the spirit of branding can inspire and reactivate consumers to purchase the products. Nowadays, the social composition and the changes of consuming habits created competitive market environment. Cooperation of different industries will improve the effectiveness of the usage of existing resources at different business phases and fields. While building the brands, we can strengthen the brand image to create value as well as improve the development of creative economy. Thus, the joint product design and implementation has become an important aspect to increase the industry growth. The study is based on the movie, Star Wars, as an example to explore the design of joint products of the accessories and merchandise. The study begins its journey by providing the explanation and overviews of the joint product and accessories interpretation. Then the study will give readers a background of the movie, Star Wars, including the introduction of the creator of the Star Wars, George Lucas, story of the Star Wars developments and creativities, storyline deep dive, analysis of the main characters, and specific characteristics about the Star Wars. The third part of the study will be discussing the characteristics of the joint products and accessories, benefits of the joint products, and things to be aware while executing the joint product. Lastly, the study will provide an analysis on the marketing techniques of the Star Wars joint products and movie accessories, including toys, clothing, watches, and other commodities. In conclusion, the study will provide the readers a view on how the Star Wars influenced the joint products and accessories marketing strategy and the consumers’ buying power. The result of the study can be a reference for the scholars, vendors, and other stakeholders in film industry and design industry around the use of joint product strategy to achieve the marketing goals. Additionally, provide more detailed information around the Star Wars for the movie fans.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
國際企業學研究所
95
The study aims to investigate how the quality and quantity of the word-of-mouth effect affect the box office performance of a film. The paper considers this effect both from the points of views of moviegoers and critics. It also puts the star power and movie genres into consideration. We create a star power index, a weighted average value of the awards the main crew won in their respective past record in certain important international film awards and festivals, to measure the value awarded celebrity contributes to their next work and observe the relationship between the star power and the box office. We use the internet movie data from International Movie Database (IMDb), Box Office MOJO and Metacritic to collect 302 movie samples which were released between June and December in 2006 in North American. The results show that no matter who creates the word of mouth (WOM), the quantity of WOM is more important than the quality. Once a movie can attract the attention of movie critics or the moviegoers, it tends to have a better box office performance. However, stars and different film genres do not have any significant effect on the box office, but they would have an influence on the word-of-mouth quantity. The results also show the movies with high sensor stimulate, such as horror and action films, would induce more audience to comment the movie and create a larger amount of word of mouth.

Due to COVID-19, accelerators’ program managers face the complex transition from face-to-face programs to a digital setting. Although some research has been done on understanding accelerators as an incubation mechanism, there is a gap about what differentiates virtual accelerators and how it affects entrepreneurial learning. This study aims to determine how founders' learning experience is transformed in a virtual model and the significant benefits and challenges of online-based accelerators. A multiple case study with semi-structured interviews was done with program managers and founders based on a literature review on accelerators, entrepreneurial learning, and virtual teams. Analysis of the responses demonstrated an existing trade-off with regard to virtual accelerators. On the one hand, the accelerator performance is enhanced, as it allows scalable, cost-efficiency and specialized programs. On the other, founder performance is affected, since cohorts find it challenging to establish a social connection and engage in networking and constructive feedback, mainly due to virtual communication constraints. However, founders reported higher learning satisfaction concerning training provided by the accelerator. The results indicate that transitioning face-to-face programs to a virtual setting implies many careful considerations. How can program managers use the virtual world's benefits without losing the valuable features of face-to-face interaction? One possible way is to offer hybrid accelerators. Further research is needed to evaluate the virtual format, especially its defining characteristics and impact on the founders' learning experience and venture outcomes.
Com o COVID-19, os diretores de aceleradoras enfrentam a complexa transição dos programas presenciais para o digital. Embora exista investigação sobre as aceleradoras como um mecanismo de incubação em si, há uma lacuna sobre o que diferencia os aceleradores virtuais e como isso influencia a experiência do empreendedor. Este estudo tem como objetivo determinar de que forma a experiência de aprendizagem dos empreendedores é transformada no modelo virtual e quais são os benefícios e desafios deste formato. Um estudo de caso múltiplo, recorrendo a entrevistas com diretores e empreendedores de aceleradoras foi feito com base numa revisão da literatura sobre aceleradoras, aprendizagem empreendedora e equipas virtuais. A análise das respostas demonstrou um trade-off existente em relação aos aceleradores virtuais. Por um lado, o desempenho do acelerador é aprimorado, pois permite escalar programas escalonáveis, e tornando-os económicos e especializados. Por outro lado, o desempenho do empreendedor é afetado, uma vez que as cohorts têm dificuldade em estabelecer uma conexão social e envolver-se em networking e feedback construtivo, principalmente devido a restrições de comunicação virtual. Apesar disto, os empreendedores relataram maior satisfação com as sessões de treino oferecidas pela aceleradora. Os resultados indicam que a transição de programas presencial para um ambiente virtual implica várias considerações. Como podem os diretores usar os benefícios do mundo virtual sem perder as mais-valias da interação presencial? Uma maneira possível é oferecer programas híbridos. Mais investigação é necessária para avaliar as características deste formato e o impacto que tem na experiência de aprendizagem dos empreendedores.

While the electric vehicle market is growing more than ever, it is expected to slow down in the 2030s due to one major issue that is capable of decelerating its current strong growth and expansion – charging infrastructure constraints. They arise due to the fact that the existing electricity grid will not be able to accommodate the increasing demand in high density areas where charging opportunities are limited and the number of electric vehicles high. mov.e has created a digital sharing platform, that provides the base for the first collective electric vehicle charging system, and is connected to its IoT smart plugs, which simply replace existing standard sockets. After having been able to work on its idea with industry experts as part of an intensive 10-week incubation program in Silicon Valley, the team behind mov.e has not only received enough positive feedback that its solution is in high demand and technically proving its potential to speed up the electric mobility revolution, but has also decided on the business model behind its idea. It is now at the stage of finalizing its prototype. Until then, mov.e needs to figure out how it can best penetrate the market and how it can effectively deliver its solution to the end customer to eventually disrupt the way of charging electric vehicles and to provide the ground for an electric vehicle full-scale adoption for the years ahead.

This thesis follows the process of transformation of children's idols of film and music industry into adult artists and sex-symbols of contemporary popular culture. It especially focuses on the transformation of child character in adult representatives of pop-culture industry: development, change and building an image of an adult performer in terms of the sociology of childhood and adulthood career shift (change in the nature of work and roles, any rise or decline). The aim of this work is to find any trends in transition from children's heroes / heroines adults representative of contemporary popular culture. The premise is that children's personalities of the entertainment industry are used in the process of growing element of sexuality to reforging the stigma of "child stars". In addition to the sexual themes and monitors the aspect of gender roles and stereotypes depending on the developmental stage.