Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item An assessment of historic and contemporary models of native representation from ethono-entertainment films to experiential education films(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Chaikin, Eric Justin; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter Metz; Dennis Aig (co-chair)Ethno-entertainment is a term that makes apparent the merger of entertainment and science in the depiction of the Native presence in film. This approach to filmmaking is assessed and is determined to be defunct. Experiential-education filmmaking is offered as an alternative approach. It is suggested that Native science can inform this approach in a way that allows a contextual understanding of Native language and culture. My video thesis work, K'anecho'xdekdiigh- I'm Not Going to Teach You, is suggested as an example of how the prominence of Native science may promote survivance rather than perpetuate ethno-entertainment's focus on absence.Item Film and the illusion of experience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2010) Gordon, Stephani Rae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Aig.Documentary filmmakers, especially those in the science and natural history genre, commonly rely on film's capacity to communicate information, but there is also the possibility of utilizing film's ability to communicate experience. As a subjective medium rather than a representation of objective reality, film creates a convincing illusion of experience that can translate into an opportunity for vicarious learning. I examine four documentaries by directors that demonstrate an uncanny ability to communicate an experience through film, and I apply their techniques and methods to my own film on field research on tundra swans in northwestern Alaska. Filming in an empathic mode, embracing subjectivity, and giving precedence to how the film subjects' perceive their world offer the filmmaker the ability to harness the illusion of experience that film can provide.