Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Bringing medicine to the masses : exploring the relationship between the medical documentary and the public(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Backus, Alison Lorraine; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald TobiasThe medical documentary seeks to bridge the gap between the traditional imbalance of knowledge between the patient and her medical practitioner. This paper will examine the issue of the imbalance of the doctor and patient throughout the history of medicine, explore how the medical documentary seeks to solve this imbalance, and the methods by which it does so. By comparing three related medical documentaries and examining the strengths and weaknesses of each one in its attempt to educate and engage the viewer, I will seek to create a broad model for future medical documentaries and relate how my thesis film fits this new model.Item Narrative in wildlife films : how it shapes our understanding of the natural world and influences conservation choices : how it shapes our understanding of the natural world and influences conservation choices(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2005) Singh, Praveen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald Tobias.Storytelling is perhaps mankind's oldest tendencies. Their narratives give meaning to our everyday experiences and help us understand our world. Wildlife and natural history films in telling stories about the nature help define, to some extent, our relationship with it. Following the historical development of the classical narrative model in wildlife and nature films, the paper explores its impact on conservation choices and argues for an alternative approach to narrative in these films in order to change the oppositional relationship that we currently share with the nature.Item Strange bedfellows : science and storytelling for broadcast television(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Bell, Andrew Wade; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald TobiasFilmmakers exploring natural science subject matter that want to sell their work to broadcast television or theatrical outlets face a difficult challenge. They must somehow conflate two contradictory elements: natural science information and compelling storytelling. Looking at the roots of classical narrative, we can better understand why audiences have come to crave it. Broadcast television, in turn, caters to audience desire. This combination forces filmmakers to present natural science information in an exciting way, and has led filmmakers to employ time-honored narrative structures as organizing strategies. While audiences seem to favor material presented this way, it calls the accuracy of the natural science presented into question. This paper will explore how and why the use of narrative became common to natural science filmmaking, illustrate the inherent incompatibilities between the narrative and natural science, and consider the repercussions of this filmmaking model.