Scholarship & Research
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Item Hold fast: cultural resilience in the face of climate change(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2024) LaCalle, John Christian; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Hugo R. SindelarThe Cajun Prairie of South Louisiana offers a distinctive lens through which to view the resilience, spirit, identity, and culture of a regional community that is under threat by the impacts of climate change and unsustainable development. Hold Fast explores and captures these struggles using documentary storytelling techniques through the lens of an emblematic subculture in southwest Louisiana in the McNeese State University Rodeo Team. The film presents the challenges of living within a changing climate as the team rebuilds after Hurricane Laura ravaged southwest Louisiana and uprooted their lives in 2020. The short film showcases that in a time of upheaval and widespread displacement, strong cultural identity becomes critical to a community's ability to rebound after disaster. By highlighting the McNeese Rodeo team's journey against the backdrop of Cajun Prairie's challenges, this project seeks to illuminate the interconnectedness of human and environmental stories, showcasing the unwavering spirit of the Cajun community.Item Rural gentrification(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) Matty-Huber, Cynthia; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigRepresentations and studies of gentrification largely focus on its impact in urban centers. Urban gentrification brings change in an urban area associated with the movement of more affluent individuals into a lower-class area. However, rural gentrification has been overlooked in documentary representations of gentrification. Rural gentrification occurs when wealthier people buy property in ranch and working-class areas, driving up property values. Both contexts share the difficult paradox that gentrification brings money into the impacted area, but it often comes at the expense of poorer, pre-gentrification residents who cannot afford increased property costs or taxes. The mountainous west of the United States has been an area of intense development in recent decades and many aspects of its character have changed with shifting demographics as a result of rural gentrification. This thesis, titled 'Rural Gentrification,' examines the unique role of documentary film in demonstrating the impact of rural gentrification through the eyes of, John Hoiland, one of Montana's last independent ranchers, who is the subject of my film 'For the Love of Land'. The film tells the story of finality, disappearance, and what it means to be the last of something in this rapidly-shifting terrain while bringing attention to that tragic position that these last remaining personalities of the old west find themselves in as the world around them changes. 'Rural Gentrification' argues that there is an urgent need to create visual representations of the mountainous west of the United States using documentary film against this backdrop of rapid change. Using 'For the Love of Land' as a case study, I trace the significance of observational cinema as a significant influence that informed the decision-making process and creation of the film.Item Framing science and conservation films for wider acceptance: using social science to engage audience through their worldview and cultural cognition(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Smithee, Tara Pearl; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo LipfertUsing the work of Yale professor Dan Kahan, this thesis explores how his 'cultural cognition' theory demonstrates the ineffectiveness of communicating controversial environmental topics using the deficit model. It applies Valerie Reyna's Fuzzy Trace Theory, which demonstrates how communicators can use 'gist' and 'verbatim' in their messaging to connect to an audience's worldview and reduce polarization. This thesis uses these theories to analyze three documentary case studies, including my MFA thesis film, Deep Discoveries. Deep Discoveries documents the underwater ocean exploration of Marine National Monuments in the Pacific Ocean from 2014 to 2016 and utilizes the above tools to promote conservation of the ocean.Item Consequences of interspecies cultural intersection in nature documentary(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Samollow, David Dunham; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo LipfertNature Documentary films routinely center around the behaviors of animals, rarely focusing on cultural interspecies interactions with humans. Using 'Grizzly Man', 'Blackfish', 'Forty Ton Mirror', and 'The Lost Tapes of Dian Fossey', this paper explores the cultural collision of people, their expectations, and animals in both captivity and the wild. The approach each film takes will be examined and highlight the details used to reach their conclusions. With one exception, the underlying them[e] concludes that such interactions result in a detrimental outcome to both humans and animals.Item The art of war(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2014) Riter, Devon Deldon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald TobiasToday, reality TV is a major player in television programming. Derided by some and praised by others, the genre takes many forms and continues to evolve. Since its modern inception, a debate has raged over the effects of reality TV on society. I continue this dialogue by exploring the ethics behind reality television production. I take a personal perspective, examining my own attempt to produce reality TV. I created 'The Art of War' as an experiment into ethically conscious reality TV production. 'The Art of War' specifically examines the choices I and other producers face in series design, casting, and pre-production. I investigate how my production differs from others in the industry, specifically Animal Planet's 'Call of the Wildman'. From this comparison, I draw an argument for including a wider variety of voices within the reality TV genre. I make a case for an alternative production format, based on personal responsibility for both reality TV producers and viewers. Reality TV wields cultural power and with that comes responsibility, not just for those viewing it, but also for those creating it.Item I drink, therefore I am : the American craft beer movement in the postmodern age(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2013) Johnson, Taylor Richard; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Lucia RicciardelliWhile craft beer's placement within American society offers a plethora of specific and complex prospects in terms of the socioeconomic relationships between commodities provided to an industrialized culture, the economic competition between the macrobreweries and microbreweries of the beer industry is ultimately better for the consumer at the end of the day. Therefore, I intend to defend this thesis through an examination of movement's origin and development within American culture over the past three decades, encapsulated by a primary case study on craft beer in the state of Montana, with specific emphasis on the narrative of the Bozeman Brewing Company in Bozeman, Montana. In addition, I present the film Crafty as a visual companion to this written argument, with the ultimate intention of effectively communicating the thesis on multiple levels of textual representation. While the film itself seeks to dissect cultural inferences from the Montana case study in order to extrapolate norms applicable to the larger scale of the American craft beer movement, Crafty is meant to be the first installment of an ongoing series of programs that give credence to the individuality of each brewing company (both micros and macros). Therefore, Crafty should be viewed as a pilot episode of sorts; it exists as both a stand alone visual statement of the thesis and an introduction to something that is to be continued, something worthy of the continuing evolution of the craft beer and craft brewing companies in America. In addition, the intended episodic notion of Crafty will serve to punctuate the micro-narratives within the modern American craft beer movement because each brewery is the product of its own ongoing history that deserves recognition as a component of American culture.Item Hamlet, Fight Club, and Cremaster 3-The Order: fighting the Die Hard masculinity narrative(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2009) Sobey, Andrew Chapin; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy Stillwell.Socially constructed ideas of gender are crucial in Western culture. For males, the achievement of the status of "manhood" is essential to be considered truly male. Because of the cultural importance of this achievement, many cultural artifacts reflect and revolve around it. The exploration and celebration of manhood thus often forms the basis for works of art. In the case of film, an art form practiced much more commonly by men, examples abound. However, not all filmic narratives about masculinity take the same approach to the issue. While many portray the achievement of manhood in a simple, celebratory way, some in fact challenge cultural ideas of masculinity. The purpose of this essay is to discuss and identify these subversive masculinity narratives, with the goal of establishing a dimorphic categorization system. This system delineates masculinity narratives between a traditional, celebratory type, and a new, self-aware/self-reflexive type. For the purposes of this discussion I analyze several examples of mainstream masculinity narratives: the films Fight Club and Die Hard, and Shakespeare's Hamlet. I intend to show how the different portrayals of masculinity in these works either reinforce or subvert traditional cultural ideas of masculinity, and seek to establish a model for the new masculinity genre. To study these issues from another angle, I also look at an avant-garde work, Matthew Barney's Cremaster 3: The Order. This second analysis shows how mainstream masculinity narratives, both the traditional and new varieties, can be packaged and discussed in an experimental work. Ultimately, this essay establishes a new/traditional masculinity binary, as both a lens for analyzing current works, and a mold for creating new ones.Item Developing a cross-cultural narrative in environmental film : a case study from Aotearoa(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2012) Dunning, Dawson Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald Tobias.Environmental filmmakers often construct narratives about cultures or appropriate cultural ideas for their storylines. However, the majority of environmental films rely on Western methods of filmmaking and storytelling, even when the topic of these films may be non-Western and the narratives involved are non-linear and complex. In this essay, I argue for a cross-cultural approach to narrative development in environmental film that incorporates defining aspects of storytelling from the cultures represented. I use my experience of making a film about cultural collaboration in New Zealand resource management as a case study and I highlight the challenges of developing a cross-cultural narrative in environmental film.Item Never wash away : a case study of video-centered outreach in the Republic of Congo(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2009) Matheson, Kelly Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Aig.Since its inception, documentary film has been thought to be an effective way to galvanize social change. With the explosion of video for change organizations and projects both filmmakers and funders have a growing need to make a solid connection between the power of film and its concrete impact. This thesis will set forth the key principles for successful advocacy filmmaking and explore how the International Conservation and Education Fund's (INCEF's) Great Ape Public Awareness Project incorporated these principles into its approach to advocacy filmmaking. This exploration will be accomplished via a review of the organization's methodology combined with field observations from the first half of the 2008 field season in the northern villages of the Republic of Congo. This thesis will also highlight the successes and challenges INCEF faced during the three stages of advocacy filmmaking: 1) production; 2) strategic dissemination; and 3) impact evaluation, in an effort to inform the creation, implementation and evaluation of future advocacy video projects.Item Creating a third culture : how to bring C.P. Snow into the 21st century and find a place for the two cultures of science and art to meet(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2011) Reed, Mackenzie Rachael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy Stillwell.In 1959, C.P Snow wrote an essay entitled 'The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution' in which he split the intellectual world into two cultures. The first culture is scientific culture; the second culture, on the other hand, includes literary intellectuals and artists. Snow claimed that these two cultures spoke so disparate a language that communication between the two was virtually non-existent. He believed that the self-imposed barriers between science and art played a major role in society's inability to solve the world's problems. As a result, Snow anticipated the need for a 'third culture' created by curious non-scientists that would narrow this cultural divide. I propose that this third culture can be found in a medium that clearly intersects both art and science--and that medium is film. Film looks towards a variety of disciplines for inspiration and ideas and builds upon various fields in order to communicate a message. This multidisciplinary approach is the key uniting the two seemingly incongruous cultures. More specifically, the specific film medium through which the two cultures can best come together is the genre I have dubbed the "personal science film." This genre is a hybrid of the personal essay and the science documentary. This thesis will defend Snow's demand for both a scientifically and artistically literate public, analyze the historical events in which science and art have come together, and ultimately present a way in which Snow's formerly competing cultures can coexist and find common ground. I will discuss the basics of a personal science film, highlighting the many techniques required to reach a broader audience. I will demonstrate how the personal science film can bridge the gap between the artistic and scientific worlds, forming a 'third culture', and thus narrowing the "cultural divide".