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Item The depiction of indigenous African cultures as other in contemporary, Western natural history film(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Shier, Sara Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald TobiasImages of the indigenous other have always been used in accord with the imperialistic movements of the Western world. Filmmakers continue to use the basic model of depicting people of indigenous cultures as exotic and more primitive than people of Western cultures with the effect of validating Western values and reinforcing the perceived superiority/authority of Western values over other value systems. This form is readily apparent in the treatment of the indigenous people of Africa in natural history films from the inception of the medium to present day. I will examine films from the 1920s through the present day. If filmmakers are to create successful natural history films that incorporate people of indigenous cultures, they must critically study the histories and mythologies that inform these films in order to avoid making the same mistakes.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 Perspective in wildlife films(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Kasic, Kathryn Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigDiscussions of perspective rarely occur in analyses of wildlife films perhaps because of the near neglect of the genre itself as well as the fact that most analysis focuses on content, rather than structure and style. Perspective has long been a part of narrative film criticism, however, and it is essential to a complete examination of a film genre. I define perspective here as the cognitive view of the mind that commands the subject. In documentary and wildlife films, credibility is vital and the film's perspective or point of view establishes this through the use of the camera apparatus and narration. The very use of these tools of perspective may add to a scientific perspective, but inevitably prevent an objectively scientific representation, the pivot of a fact-driven, wildlife film. Although credibility is established by evidence and facts, a tendency toward anthropomorphism can jeopardize claims of objectivity and scientific credibility.Item Beyond the image(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Bissell, Owen Edward; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David ScheererDocumentaries with science and nature as their subject matter have a great, untapped potential for art virtually unexplored in the history of film. A look at the general trend of these films shows a steady progression attempting more subjective and reflexive treatments of material, but science documentaries today are generally stuck in the classical expository mode. This lack of progression in films with scientific subject (including nature and wildlife) subject matter is largely due to producers unwillingness to break from the conventions of genre. In their attempts to create art instead of craft, the next generation of science and wildlife filmmakers will recognize that the promise of art rests in its ability to restructure symbolic representation and therefore change how an audience understands the world. This restructuring of symbolic representation is important and necessary because of hidden and oppressive ideological forces in society ratified by normal symbols. The new generation of science documentary creator will discard the notion of film images as facts and instead pursue a more ambiguous goal of truth. This may involve fabrication; a lie that makes us know the truth. Several individuals serve as examples in this endeavor, such as Brecht, Bunuel, Morris and Herzog. In their works, these artists employ reflexive techniques that elevate viewers consciousness. My own thesis film project, The Last Run (2006), demonstrates some of these techniques more successfully than others. Creators of the new science and nature documentary must break step with decades of established conventions, moving beyond a literal, objective perspective and embracing an imaginative, subjective treatment of their material. These new artistic science and wildlife filmmakers will have three goals: 1) Escape from genre and its binary tendencies; 2) Make art by altering symbolic meanings or representations; and 3) Choose subjects of political (even controversial) or personal importance that are uncommon in todays television programs about science and nature.Item Beyond words : the use of the non-verbal genre in natural history filmmaking(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Haywood, Keene McDonald; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigNatural history filmmaking has a history that begins with the advent of cinematography as a form of artistic and documentary expression. Natural history filmmaking has increasingly used techniques of fiction, drama and anthropomorphizing to represent the natural world in storytelling. This paper will examine the use of the nonverbal form of filmmaking as an alternative style that can be used to effectively document natural history using a more lyrical, poetic and often more thoughtful style. This work examines previous works in the non-verbal genre and discusses how this style compares with historically more traditional natural history films and why this alternative style is used for the thesis film. Additionally, works from the disciplines of geography and natural history writing are examined for relevance to the non-verbal natural history filmmaking genre.Item The preference for the exotic in wildlife broadcast film(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Fitzgibbons, Ryan Patrick; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald Tobias; Paul Monaco (co-chair)American wildlife broadcast film has exhibited a preference for exotic fauna, leaving much of North American wildlife underappreciated. The American preference for the exotic finds its roots in the early African hunting films of Cherry Kearton, John Hemment, and Martin Johnson. These films became manifestations of the Pristine, a conceptual realm of untouched wildness filled with aesthetically-pleasing megafauna. Since then, visions of the Pristine, through the exotic wildlife and landscape, have remained popular in American broadcast viewing, as seen in Animal Planet's programming. Exotic wildlife broadcast film encourages viewers to engage in the roles of tourist, refugee, and conservationist. These roles, in turn, foster an understanding of nature that is dominated by seemingly plentiful megafauna, disconnected from humans and valued through a nature-importing model.