Four Films

Date of Award

Spring 2017

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

English

First Advisor

Dr. Nancy Eimers

Second Advisor

Dr. William Olsen

Third Advisor

Dr. Daneen Wardrop

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Heather Addison

Keywords

Four films, creative dissertation

Abstract

This creative manuscript builds upon previous critical research into the topic of cinepoetics, writing that attempts to meld the strengths, traditions, genres, concerns, techniques, and peculiarities of one of humanity’s oldest art forms (poetry) and arguably the defining art form of the modern age (film). Experimenting with ekphrastic, documentary, and formal approaches, this manuscript evokes the movie-going experience through four distinct poetic “films” (or sequences) for readers, thereby creating a cinepoetics. Therefore, this project is one space to creatively explore critical interests and to promote artistic intersectionality, intellectual collaboration, and interdisciplinary cross-pollination.

The first cinepoetic sequence (“The Seven Sons of Golden”) is inspired by the road-trip film genre and sonic-heightened poetry to create a family drama of ten interwoven persona poems. The second cinepoetic sequence (“Big Man”) is inspired by the sports documentary film genre, as well as traditional poetic forms, in its exploration of decaying masculinity over time. The third cinepoetic sequence (“Mathematinee”) is inspired by widescreen, wide-format “spaghetti Western” films and epic historical dramas, as well as the horror genre, to investigate humankind’s interactions with one recurring intellectual obsession. Finally, the fourth cinepoetic sequence (“The River”) attempts to create a film of sorts through poetry.

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Dissertation-Abstract Only

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