Date of Award
8-2001
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Douglas Davidson
Second Advisor
Dr. Greg Howard
Third Advisor
Dr. Steven Lipkin
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
This thesis explores how scenes of conflict within the "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series articulate four problematic characteristics of mediated quasi-interaction. The exploration is achieved partly by turning these four problematic characteristics into four "metaphorical anxiety themes," the occurrence of which is kept track of as they appear within the conflict scenes. Afterward, select scenes of conflict are reinterpreted based around the concept of "pseudo-ontology," which is used to uncover the ideological significance of the main characters' actions. Overall, the findings display that the films' articulation of the four metaphorical anxiety themes, alone and in combination, decrease over the span of the series, although in a nonlinear trend/pattern. The decrease possibly indicates that the films of the series are indeed allegorical-ideological critiques of mediated quasi-interaction. This is because, as the thesis argues, mediated quasi-interaction was in a "heightened" state during the time period that the films in the first half of the series debuted.
Recommended Citation
Rapelje, Jason, "“Welcome to Prime-Time, Bitch”: The Nightmare on Elm Street Film Series and the Social Problematic of Mediated Quasi-Interaction" (2001). Masters Theses. 4202.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4202