The Naturalization of “Good” Violence in Recent Films
THE NATURALIZATION OF “GOOD” VIOLENCE IN RECENT FILMS ABOUT THE WAR ON TERROR by Alejandro Botia A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Media and Communication Middle Tennessee State University May 2017 Dr. Jane Marcellus, Chair Dr. Sanjay Asthana Dr. Robert Kalwinsky To my sons Martin, Simon and my beloved wife Carolina ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank Middle Tennessee State University for giving me the opportunity of pursuing my postgraduate studies and experiencing again the fresh air of the academic environment. I would also like particularly to express my gratitude to Dr. Jane Marcellus, my thesis advisor and Committee Chair, whose guidance, support and encouragement were a constant source of motivation and an invaluable input for the achievement of this research. Special thanks to Dr. Sanjay Asthana and Dr. Robert Kalwinsky, the other two committee members, for their suggestions, ideas and materials that enriched the scope of this study. Last, but not least, my gratitude to the Writing Center at MTSU and all the editors (Jamie, Austin, Jane, Ellie, Stacey, Erica, Jency) who correct my grammar and made these pages more readable. iii ABSTRACT This thesis undertakes a narrative analysis of three recent films about the war on terror: Olympus Has Fallen (2013), American Sniper (2014) and London Has Fallen (2016) to study how these movies produce meaning with regard to the worldwide fight against terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Drawing on Barthes´ theory of semiotics and Foucault´s notion of Subjectification and Knowledge/power, this research explores the construction of the terrorist character and the Arab enemy in fictional narratives and how those meanings produce a body of knowledge which defines the imaginary space to think and talk about such phenomena.
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