Construction and Constraint: The Animal Body and Constructions of Power in Motion Pictures by Kathleen M. Peplin A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Screen Arts and Cultures) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor Caryl Flinn, Chair Associate Professor Irene Gustafson, University of California at Santa Cruz Associate Professor Sheila C. Murphy Professor Johannes von Moltke Copyright © 2016 Kathleen M Peplin To Mom, Dad, Joey and Chris For all the times you let me chatter on about what I imagined the cats and dogs around us to be feeling…letting me be curious, and talkative, and loving me, has made this possible. ii Acknowledgments It is tempting for all of us to believe that rigorous intellectual work is the result of sustained, personal dedication an idea, carried out unwaveringly over a course of years with perfect focus on the end goal. For me, at least, the reality is that this project is the result of a network of support that sustained me in every way possible throughout this process. That network has its deepest roots in the University of Michigan, and in the Screen Arts and Cultures department. I have been well supported financially, but even more richly in the intellectual engagement, advice, encouragement and challenge provided by the network of faculty and graduate students here. I’m lucky, and this project is better for it. First of all, this project would not have been possible without the incredible support of Caryl Flinn, my chair, and more importantly, my mentor. Large sections of this dissertation were drafted at the glass table in her house as Greta (sometimes) slept at my feet, but more than that, large sections of the argument and method could not have come to life without her generous and open brand of scholarship and teaching. From the moment I picked up The Arcades Project in her Historiography seminar in my first year, I knew that I had found a mind that I admired and a career that modeled all that I wanted to be. I am forever grateful that she saw promise and potential in the project, and was patient and present enough to allow me to grow as a writer, teacher, scholar and professional capable of writing the project I knew I could. The other members of my committee have also been woven indelibly into the fabric of this project, and my scholarship writ large. It was a pleasure to return to Michigan and have Johannes von Moltke, who was so influential to my undergraduate experience so many moons ago become iii influential in this work. His nimble intellectual connections and expansive curiosity fed this project by encouraging me to read as much as I could and as widely as I could, and he was a brilliant model for how that curiosity could engage and encourage the undergraduates he teaches, and the graduate students who teach with him. Sheila Murphy is the kind of advisor all graduate students should have: she is a fierce advocate, a dedicated teacher, a compassionate mentor, and a brilliant mind. She taught me that the best work comes from the objects we care about, not the things we think we should write about, and that eventually passion and enthusiasm will fuel you, if you let yourself remember the joy of teaching and writing that drew you here in the first place. Irene Gustafson was a later addition to the team, but her incisive comments and deep commitment to the intersectional nature of our lives as media scholars and media practioners both unlocked important arguments that I was hesitant to make on my own. In a field where I often felt out of sync, it was restorative and generative to find someone whose work I so admired, and even more amazing that my own work could benefit from her involvement. One of the many reasons I chose to return to Michigan to work on my PhD was the promise that I would have the full support of the faculty writ large, and not just my committee. I’m honored to report that it was exactly the case – from my seminars to my teaching assignments, the workshops and the emailed CFP’s, I knew that I had an entire floor of some of the smartest, most engaged scholars in the field to give generously of their time and expertise to help support me intellectually and professionally. To Richard Abel, who took an 18 year old biomedical engineer and turned her into a media scholar, I thank you for your kind and thoughtful guidance and mentorship all along the way – I wouldn’t be here without it, and you (and Barbara too!) To Mark Kligerman and Terri Sarris, who sat in on my undergraduate thesis defense, shaping that project, and remain influential to my understanding of what it means to practice media, and teach iv it well – thank you. To our amazing librarian, Phil Hallman, thank you for never batting an eye when I asked you to buy Justin Bieber documentaries to teach, and even more so for all the conversations about film watching, history, space, geography, teaching, archives and loving media that shaped my teaching and my scholarship. We’re all lucky to have you, and the collection you so lovingly built and maintain, at our fingertips. And to Carrie Moore, Marga Schuhwerk-Hampel, Mary Lou Chlipala, and Lisa Rohde-Barbeau – no matter what the issue was, or what I needed, you were there to support me and build the department into a place where I haven’t just been able to work, but loved to do so. And to all the students I’ve taught along the way – thank you for your enthusiasm, your brilliance and your engagement. You’ve been the fuel that kept it all going. My fellow graduate students provided a space, literally and figuratively, for me to grow as a student and a professional, and while I never was able to do a minute of work in the lounge, it was more often because I enjoyed the pleasure of your company as people just as much as colleagues. You all have eaten extra scones when I needed to procrasti-bake, helped me celebrate huge milestones, read and listened to my work, shared seminar spaces with me, and taught with me as we all worked towards building the kind of academia we want to work in one day. To Peter Alilunas, Uncle Mike Arnold and Nathan Koob – thank you for showing me how to be a graduate student when there was no handbook to reference. To Dimitri Pavlounis and Feroz Hassan, thank you for the sparring and pushback to clarify my ideas, or my taste in media objects. To Ben Strassfeld, my cohortmate, who was always there to give me precise feedback on every time I used the present tense to describe a historical fact, and when my ideas were great and needed to be said. To Josh Morrison, Yuki Nakayma, and Richard Mwakasege-Minaya for showing me what it looks like to teach your passions, write your passions and fight for your v project. To Kaelie Thompson and Joseph Deleon, thank you both for being kind enough to listen when I felt wise, and sharing your amazing enthusiasm and intelligence all along the way. And to Marisa Spada and Vincent Longo, may you find all the support and fun here that I have. I’ll look back in twenty years and regret this, probably, but I couldn’t not call out my #squad, as I have a group of women around me that everyone should be lucky enough to have. To my PFF triad, Jennifer Ellis and Katie Lennard, for being amazing supports and advocates – thanks for all the lunches that fed me body and soul. To Erin Davis, who sent me corgi pictures and encouragement from the moment we sat in 236 discussion together. A special thanks to Deborah Forger and Alysa Handelsman, my writing group – Sweetland may have brought us together, but your support has gone much beyond that for me. You read my work when it was at its roughest, and never failed to help me find the thread. To Erin Hanna, who despite an unfortunate tolerance of Logan Huntsberger is exactly the kind of woman and scholar I want to be. I’m lucky that I can count her as friend and mentor as well. To Courtney Ritter, who got the phone calls when I was at my lowest, read my work when it was nonsensical, and held space for me to be a woman, and not just a student. I honestly wouldn’t have made it through without you. Ita Yoga Studio was my other home for five years, and I’m especially thankful for Ita Reyes and Aubrey Dowdy. You held space for me, and more than that, taught me how to hold it for myself – thank you, thank you, thank you. And to Zingerman’s Coffee Company, thank you for all the lattes. To Anne-Charlotte Mecklenburg and Kayti Lausch – it should come as no shock to either of you that of all the revisions I’ve done in the whole dissertation, I’ve messed with this paragraph the most. I’ve made it One Direction themed, used quotes from Anne of Green Gables – there was an unfortunate period when I thought that something about Coca-Cola would do – but it turns out, I keep coming back to Girl Meets World. When we look back in fifteen years, I’ll vi have a model of Pluto in our time capsule because you encouraged me to put it in there even when I was afraid, tired, and unsure of myself.