UNF Digital Commons UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship 2012 Reel Deans : The orP trayal of Higher-Education Administrators in American Films Jeffrey Todd Hess University of North Florida Suggested Citation Hess, Jeffrey Todd, "Reel Deans : The orP trayal of Higher-Education Administrators in American Films" (2012). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 396. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/396 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at UNF Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UNF Digital Commons. For more information, please contact Digital Projects. © 2012 All Rights Reserved REEL DEANS: THE PORTRAYAL OF HIGHER-EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS IN AMERICAN FILMS by Jeffrey Todd Hess A dissertation submitted to the College of Education and Human Services in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION April 2012 Unpublished work © Jeff Hess Signature Deleted Signature Deleted Signature Deleted Signature Deleted Signature Deleted Signature Deleted Signature Deleted iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With a warm heart and immense appreciation, I offer the ending credits of this dissertation. Film, Literature, and Editing Assistance Janet Holt, Sherri Litt, Julie McNeil, Carter Hess, and Sharon Schurer Spiritual Support my brothers and sisters at Riverside Avenue Christian Church Dissertation Guidance and Process Advisors E. Newton Jackson, Steve Paulson, and Marcia Lamkin Necessary Roughness and Scott Bakula Sympathizer Nicholas Martino, Esq. Dissertation Empathizer Tracy Pierce Instiller of the Love of Performance and the Protestant Work Ethic Jim and Sharon Hess Generous Guidance, Support, and Demonstration of REAL Leadership Margarita Cabral-Maly Help with the Family and All Things Domestic Saunie McLaughlin Provider of Patience for Times Away from Family Events Carter, Tanner & Jaeger Hess Qualitative Guidance, Thoughtful Discussion, and General Humor Advisor Ellie Scheirer Loving Spouse, Best Friend, and the Mrs. Miyagi of Grammar Suzanne Hess iv TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE .......................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................2 Higher-Education Leadership ..................................................................................3 Research Question ...................................................................................................5 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................6 Methodology and Selection of Films .......................................................................8 Organization of the Dissertation ..............................................................................9 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................11 Working Relationships among Constituent Groups in Higher Education .............11 “The Dark Side” as a Term for Administration .....................................................13 Definition of the Dark Side Phenomenon ..............................................................14 Education’s Neglect of Film ..................................................................................18 Prevalence of Film .................................................................................................20 Film’s Varied Outlets .................................................................................21 Young Film Audiences ..............................................................................23 Rationale to Study American Films .......................................................................24 The Hollywood Curriculum ...................................................................................26 Education’s Use of Film as Curriculum .....................................................27 Film’s Reflection of Reality.......................................................................27 Film’s Creation of Reality .........................................................................28 The Cycle of Film and Reality ...................................................................29 Film’s Effect on the Individual ..............................................................................30 v Film’s Effect on Culture ........................................................................................31 Film’s Indirect Link to Individuals ........................................................................33 Films as Historical Artifacts ..................................................................................34 Films about Higher Education ...............................................................................35 Educational Research of Films ..............................................................................36 Film’s Portrayal of Higher Education ....................................................................37 Film’s Portrayal of College Constituents ...................................................38 Film’s Portrayal of College Administrators ...............................................41 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................43 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................46 The Researcher as Tool ..........................................................................................47 Philosophical Assumptions ........................................................................51 Connoisseurship .........................................................................................52 Research Design.....................................................................................................53 Bricolage ....................................................................................................53 Content Analysis ........................................................................................55 Theoretical Framework for Data Collection ..........................................................57 Burke’s Dramatistic Theory .......................................................................57 Pentadic Analysis .......................................................................................58 Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory and Message System Analysis ..................59 Theoretical Framework for Data Analysis .............................................................61 Frames for Data Analysis...........................................................................61 Domains for Data Analysis ........................................................................61 Selection of American Films for Data Collection..................................................62 Procedures for Data Collection ..............................................................................66 Viewing Films and Recording Data ...........................................................67 Films Selected for Data Collection ............................................................69 Genre of Films Selected for Data Collection .............................................71 Release Dates of Films Selected for Data Collection ................................72 Procedures for Data Analysis.................................................................................72 Organization of Data into Frames ..............................................................74 Identifying Domains in the Data ................................................................74 Limitations .............................................................................................................76 vi Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................77 CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS .....................................................................................79 Educational Criticism.............................................................................................79 The Scene Pentadic Element ..................................................................................80 Locations ....................................................................................................81 Institutions..................................................................................................81 Architectural Features ................................................................................82 Time Period ................................................................................................83