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PAUL VERHOEVEN, MEDIA MANIPULATION, AND HYPER-REALITY
| Title: | PAUL VERHOEVEN, MEDIA MANIPULATION, AND HYPER-REALITY. |
 104 views 37 downloads |
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| Name(s): |
Malchiodi, Emmanuel, Author Janz, Bruce, Committee Chair University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Date Issued: | 2011 | |
| Publisher: | University of Central Florida | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Abstract/Description: | Dutch director Paul Verhoeven is a polarizing figure. Although many of his American made films have received considerable praise and financial success, he has been lambasted on countless occasions for his gratuitous use of sex, violence, and contentious symbolism - 1995s Showgirls was overwhelmingly dubbed the worst film of all time and 1997s Starship Troopers earned him a reputation as a fascist. Regardless of the controversy surrounding him, his science fiction films are a move beyond the conventions of the big blockbuster science fiction films of the 1980s (E.T. and the Star Wars trilogy are prime examples), revealing a deeper exploration of both sociopolitical issues and the human condition. Much like the novels of Philip K. Dick (and Verhoeven's 1990 film Total Recall - an adaptation of a Dick short story), Verhoeven's science fiction work explores worlds where paranoia is a constant and determining whether an individual maintains any liberty is regularly questionable. In this thesis I am basically exploring issues regarding power. Although I barely bring up the term power in it, I feel it is central. Power is an ambiguous term; are we discussing physical power, state power, objective power, subjective power, or any of the other possible manifestations of the word? The original Anglo-French version of power means to be able,asking whether it is possible for one to do something. In relation to Verhoeven's science fiction work each demonstrates the limitations placed upon an individual's autonomy, asking are the protagonists capable of independent agency or rather just environmental constructs reflecting the myriad influences surrounding them. Does the individual really matter in the post-modern world, brimming with countless signs and signifiers? My main objective in this writing is to demonstrate how this happens in Verhoeven's films, exploring his central themes and subtext and doing what science fiction does: hold a mirror up to the contemporary world and critique it, asking whether our species' current trajectory is beneficial or hazardous. | |
| Identifier: | CFH0003844 (IID), ucf:44697 (fedora) | |
| Note(s): |
2011-05-01 B.A. Arts and Humanities, Other Masters This record was generated from author submitted information. |
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| Subject(s): |
Paul Verhoeven Neil Postman Michel Foucault Hyper-Reality Media Manipulation Robocop Total Recall Starship Troopers Noam Chomsky autonomy liberty freedom Showgirls Basic Instinct Ricky Gervais Bill Hicks Videodrome David Cronenberg television news Technopoly Amusing Ourselves to Death Discipline and Punish Manufacturing Consent Simulacrum and Simulation War Porn Arnold Schwarzenegger Peter Weller Nancy Allen Ronny Cox Michael Ironside Casper Van Dien Denise Richards Roger Ebert ED-209 OCP Federal Network Arachnids The Southern Agrarians John Carpenter Isaac Asimov Robert Heinlein Philip K. Dick Marshall McLuhan Michael Moore Roger and Me Slavoj Zizek Violence The Medium is the Message We Can Remember it For You Wholesale |
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| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003844 | |
| Restrictions on Access: | public | |
| Host Institution: | UCF |
