OAR@UM Collection:https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/309792024-03-28T21:31:23Z2024-03-28T21:31:23ZThe governing gaze of masculinity in contemporary culturehttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/389432020-05-29T10:52:39Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: The governing gaze of masculinity in contemporary culture
Abstract: Contemporary culture bombards us with perfectly touched up images of men in a day and age where we are simultaneously told that we should love our bodies for whatever they may look like – hairy, fat, bald, short, skinny, manboobs, beer belly. Are the behavioural expectations instigated by the governing gaze of men in contemporary entertainment and advertising media putting pressure on men to perform their masculinity in specific ways, just as they did in the past, albeit in different ways and forms? This dissertation adopts a critical perspective by drawing on a Foucauldian conceptualisation of disciplinary power as an instrument of coercion and on Foucault’s understanding of the construction of the subject, of surveillance and of the Panoptic Gaze. Although Foucault’s work does not show much interest in gender/masculinity issues or in media texts per se, his conceptualisation of power will be an asset in deconstructing masculinity issues and power in the media in this dissertation.
Closely examining carefully selected examples of contemporary entertainment and advertising media texts, the purpose of this dissertation is to explore to what extent the rhetoric (in Barthes’s sense) of masculinity and constructions of representations of masculinity in adverts, lifestyle magazines, online articles, and film may potentially be considered to serve as agencies of domination in governing men to construct their masculinity and male body image in the mediated mirror image of western hegemonic masculinity. Some of the questions to be addressed are: In what way has the masculinisation of consumption converged with the feminisation of the representation of the male body? How has the male body become commodity fetishism? In what way do representations of masculinity in film and TV, adverts and general interest men’s lifestyle magazines contribute to the selling of fitness and of fit bodies?
It will be argued that popular culture texts in the media serve as Foucault’s ‘regimes of truth’, coercing men into constructing their male body image in the light of mediated hegemonic ideals as perpetuated by and in the media. Thus, a critical exploration of the mediated mythscape of masculinity will reveal in what ways the representations of masculinity and of the hypermuscular body in contemporary media texts are used to persuade men into consuming not just a product that can be purchased but also an ideology. This dissertation contends that media texts in contemporary culture construct power relations among a multitude of bodies, categorising, amongst so many other types, the beautiful, overweight, underweight, healthy, fit, unfit, muscular, and emasculated, by normalising the desire to own the precious hypermuscular physique it promotes. The Panoptic Gaze has encouraged men to survey their own bodies for signs of abnormality against a body image that may, in essence, be unrealistic. This dissertation concludes that the phenomenon of ‘Hypermuscular Sensitivity and Hypersensitive Machoism’ may be considered a new myth that is currently being constructed, which may nonetheless generate new transgressive bodies, and therefore, subject any consumer of media texts to even further surveillance, under a new guise.
Description: M.A.ENGLISH2018-01-01T00:00:00ZPerceptions of Maltese English : an experimental studyhttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/389422020-05-29T10:57:18Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Perceptions of Maltese English : an experimental study
Abstract: In order to understand what constitutes sociolinguistic variation, comprehension of the information it imparts to listeners is required. Variation conveys social meaning, perception and as a result, social structures (Campbell-Kibler, 2006). This dissertation examines listeners’ perceptions of MaltE, what these constitute and the variables influencing them, such as; listener background and linguistic features of MaltE among others. Modern social psychology considers perceptions to be the foundation of social constructions (Edwards, 1999). These views on different language varieties create language scenarios which influence our perceptions of the speakers and social communities. The perceptions of teachers of English towards MaltE are examined in this research using the verbal-guise test so as to understand some of the attitudes which emerge. The issue of language attitudes is also related to another concept; that of standard and non-standard accents which is also examined in this dissertation. “Accents are classified by the degree to which they are considered standard or non-standard within a particular community” (Cargile A. C., 1997, p. 435). Language ideologies have been discussed by many researchers and social perceptions of Standard English in the U.S and U.K are well documented. Indeed lately a move towards a more American accent has been noted:
…an older person may strive for a flawless RP accent, but a younger person is influenced by American…Where once upon a time there might have been a British colonial veneer, there will be an American veneer. This will happen to native and foreign users of English. And demographically in the future it will be a veneer over millions and millions of people. (Graddol, McArtur, Flack, & Amey, 1999, p. 8)
This study looks at the perceptions of listeners in light of the standard language ideology with regard to MaltE. Results showed that the presence of the post-vocalic /r/ and lack thereof, representing the non-standard variation and standard variation respectively resulted in different perceptions depending on the personality trait in the verbal-guise test. Thus, a shift towards a lesser-RP sounding accent was observed. While the more RP sounding accent received positive perceptions, this depended on the personality trait in the question and on the educational level of the listeners.
Description: M.A.ENGLISH2018-01-01T00:00:00ZRepresenting reality : memory and history in the works of Julian Barneshttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/389372020-05-29T10:55:56Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Representing reality : memory and history in the works of Julian Barnes
Abstract: The last century in literary history can be partially understood as a reaction to the realism that
characterised nineteenth-century literature. This dissertation proposes that, despite this reaction,
realism can now be observed to be making a return to contemporary fiction, albeit under different
modes. It specifically analyses Julian Barnes’s fiction as an example of a body of work where this
return is in evidence, and assesses how the representation of memory is thereby affected.
Definitions and redefinitions of realism, and the mimetic representation of the individual in historical
and novelistic space are important to the argument. Reference is accordingly made to thinkers like
Aristotle and Erich Auerbach, among others. In order to unfold questions concerning the
representation of the individual and history, this dissertation will also analyse the way memory is
carried in the novel space; primarily, through the studies of Paul Ricoeur, Maurice Halbwachs, and,
again, Aristotle.
To observe this to a fuller extent, this dissertation will engage in a comparative analysis of Julian
Barnes’s A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (1989) and The Noise of Time (2016), chosen for
special focus because they are paradigmatic of particular phases not only in his work but also within
contemporary fiction more largely. Barnes’s works are, indeed, particularly suitable for this exercise,
given that Barnes himself has been writing fiction since the rise of postmodernism, up till this very
day. The conclusion of this dissertation will then elaborate on the idea of the political novel, as
expressed by Jacques Rancière, which can uniquely posit time and space, and the insinuations this
brings with it. The same chapter will also draw on other examples of contemporary fiction in order to
support this notion.
Description: M.A.ENGLISH2018-01-01T00:00:00ZDefenders and offenders of nature : an exploration of leading female characters in contemporary environmental filmhttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/389352020-05-29T10:54:10Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Defenders and offenders of nature : an exploration of leading female characters in contemporary environmental film
Abstract: Since the first wave of environmentalism began in the 1970s, an increasing global awareness of environmental issues has made the topic increasingly culturally significant. By the turn of the 21st century, a growing cinematic field developed in response to the ecological crisis, with the portrayal of many such issues linked to human-induced effects caused by dominance over nature. According to theorists such as Greta Gaard, Karen J. Warren, and Vandana Shiva it is this domination, stemming from a patriarchal society, that allows parallels to be drawn between the oppression of nature and of women in a critical school of thought called ecofeminism. This study explores these parallels within contemporary environmental film using an ecofeminst approach to uncover if the mutuality between females and nature is present or changing in this prominent field of popular culture. Using films produced post-2010, this enabled an insight into the depiction of the most recent and culturally-relevant environmental issues including pollution, bioengineering, and agriculture. The selected time period also provided the opportunity to understand whether the influences of an era of globalisation and corporate expansion affect the female relationship with the natural world. The chosen case studies, Okja and The East provide the foundations for an in-depth analysis featuring females as the protagonists and leading roles, with the ability to compare and contrast with supporting characters, both male and female. The research conducted a close reading of the films using linguistic, visual and semiotic discourse analysis to explore the attitudes of the lead female and supporting male characters towards environmental issues, how they respond to and are affected by them, as well as their relationship with non-human characters. More specifically, this work seeks to uncover the ways in which cinematic representations can sustain of influence cultural values. Finally, this study worked to explore the existence of patriarchal oppression as the root cause of bonding women with nature in a role of mutual oppression. This dissertation has been developed to expand the scope of ecofeminism and ecocriticism into the field of film as a reflection of cultural attitudes within society as well as contribute to the foundations ecocinema as an expanding theory.
Description: M.A.ENGLISH2018-01-01T00:00:00Z