title: "There is evil there that does not sleep": The construction of evil in American popular cinema from 1989 to 2002

authors: Bather, Neil Edward

subjects: Hollywood cinema

abstract: In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir refers to the lands of Mordor as the place where evil never sleeps. Cinematic evil itself never sleeps, always arising in new forms, to the extent that there exist as many types of evil as there are films. This thesis examines this constantly shifting construction of evil in American popular cinema between 1989 and 2002 - roughly, the period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the attack on the World Trade Center - and how this cinema engaged with representations of enemies and of evil per se. The thesis uses content and thematic analysis on a sample of the 201 most successful films at the U.S. box office during the period. In these films, cinematic evil is constructed according to a visual aesthetic that attempts to engage with societal values, but fails to do so due to the emphasis on its visual construction and its commodification. As Baudrillard argues, evil has become a hollow concept devoid of meaning, and this is especially so for cinematic evil. It is recognised, and is recognisable, by the visual excessiveness of its violence (or potentiality for violence), and by certain codes that are created in reference to intertextual patterns and in relationship to discourses of paranoia and malaise. But cinema in this period failed to engage with the concept of evil itself in any meaningful way. Cinematic evil mirrors the descent into the chaos and disorder of a postmodern society. All cinematic evil can do is to connect with this sense of unease in which the 'reality of evil' cannot be represented. Instead, it draws on earlier icons and narratives of evil in a conflation of narrative and spectacle that produces a cinema of nostalgia. Moreover, stripped of narrative causality, these films express a belief, unproved and unprovable, that evil things and evil people may arise in any form, in any place and at any time: a cinema of paranoia. Together, these factors produce a cinema of malaise, perpetually confronting an evil it is unable to define or locate.

text: "There is evil there that does not sleep": The construction of evil in American popular cinema from 1989 to 2002 In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir refers to the lands of Mordor as the place where evil never sleeps. Cinematic evil itself never sleeps, always arising in new forms, to the extent that there exist as many types of evil as there are films. This thesis examines this constantly shifting construction of evil in American popular cinema between 1989 and 2002 - roughly, the period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the attack on the World Trade Center - and how this cinema engaged with representations of enemies and of evil per se. The thesis uses content and thematic analysis on a sample of the 201 most successful films at the U.S. box office during the period. In these films, cinematic evil is constructed according to a visual aesthetic that attempts to engage with societal values, but fails to do so due to the emphasis on its visual construction and its commodification. As Baudrillard argues, evil has become a hollow concept devoid of meaning, and this is especially so for cinematic evil. It is recognised, and is recognisable, by the visual excessiveness of its violence (or potentiality for violence), and by certain codes that are created in reference to intertextual patterns and in relationship to discourses of paranoia and malaise. But cinema in this period failed to engage with the concept of evil itself in any meaningful way. Cinematic evil mirrors the descent into the chaos and disorder of a postmodern society. All cinematic evil can do is to connect with this sense of unease in which the 'reality of evil' cannot be represented. Instead, it draws on earlier icons and narratives of evil in a conflation of narrative and spectacle that produces a cinema of nostalgia. Moreover, stripped of narrative causality, these films express a belief, unproved and unprovable, that evil things and evil people may arise in any form, in any place and at any time: a cinema of paranoia. Together, these factors produce a cinema of malaise, perpetually confronting an evil it is unable to define or locate.

year: 2007

title: Regioisomeric preferences in the orthomanganation of meta-substituted acetophenones and isopropyl benzoates, and application of iodo-demanganation with iodine chloride to the synthesis of 2-iodo-3-O-substituted and other ortho-iodo arylcarbonyl compounds

authors: Cooney, Janine M.

subjects: Manganese

abstract: Synthesis is reported of regioisomeric ortho-[Mn(CO)4] derivatives of aryl ketones (2-chlorothioxanthen-9-one and 3′,4′-methylenedioxyacetophenone) and esters (isopropyl 3-methoxy- and 3-acetoxy-benzoate), as well as of the single ortho-[Mn(CO)4] products from methyl 4-methoxy- and 3,5-dimethoxy-benzoate. Factors influencing the preference for manganation at the crowded positions ortho to the C=O in meta-substituted aryl ketones and esters are considered. The frequency of the lowest energy metal carbonyl stretching mode is useful in the structural assignment of the regioisomers. Isopropyl 2-iodo-3-methoxy- and 2-iodo-3-acetoxy-benzoates are obtained by reaction of iodine chloride to replace the Mn(CO)4 group at the crowded 2-position of the corresponding orthomanganated 3-O-substituted benzoate esters. ortho-Iodoacetophenones were prepared likewise, without α-iodination, some with iodine in crowded positions (2′-iodo-3′-methoxy-, -3′,4′-methylenedioxy- and -3′,4′,5′-trimethoxy-acetophenone), others with O-protected 2′-hydroxy groups (2′-benzyloxy- and 2′-t-butyldimethylsilyloxy-3′,4′-dimethoxy-6′-iodobenzene and 2′-t-butyldimethylsiloxy-6′-iodobenzene). Potential general synthetic routes to derivatives of 2-iodo-3-hydroxy-, 2-iodo-3,4-dihydroxy-, and 2-iodo-6-hydroxy-aryl carbonyl compounds are indicated. The corresponding routes to 3-iodo-4-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene and 3-iodo-2-acetylthiophene are also reported.

text: Regioisomeric preferences in the orthomanganation of meta-substituted acetophenones and isopropyl benzoates, and application of iodo-demanganation with iodine chloride to the synthesis of 2-iodo-3-O-substituted and other ortho-iodo arylcarbonyl compounds Synthesis is reported of regioisomeric ortho-[Mn(CO)4] derivatives of aryl ketones (2-chlorothioxanthen-9-one and 3′,4′-methylenedioxyacetophenone) and esters (isopropyl 3-methoxy- and 3-acetoxy-benzoate), as well as of the single ortho-[Mn(CO)4] products from methyl 4-methoxy- and 3,5-dimethoxy-benzoate. Factors influencing the preference for manganation at the crowded positions ortho to the C=O in meta-substituted aryl ketones and esters are considered. The frequency of the lowest energy metal carbonyl stretching mode is useful in the structural assignment of the regioisomers. Isopropyl 2-iodo-3-methoxy- and 2-iodo-3-acetoxy-benzoates are obtained by reaction of iodine chloride to replace the Mn(CO)4 group at the crowded 2-position of the corresponding orthomanganated 3-O-substituted benzoate esters. ortho-Iodoacetophenones were prepared likewise, without α-iodination, some with iodine in crowded positions (2′-iodo-3′-methoxy-, -3′,4′-methylenedioxy- and -3′,4′,5′-trimethoxy-acetophenone), others with O-protected 2′-hydroxy groups (2′-benzyloxy- and 2′-t-butyldimethylsilyloxy-3′,4′-dimethoxy-6′-iodobenzene and 2′-t-butyldimethylsiloxy-6′-iodobenzene). Potential general synthetic routes to derivatives of 2-iodo-3-hydroxy-, 2-iodo-3,4-dihydroxy-, and 2-iodo-6-hydroxy-aryl carbonyl compounds are indicated. The corresponding routes to 3-iodo-4-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene and 3-iodo-2-acetylthiophene are also reported.

year: 2001-09-01

title: Decolonisation as a social change framework and its impact on the development of Indigenous-based curricula for Helping Professionals in mainstream Tertiary Education Organisations

authors: Moeke-Pickering, Taima Materangatira

subjects: Indigenous Education

abstract: This research examined the social and political approaches that Indigenous peoples undertook to situate Indigenous-based education programmes in mainstream post-secondary/tertiary education organisations. Indigenous-based helping programmes assist to progress Indigenous aspirations for self-determination and are sites that center Indigenous worldviews. A decolonisation analysis framework that is embedded in the curriculum deepens students’ understanding about the impacts of imperialism, colonisation and post colonial issues. This thesis involved researching two Indigenous-based programmes that are based within mainstream tertiary institutes. The first is the Te Whiuwhiu o te Hau Maori Counselling degree programme which is based at the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC) in Hamilton, Aotearoa, New Zealand. The other is the Native Human Services Social Work degree programme which is based at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. I start this thesis with “opening the circle” and situating the context for my research. Next is the literature review chapter. This chapter provides a review of decolonisation-colonisation, decolonisation frameworks within Indigenous education, self-determination and Indigenous peoples, and Maori and Native self-determination strategies relevant to health and education. I used a case study method combined with an Indigenous methodology to guide the research. This involved gathering key pieces of information as well as interviewing participants (graduates, tutors/faculty/developers) from each programme. In chapter four is the Te Whiuwhiu o te Hau case study and in chapter five is found the Native Human Services case study. Each case study covers pre-colonial and colonisation contexts and examines assimilative legislation on Indigenous education and health. The backgrounds of social work and counselling, Native social work and Maori counselling are also presented. In the case studies is the background and rationale for the development of each programme, as well as pertinent information on the course content. Chapter six presents on the findings and conclusion and chapter seven “closes the circle”. The main findings highlighted that Indigenous curricula and pedagogies embrace Indigenous theories and discourse relevant to the helping practice fields. Secondly, each programme fosters students to make positive changes for themselves, for their communities, and for their professions. Another finding is that faculty/tutors promote an inclusive Indigenous pedagogy in the classroom that incorporates cultural ceremonies, encourage personal introspection, builds cultural and professional skills, and teaches critical education. Both programmes reflected a pedagogy that taught students to counter negative narratives while instilling a critical analysis of decolonisation and colonisation. I propose that a decolonisation analysis is both a reflective and healing tool, in that students are provided with the hard evidence about their histories and what happened to their communities. I contend that Indigenous-based programmes contribute to the continuity of Indigenous culture and wellbeing of their communities and, that they play a vital role in advancing Indigenous education priorities.

text: Decolonisation as a social change framework and its impact on the development of Indigenous-based curricula for Helping Professionals in mainstream Tertiary Education Organisations This research examined the social and political approaches that Indigenous peoples undertook to situate Indigenous-based education programmes in mainstream post-secondary/tertiary education organisations. Indigenous-based helping programmes assist to progress Indigenous aspirations for self-determination and are sites that center Indigenous worldviews. A decolonisation analysis framework that is embedded in the curriculum deepens students’ understanding about the impacts of imperialism, colonisation and post colonial issues. This thesis involved researching two Indigenous-based programmes that are based within mainstream tertiary institutes. The first is the Te Whiuwhiu o te Hau Maori Counselling degree programme which is based at the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC) in Hamilton, Aotearoa, New Zealand. The other is the Native Human Services Social Work degree programme which is based at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. I start this thesis with “opening the circle” and situating the context for my research. Next is the literature review chapter. This chapter provides a review of decolonisation-colonisation, decolonisation frameworks within Indigenous education, self-determination and Indigenous peoples, and Maori and Native self-determination strategies relevant to health and education. I used a case study method combined with an Indigenous methodology to guide the research. This involved gathering key pieces of information as well as interviewing participants (graduates, tutors/faculty/developers) from each programme. In chapter four is the Te Whiuwhiu o te Hau case study and in chapter five is found the Native Human Services case study. Each case study covers pre-colonial and colonisation contexts and examines assimilative legislation on Indigenous education and health. The backgrounds of social work and counselling, Native social work and Maori counselling are also presented. In the case studies is the background and rationale for the development of each programme, as well as pertinent information on the course content. Chapter six presents on the findings and conclusion and chapter seven “closes the circle”. The main findings highlighted that Indigenous curricula and pedagogies embrace Indigenous theories and discourse relevant to the helping practice fields. Secondly, each programme fosters students to make positive changes for themselves, for their communities, and for their professions. Another finding is that faculty/tutors promote an inclusive Indigenous pedagogy in the classroom that incorporates cultural ceremonies, encourage personal introspection, builds cultural and professional skills, and teaches critical education. Both programmes reflected a pedagogy that taught students to counter negative narratives while instilling a critical analysis of decolonisation and colonisation. I propose that a decolonisation analysis is both a reflective and healing tool, in that students are provided with the hard evidence about their histories and what happened to their communities. I contend that Indigenous-based programmes contribute to the continuity of Indigenous culture and wellbeing of their communities and, that they play a vital role in advancing Indigenous education priorities.

year: 2010