2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Studies of The USA as a Multicultural Society-in terms of Literature and Films
| Project/Area Number |
17520208
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
ヨーロッパ語系文学
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| Research Institution | Rikkyo University |
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Principal Investigator |
KOBAYASHI Kenji Rikkyo University, College of Arts, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (90092056)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Keywords | multiculturalism / literature and politics / the nation's writer / charivari / duality / theory of Romance / Jim Crow / minstrel show |
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| Research Abstract |
The main themes of this study are below.
(1) To investigate American literature and films in the USA, and see through the fictionalized constructions in the form of "American culture" during later 19th and early 20th in order to know the "true" or " real " American People who lived those days.
(2) To make sure the constructive relations among literature such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and popular culture such as Jim Crow and minstrel show, and early films directed by Edwin Porter such as Uncle Tom's Cabin, Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery.
(3) Compare the 19th canon literature such as novels by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, in relation with popular culture such as best-seller novels, popular dramas and street performances. Especially, I tried to shed light upon the creative activities of Nathaniel Hawthorne, in order to put focus on his hidden "political intention" of his age.
(4) The study of parallelism between "white supremacy" story tradition in Hollywood and the master piece, The Birth of Nation, directed by D. W. Grifith, the so-called "Father of American Films."
(5) Taking up the first talkie film, Jazz Singer, I tried to investigate the relationship between the process of turning the Jews into white people, and the popularity of Jazz as music.
(6) The gender study of Film Noir, focusing on "screen beauty" with "bluest eye and blond and white skin."
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