Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Kipp Preble

Second Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Abstract

This study examined three modern films - Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, and Iron Man 2 - to understand the place of Surrealism in contemporary communication. The thesis began with a review of literature regarding Surrealism's revolutionary propensities and its flow into the mainstream. The review's basis was postmodernist philosophy rooted in Roland Barthes's and Umberto Eco's semiotics and Stuart Hall's cultural studies. This underlying philosophy asserted the complexity and mutability of signs and styles, a media role in acceptance and mutation of signs/styles, and endurance of ideas through cultural shifts. Semiotic analysis was crucial methodology in this study as it had been used previously to investigate sign systems in various media forms but never used to determine whether Surrealism was dead or alive. This study discussed and uncovered the presence of Surrealism in modern mass communication but also provided insight regarding the influence of art and revolutionary movements on culture and communication.

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