University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Flickering lights on the eve of destruction: Technology and being in the nuclear war film

Krug, Gary James

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/20027

Description

Title
Flickering lights on the eve of destruction: Technology and being in the nuclear war film
Author(s)
Krug, Gary James
Issue Date
1989
Department of Study
Communication
Discipline
Communication
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Sociology, Theory and Methods
  • Mass Communications
  • Cinema
Language
eng
Abstract
This work is a phenomenological and interpretive study of the presentation of self, society and technology in select films which touch on nuclear war. Although nuclear war has been treated in films since at least 1951, few authors have attempted to explore the meaning, technique, aesthetic and thematics of this body of film. Chapter One explores the problems of discourse in social critique and commentary about nuclear war. Chapter Two lays the methodological and theoretical foundations for this reading of film, building on the traditions of Symbolic Interactionism and American cultural studies. Chapter Three examines the world of technology and nuclear weapons systems as they are presented in these films and discusses the consequences for human existence within these systems. Chapter Four looks at films of the post-war world as they portray the problems life in the absence of the social. Chapter Five examines life in the face of impending death from nuclear war. Chapter Six concludes with a discussion of the aesthetics and politics of these films in the contexts of twentieth century critical theory and analytic psychology.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20027
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1989 Krug, Gary James

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Communication