Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Media Arts

Committee Chair and Members

Larry Banks, Chair

Lynn Hassan

Marjan Moghaddam

Keywords

Akira Kurosawa, Asian influence in cinema, Cultural representation in Hollywood, Orientalism in films, Star Wars, The Hero's Journey

Abstract

M.A. ITP Thesis Paper Abstract:

This thesis paper – The Force without Faces - Asians Culture and Its Invisible Role in Star Wars – analyzes the relationship between George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and the works of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) and The Hidden Fortress (1958), along with Flash Gordon (1936). The Western idea of a borrowed culture plays a significant role in crafting one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood history. Following Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and other theorists, George Lucas takes the audience on a journey through space opera filled with imaginations in the galaxy far, far away...

M.A. ITP Thesis Production Abstract:

de L'Amour is a short film about Lily, a 19-year old Chinese-American girl working 2 jobs to help support her mother and baby sister while going to school. She is working towards the American dream of becoming a dancer on Broadway. Shooting with a Canon DSLR, it allows the production to move freely and seamlessly as the crew captures the vibrant life of New York City.

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