Date of Award
5-1-2015
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Mass Communication and Media Arts
First Advisor
Metz, Walter
Abstract
In this dissertation, I analyze five feature films directed by, and one teleplay produced by, movie and television star George Clooney. I argue that traditional critical frameworks for analyzing the work of film directors are not sufficient in approaching the movie-star director. The director who is also a popular screen actor has a signifying function as a star, a function we must add to an auteurist analysis. To analyze the films of a movie-star director, we must take into account that director's star image, primarily because of the opportunities his or her star image offers for intertextual analysis. In this dissertation, such analysis includes other motion pictures and television shows in which George Clooney has starred, plus additional movies that I identify as not only related to Clooney-directed films, but that also illuminate those films via thematic and formal similarities. My overarching objective is to demonstrate that my approach here will be ideal for future analysis of directorial work by other film and television stars.
Access
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