This thesis is an excerpt of an in-progress, full-length memoir. T. Hanks for Everything celebrates the myriad of ways art molds and shapes who we become and interrogates the nature in which mere appreciation transforms into fandom. The writer reflects on the impact actor Tom Hanks has had on her life through narratives that blend the personal with the biographical, developing both the writer’s and Hanks’ characters side-by-side. The writer uses humor as a mechanism to navigate the world, to deflect pain, and to find healing in the midst of it. This thesis hopes to be a safe place for the reader to do the same. T. Hanks for Everything aims to open up a conversation about the power pop culture has to be a bridge that connects us to one another in a world that is often so divided.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis is an excerpt of an in-progress, full-length memoir. <em>T. Hanks for Everything </em>celebrates the myriad of ways art molds and shapes who we become and interrogates the nature in which mere appreciation transforms into fandom. The writer reflects on the impact actor Tom Hanks has had on her life through narratives that blend the personal with the biographical, developing both the writer’s and Hanks’ characters side-by-side. The writer uses humor as a mechanism to navigate the world, to deflect pain, and to find healing in the midst of it. This thesis hopes to be a safe place for the reader to do the same. <em>T. Hanks for Everything</em> aims to open up a conversation about the power pop culture has to be a bridge that connects us to one another in a world that is often so divided.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Johnson, Anissa"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jon Billman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-11-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-11-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:17Z","subjects":["memoir","creative nonfiction","nonfiction","pop culture","humor","film","narrative","Tom Hanks","childhood","fandom"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/648","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jon Billman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Johnson, Anissa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-10-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["memoir","creative nonfiction","nonfiction","pop culture","humor","film","narrative","Tom Hanks","childhood","fandom"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/648"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis is an excerpt of an in-progress, full-length memoir. T. Hanks for Everything celebrates the myriad of ways art molds and shapes who we become and interrogates the nature in which mere appreciation transforms into fandom. The writer reflects on the impact actor Tom Hanks has had on her life through narratives that blend the personal with the biographical, developing both the writer’s and Hanks’ characters side-by-side. The writer uses humor as a mechanism to navigate the world, to deflect pain, and to find healing in the midst of it. This thesis hopes to be a safe place for the reader to do the same. T. Hanks for Everything aims to open up a conversation about the power pop culture has to be a bridge that connects us to one another in a world that is often so divided.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["T. Hanks for Everything"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jon Billman"],"dc:creator":["Johnson, Anissa"],"dc:date.available":["2025-10-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis is an excerpt of an in-progress, full-length memoir. T. Hanks for Everything celebrates the myriad of ways art molds and shapes who we become and interrogates the nature in which mere appreciation transforms into fandom. The writer reflects on the impact actor Tom Hanks has had on her life through narratives that blend the personal with the biographical, developing both the writer’s and Hanks’ characters side-by-side. The writer uses humor as a mechanism to navigate the world, to deflect pain, and to find healing in the midst of it. This thesis hopes to be a safe place for the reader to do the same. T. Hanks for Everything aims to open up a conversation about the power pop culture has to be a bridge that connects us to one another in a world that is often so divided.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/648"],"dc:subject":["memoir","creative nonfiction","nonfiction","pop culture","humor","film","narrative","Tom Hanks","childhood","fandom"],"dc:title":["T. Hanks for Everything"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:17Z"}