A Binary Within the Binary: Machinima as Digital Agency and Growing Commercial Incorporation

This thesis traces machinima, films created in real-time from videogame engines, from the exterior toward the interior, focusing on the manner in which the medium functions as a tool for marginalized expression in the face of commercial and corporate inclusion. I contextualize machinima in three distinct contexts: first, machinima as historiography, which allows its minority creators to articulate and distribute their interpretation of national and international events without mass media interference. Second, machinima as a form of fan fiction, in which filmmakers blur the line between consumers and producers, a feature which is slowly being warped as videogame studios begin to incorporate machinima into marketing techniques. Finally, the comparison between psychoanalytic film theory, which explains the psychological motivations behind cinema's appeal, applied to videogames and their resulting machinima, which knowingly disregard established theory and create agency through parody. These three approachesculminate to reveal machinima's dual nature as an expression of fandom agency and corporate expansion.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Film Studies (Fine Arts)

Grantor dc:publisher

Ohio University

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Brown, Megan R.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Schwartz, Dr. Louis-Georges

• Film Studies
• machinima
• videogames
• video games
• agency
• fan fiction
• identification
• immersion
• historiography
• corporate
• Metz
• Bazin

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1345038934

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ohiou1345038934