This project explores the trend of bodily and identity modification in the contemporary Hollywood musical and calls for a re-reading of the genre away from the standard classification, that of one strictly imbued with wistful nostalgia and heteronormativity. This work argues that several films have abrogated these traditional ideals to create a carnivalesque representation of the societal norms through a genre, and a production code that sought to preserve them. Using the work of Russian semiotician Mikhail Bakhtin, this project reveals that these films feature dark and satirical para-realities of murder, debauchery and cannibalism that act as a catharsis to their audiences' most salient fantasies and desires.
","abstract_html":"<p>This project explores the trend of bodily and identity modification in the contemporary Hollywood musical and calls for a re-reading of the genre away from the standard classification, that of one strictly imbued with wistful nostalgia and heteronormativity. This work argues that several films have abrogated these traditional ideals to create a carnivalesque representation of the societal norms through a genre, and a production code that sought to preserve them. Using the work of Russian semiotician Mikhail Bakhtin, this project reveals that these films feature dark and satirical para-realities of murder, debauchery and cannibalism that act as a catharsis to their audiences' most salient fantasies and desires.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gullen, Christopher Timothy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["jackie Byars"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:59:19Z","subjects":["Corporeal","Hollywood","Horror","Modification","Musical","Semiotics","Film and Media Studies","Music","Theatre and Performance Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/595","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["jackie Byars"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gullen, Christopher Timothy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Corporeal","Hollywood","Horror","Modification","Musical","Semiotics","Film and Media Studies","Music","Theatre and Performance Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/595"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This project explores the trend of bodily and identity modification in the contemporary Hollywood musical and calls for a re-reading of the genre away from the standard classification, that of one strictly imbued with wistful nostalgia and heteronormativity. This work argues that several films have abrogated these traditional ideals to create a carnivalesque representation of the societal norms through a genre, and a production code that sought to preserve them. Using the work of Russian semiotician Mikhail Bakhtin, this project reveals that these films feature dark and satirical para-realities of murder, debauchery and cannibalism that act as a catharsis to their audiences' most salient fantasies and desires.
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