Digitized Honors Theses (2002-2017)

Date of Award

5-2010

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Degree Name

BA

Faculty Mentor

Richard Ward

Abstract

Film director Stanley Kubrick is readily considered one of cinema's most influential. His works are well-known to both the film scholar and the layperson; each of them has been written about, expounded upon, analyzed and criticized on countless fronts and through many lenses, highlighting facets of Kubrick's intricate style of filmmaking.

This research considers three of Kubrick's films-2001:A Space Odyssey, The Shining , and Full Metal Jacket- and their shared narrative characteristics; specifically, how a similar relationship structure is presented. Each film includes a pair of characters that together share a measure of conflict. To underscore the workings of this relationship structure, two characters in each film will be designated executor and supporter. The executor is the primary character, carrying a greater degree of responsibility relative to the conflict and to the secondary character, the supporter. Though the two characters may share circumstance, the executor is ultimately responsible for accomplishing the common task-thus the terms executor and supporter are appropriate for this purpose.

In short, the executor is given a challenge and his ability to succeed is tested. The supporter may share the challenge but does not play the same role in its achievement, thus he provides assistance to the executor to the extent that he is able. However, the executor is so adversely affected by the conflict that his state of mind is altered and he reacts in a way that alienates the supporter, leaving the two in an irreconcilable state. In each case, the executor kills another person and then loses his own life. It can also be said that the executor's actions incite a change in attitude and affect the subsequent actions of the supporter.

Auteur theory suggests that an individual exercises creative control over an artistic product regardless of the number involved in its production. This project aims to elaborate on the nature of these films' character relationship pattern in order to further the interpretation of Kubrick's stylistic tendencies.

With auteur theory in mind, paying attention to such elements will provide new insight into his personal attitudes and visions for each of his works.

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