Analyzes the symbols in the children's fantasy film, "E. T.," from the perspective of perennial philosophy. Concludes that "E. T." is an example of a rhetorical message that combines a vision of the eternal with a plea for a change in addressing contemporary fragmentation and separation. (PD)

Develops a social value model that reveals the relationship between film and social phenomena, and political processes. The model is used to demonstrate the nature of the political context that impinges on a film, such as "Rocky," and the specific exigence to which it is a response. (JMF)

A psychological/ritual model of criticism is used to examine the movie "The Deer Hunter" as a rhetorical event in which males undergo psychological change through their war and postwar experiences. The critical model depends on understanding a Jungian interpretation of the human psyche, the form and function of initiation rituals, and…

Views Reagan's "Star Wars" address as part of the culturally evolving myth of the New Frontier. Discusses how the speech creates the illusion of both preserving and transcending science by (1) subordinating technical reasoning to prevent nuclear holocaust and (2) using technoscience to rescript history and remove temporal and spacial…

Analyzes "The Deer Hunter" in terms of a psychological/ritual model of criticism. Argues that the rhetorical force of the film is explained by men's participation in rituals, such as deer hunting, which affect the patterns of psychological change they experience during and after war. (JMF)

Critiques three contemporary films, "Rocky IV,""Blade Runner," and "The Terminator." Constructs an evolving dystopian shadow myth that expresses the culture's repressed fears about its relationship to technology. Offers implications for the reinterpretation of the dystopian myth and for the conduct of other cultural…

Develops an approach to rhetorical criticism by integrating the work of Marxist literary critic Frederic Jameson with that of the depth psychologist C. G. Jung. Reconceptualizes the cultural psyche as composed of historical and universal elements, redefines the rhetorical and moral functions of narrative texts, and casts the rhetorical critic as…

Discusses feminine symbolism in the American frontier myth as an evolving cultural/rhetorical manifestation of a developing archetypal process. Analyzes the films "Alien" and "Aliens," in which the lost feminine is encountered, found to be vengeful of exploitation of her domain, and then killed by a patriarchalized heroine. (SR)

Most messages from the mass media operate on the collective unconscious of a culture. The ethical consequence of such identification through unawareness is the transfer of decision making from consumers to image makers. The mass media critic can serve as a mediator of the ethical problems created by such a mode of identification. As mediating…