Manifestations of nihilism in selected contemporary media
- Authors: Olivier, Marco René
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Nihilism (Philosophy) in motion pictures , Nihilism (Philosophy) on television , Capitalism and mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8373 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/437 , Nihilism (Philosophy) in motion pictures , Nihilism (Philosophy) on television , Capitalism and mass media
- Description: This study focuses on the concept or phenomenon of nihilism, given the regularity with which it manifests itself (to anyone who is aware of it in more or less theoretical or philosophical terms) in all kinds of cultural artifacts such as films, television shows or series, books such as novels or philosophical texts, and magazines. Most of these artifacts can be grouped together under the heading of the media in the present era. The objective of the study is to use the concept of nihilism to identify and analyse selected cases in contemporary media -- in the form of films and television series – to answer the question, with what kinds of nihilism people would come face to face if they knew how to recognize them. The study begins with an outline of a theoretical framework concerning the concept of nihilism. A number of thinkers’ work is used to come to grips with the complex phenomenon, but mostly it is Nietzsche whose thought seems to be valuable for present purposes. In the second chapter the spotlight falls on what is called (in this study) ‘capitalist nihilism’, which seems to belong with what Nietzsche called ‘passive nihilism’, but also seems to exhibit some aspects of ‘active nihilism’. The third chapter is an examination of nihilism in a foreign (Japanese) culture by concentrating on Japanese anime, to test the differences between Western (historically Christian) culture and one with a different cultural and religious history. The last chapter consists of the analysis of a specific (Western) film, I ‘heart’ Huckabees, which was selected because of the variety of ‘nihilisms’ found in it. The study seems to confirm that nihilism is indeed widespread in contemporary, postmodern culture.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Theatre and science, with specific reference to Shelagh Stephenson's An experiment with an air pump (1999)
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Dion
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Science in literature , Stephenson, Shelagh -- Experiment with an air pump
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2152 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004270
- Description: Science has featured intermittently as the subject of theatrical texts since Thomas Shadwell first represented the Renaissance scientist in The Virtuoso (1676). The late twentieth century, however, saw an incremental growth in theatre's interest in scientific exploration, a growth concommitant with the vast impact that science has had on technology, warfare and the machinations of political power. The tensions generated by the disjuncture between the rationality of science and the unpredictability of human society have provided a rich source of material for theatrical investigation into the human experience. The purpose of this thesis is twofold: to reveal some of the thematic concerns that emerge in this genre, and to examine the interplay between theatre and science. Shelagh Stephenson's An Experiment with an Air Pump (1999) provides a useful point of focus for this inquiry. By parallelling two time periods, exposing the scientific objectification of women and, in addition, opening up contemporary ethics for negotiation with the audience, Stephenson calls into question the objectivity and certainty of history, gender and ethical conduct. These she presents as dynamic and evolving fields of discourse that contribute to, but do not solely constitute, knowledge and understanding of the world. An Experiment with an Air Pump also displays an awareness, through its metatheatricality, of theatre itself as an imaginative, subjective discourse which parallels the more intuitive and personal aspects of scientific exploration. The play functions as a microscope, bringing into focus a contemporary world in which traditional systems of understanding and knowledge need to be reassessed and reinvented.
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- Date Issued: 2002
The Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices Test: a pilot study for the establishment of normative data for Xhosa-speaking primary school pupils in the Grahamstown region
- Authors: Bass, Natalie Tanyia
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Raven's Progressive Matrices , Students -- South Africa -- Psychology , Educational tests and measurements -- South Africa , Intelligence levels -- South Africa , Students -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2930 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002439 , Raven's Progressive Matrices , Students -- South Africa -- Psychology , Educational tests and measurements -- South Africa , Intelligence levels -- South Africa , Students -- Psychology
- Description: The Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) test is used extensively across a wide variety of settings in South Africa, however more appropriate local normative data has yet to be established. The CPM is internationally recognised as a culture-fair test of nonverbal intelligence, designed for use with children between the ages of 5½ and 11½. This pilot study thus sought to establish normative data for this instrument for a population of Xhosa-speaking Primary School children in the peri-urban township area in the Grahamstown region. The booklet version of the test was used and it was administered in group format and according to an alternate method of test administration (using Xhosa instructions) developed by Vass in 1992. The final normative sample consisted of 197 male and 182 female Xhosa-speaking children in Grades Two to Seven (N=379). The results showed (1) a significant effect of age on test scores, where scores increased with age as expected; (2) a consistent tendency for males to outperform females was also noted, however small sample sizes precluded any categorical claims to this effect; (3) no significant effect of education on test scores was observed and finally; (4) and finally, it appeared that the norms generated for this study revealed a tendency to be lower than those obtained by Raven, Court and Raven (1990) during the standardisation of this instrument in the United Kingdom and America. The study concluded that (1) there is an urgent need for more appropriate South African normative data for this test; and (2) that when assessing African children from disadvantaged backgrounds, further research into the effects of cultural and socio-economic factors and gender on non-verbal intelligence (and on performance on this test in particular) is required.
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- Date Issued: 2000
The Resurrection and early eucharistic liturgy : an investigation into the influence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the eucharistic liturgy of the early Christian church
- Authors: Harris, Vivian W
- Date: 1961
- Subjects: Liturgics Jesus Christ in the liturgy Lord's Supper Resurrection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Bachelor , BDiv
- Identifier: vital:1256 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012153
- Description: The Christian Church has always found the origin of the Eucharist to be the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples. So firmly rooted has this idea of the origin of the Eucharist become that it is commonly referred to as "The Lord's Supper"- a title with obvious reference to the Last Supper. J.H. Srawley says, "The fact that Jesus suffered at the Paschal season, that He had the Passover in mind at the Supper (Luke 22 : 15) and that He had come to be thought of as 'our Passover' (I Cor. 5 : 7) would naturally lead to the conception of the solemn memorial of His death as a Christian Passover, and this influence may have affected the Synoptists' account of the actual setting of the Supper". This tradition has persisted until the present, so that it is now generally accepted that the origin of the Eucharist is the Jewish Passover. If this is true, then the Eucharist is associated chiefly with the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ, and there are only tenuous and indirect connections with the Resurrection of the Lord. In that case, the subject of this study would need to be abandoned. If, however, there is proof that the Eucharist is closely related to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in origin, then it is natural to look for the influence of the Resurrection on eucharistic liturgy. Cahp. 1, p. 1.
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- Date Issued: 1961