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Events

Jun. 30 | 2012 Bode-Pearson Prize
Nominations for the 2012 Bode-Pearson Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies due

Jun. 30 | 2012 Mary C. Turpie Prize
Nominations for the 2012 Mary C. Turpie Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies Teaching, Advising, and Program Development due

Oct. 1 | Travel Grants for Graduate Students
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Resources: Abstracts of American Studies Dissertations

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O'Brien, Patrick Gerald. "Imagery and Symbol of the Airplane in American Film," American Studies, University of Hawaii, Manoa, May 2004.

Hollywood has shown an unending affection for the airplane for nearly one hundred years. From fantasy, to war, to salvation, to heroism, to romance, to adventure, airplanes have been and continue to be a powerful symbol in American film. Two intertwined themes based on flight are menace and hope, and the tension between them has successfully driven many flying films. This may explain why film has featured the airplane as the archetypal machine of the twentieth century, just as, according to Leo Marx in The Machine in the Garden, the locomotive served as the archetypal machine in American literature of the nineteenth century. Specifically, this dissertation focuses on how cargo planes, bomber aircraft, commercial airliners, and all those aboard have been portrayed in films created between 1950 and 2004.