Gabrysiak, Diane (2006) The representation of money in film : gold, paper, metal and electronic. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This dissertation is a study of the representation of money on screen, in its textual
and contextual constructions. Money, itself a representation, has a complex
status: it is both an abstract concept, a symbol of value, a social convention, and
a concrete object in its embodiment as gold, metal or paper. This study then is
that of a representation of a representation. Its starting point is the very paradox
of money as both an object endowed with great value while at the same time not
worth much more than the substance it is made of or the numbers referring to it
in newer forms of electronic money. The paradox is particularly salient in a
medium that works through images while at the same time requiring itself so
much money. The distinction between the two Latin words moneta and pecunia
offers an understanding of money in its main properties and functions, as an
exchange tool in constant circulation and as an object of hoarding, as belongings.
This distinction is operative in the present study and runs through the thesis,
together with the Marxian concepts of use-value and exchange value. The
objective is to analyse patterns, peculiarities and meanings linked to the portrayal
of money.
This thesis does not encompass a comprehensive survey of money represented in
all of cinema. Instead, the study is conducted in four groupings of films that are
not necessarily thought of in connection with their images of money. Four
chapters examine films from different contexts, periods, genres or trends in the
cinema of various countries. The groupings are suggested partly by issues outside
of money and partly by periods and kinds of money, and focus on case studies
while simultaneously referring to a larger corpus. The first chapter examines the
issues raised by the topic and surveys the existing literature. The second chapter
undertakes an analysis of gold and gold mining in the context of the pioneering
West in US films. The third chapter considers paper money and its meanings in
neo-realist films. The thesis then proceeds to study films from the 1970s and
1980s. The fourth chapter concerns money in French films on high finance, and
the last chapter looks at money as it appears in horror films. The thesis ends with
a discussion of the recurrent patterns at work in the representation of money.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Money in motion pictures
Official Date:	October 2006
Dates:	Date Event October 2006 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Film and Television Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Dyer, Richard, 1945-
Extent:	ix, 369 leaves
Language:	eng

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