On this page you’ll find a few of my academic work samples. Needless to say, the copyright for all of the following documents lies entirely with myself and, in the case of Project 2, my project partner.

1. Master Thesis: “The Future of Hollywood Films in India”

The purpose of my Master Thesis was to identify ways in which the American film industry can increase its share of the Indian movie market in the next decades. Due to the lack of existing research in this field, I chose to first of all investigate how Indian audiences perceive Hollywood movies in India. While one might assume that American and Indian movies are interchangeable simply because both are filmed entertainment, my thesis highlights how in the minds of Indian consumers, American and Indian movies differ immensely to the extent that they could be considered entirely disparate entertainment products. Based on this actuality, my thesis recommends to strategically use Hollywood’s appeal to young audiences, make use of collective consumption patterns found in India, and adjusting theatrical and digital distribution strategies to the globalized consumption patterns of Indian audiences in order to increase America’s film market share in India.

 

2. Academic Paper: “Expanding X-Men to Capture the Female Audience”

 

Team project completed with my classmate Melissa Curtis.

As part of an entertainment branding course, this paper analyzes the current market position of the X-Men franchise in relation to its competitors and suggests a brand extension focusing on female audiences, which to date have been left marginalized in terms of blockbuster franchises. Concretely, this means an X-Men movie focusing on the characters Storm and Mystique. The paper outlines such a film’s feasibility in terms of budget, content, and audience appeal (the latter based on original market research), and elaborates on possible arising brand challenges and their solutions.

 

3. Academic Paper: “The Future of Motion Picture Marketing? A Critical Assessment of the Economic Implications of Transmedia Storytelling”

 

 

This paper was written in October 2010 when transmedia was often considered a mere marketing tool. Approaching the concept of transmedia from an economic angle and using the release of Tron (Disney, 2010) as a case study, I assess how in the face of current and predicted film industry trends, transmedia can avert and remedy economic insecurity, limitations of traditional films, and offer multiple points of entry – and therefore payment.

This is one of my oldest pieces on transmedia, and since then, my views on some of the topics mentioned – participation, or appeal to niche audiences, for example – have changed. The overall economic and business aspects of transmedia remain unaffected.

 

 

4. Bachelor Thesis: “Haldir/OFC: The Creation of Original Female Characters in Romantic Haldir Fan Fiction”

 

Awarded “Best Dissertation Prize” in my graduating class.

In my Bachelor Thesis I examined romantic Haldir fan fiction in the Lord of the Rings fandom and how the original female characters (OFCs) in it are created and portrayed to invite identification among its female readers. I found that this leads to a direct engagement of the fan reader with the character of Haldir as the object of the fandom, but contrary to what one might expect, Haldir ends up taking an almost secondary role to the OFC.  This is because the OFC mostly determines his character portrayal rather than vice versa, serves as a form of double escapism and therefore, as bearer of the female gaze, turns Haldir into the object rather than the subject of the story.