First Advisor

Diana Abu-Jaber

Date of Publication

Spring 6-6-2012

Document Type

Closed Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing

Department

English

Language

English

Subjects

Motion pictures, Motion picture theaters -- Social aspects, Motion picture industry -- History

DOI

10.15760/etd.808

Physical Description

1 online resource (v, 218 pages)

Abstract

From the polluted canals of turn-of-the-century Birmingham, England, William Moxley is an ineffectual captain of industry burning for a Music Hall life. With his unlikely bride Elvina in tow, he journeys to the west coast of the United States, only to shipwreck against his lifelong dream--a vaudeville hall called "The Sunshine." In "Dear Clara," a depression-era love story, Warren Wilkerson has been a Sunshine fixture since the age of six; suddenly forced out by the theatre's back-stabbing, bootlegging "owner," Warren must resort to desperate measures in order to pay for his dying wife's insulin. Freewheeling philosopher Holly Jo is a Seattleite sausage cart owner with a bun in the oven. Having recently lost her parents, she forges a new family from the fringes of 1974 arthouse--it's "The Labor of Holly Jo Daffodil." In "Chapter Eleven," foul-mouthed Red--the Helios's manager--learns that his boss is selling out to evil Emerald Cinemas; the news triggers a long-overdue heart attack, which turns out to be the least of his worries. Beginning with the birth of the feature length and ending at the onset of the digital age, Cinerati is a comic salute to the celluloid era--a grand era spanning over a century. Featuring an eccentric ensemble where a bit player in one decade can take a lead role in the next, Cinerati celebrates the venues in which cinema was meant to be seen, and the strange families that pop up wherever the projectors flicker.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

This thesis is only available to students, faculty and staff at PSU.

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/8497

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