University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Sounding super: Examining aspects of music and sound design in American superhero media

Sharp, Wes T

Content Files
SHARP-DISSERTATION-2023.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120083

Description

Title
Sounding super: Examining aspects of music and sound design in American superhero media
Author(s)
Sharp, Wes T
Issue Date
2023-04-27
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Solis, Gabriel
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Silvers, Michael
Committee Member(s)
  • Magee, Jeffrey
  • Turnock, Julie
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Musicology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • superhero
  • music
  • sound design
  • cinema
  • theater
  • videogame
  • comic book
  • comics
  • graphic novel
Abstract
In this dissertation I examine relationships between music and sound design in American superhero media. I examine how sound and music are used in audiovisual media to both establish and deconstruct generic conventions. I discuss music and sound design in superhero media from several angles, including their relationship to genre, aesthetics, and popular culture. I begin each chapter with broader theories related to the topics I will discuss and then use case studies to show examples of these broader theories. In Chapter 1, I examine superhero media as a “supergenre” that incorporates musical and sound conventions of multiple discrete media genres. In Chapter 2, I examine superhero media as a middlebrow postmodern transmedia genre and examine how these conventions affect the reception and production of superhero media versus other genres. In Chapter 3 I examine fan interactions with superhero media, including production and reception of fan-made media as a form of creative interaction. In Chapter 4, I examine various forms of parody as interaction with the conventions of superhero media.
Graduation Semester
2023-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120083
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2023 Wes Sharp

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