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Writer's pictureLaurel Creighton

Tukman Research Residency Program

Updated: May 7, 2023



Dear Tukman Research Residency Program Board,

Over the years at Hunter, I have passionately studied both Film and the German language. My love of these has led me to bring the two subjects together in my final year research project. I’ve thought about how I would go about this, which led me to one conclusion: I am applying for the Tukman Summer Research Program to explore the relationship between philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the Musical Western.

My research aims to examine Wittgenstein's views on familial relationships and how they apply to this unique blend of genres. Wittgenstein's concept of family resemblance suggests that concepts do not have a single defining feature but rather a complex web of overlapping similarities and differences. By delving into Wittgenstein's connection to these films, I hope to shed light on the philosophical implications of their portrayal of family dynamics within film genres. The Tukman Summer Research Program provides the ideal opportunity for me to pursue this research and contribute to the academic discourse on Wittgenstein and film studies.

Wittgenstein believed that language and meaning were intimately connected and that our understanding of the world is shaped by the language we use to describe it. He argued that the meaning of a word is not determined by some fixed definition or essence but rather by its use in a particular language or context. This idea has important implications for the Western, which often relies on the use of language to convey the values, myths, and cultural norms of the American West. For example, the cowboy hero often speaks in a terse, laconic style that reflects the rugged individualism and self-reliance of the frontier. Conversely, the villain may use a more florid language to manipulate and deceive. In addition, Wittgenstein's ideas about the limits of language can be seen in the Western genre's fascination with the ineffable qualities of the landscape, such as the sublime beauty of the mountains or the awe-inspiring vastness of the prairie.

Similar to the connection between Wittgenstein and the Western film genre, there is a connection between Wittgenstein's philosophy and the musical film genre. Specifically, Wittgenstein's ideas about language and meaning are relevant to how musicals use music and lyrics to convey emotional and narrative content. In musicals, the lyrics and music convey emotional and narrative content in a way distinct from traditional spoken language. The songs in a musical are often used to express the characters’ inner thoughts and feelings and advance the plot in a way that spoken language alone cannot. Wittgenstein's ideas about the difficulty of expressing certain concepts can also be seen in the musical genre's use of music and lyrics to convey abstract or complex emotions, such as love or loss. For example, music and lyrics in a musical can create an emotional impact that is difficult to express through words alone. Musical Westerns, therefore, present an array of possibilities to delve into Wittgenstein’s family relationship theory in more detail.

I am currently exploring various source materials to deepen my understanding of his subject matter. These include Ludwig Wittgenstein's seminal work, Remarks on Color, Culture, and Value, as well as his collected papers from his time at Cambridge and his Blue and Brown Books. Additionally, I am engrossed in a fascinating biography titled The Duty of Genius. Some of these sources feature original German text, which adds a valuable dimension to my investigation. Despite examining a breadth of primary and secondary sources, I have yet to discover a direct correlation between film genre and familial relationships. Therefore, my research could fill a significant gap in the existing literature.

Academically, I have a 3.9 in my major of Film and a 3.7 overall GPA. I have earned the Dean's List every semester that I have been in college. I was initiated into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society for my associate's degree at Lackawanna College. In German, I was awarded the Ernst Fedor Hoffman Award for Excellence in the German Language. Inside the school's walls, I have been a Mother's Day Scholar, a Richter Scholar, a SAF Grantee, and part of Hunter's Mentorship program.

Outside of school, I have worked professionally on big-budget film productions as a casting assistant. Some projects I have worked on include Severance Season 2 and The Nickle Boys. I have also worked as an Art Director on a mid-budget short film called Farmer Al. Privately, I have had a short film project, Somebody Else's Dream, premiere at a regional horror festival in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The project was based on my Film Production's first assignment to Define a Space.

My internships consisted of two international experiences, first in 2012 when I went overseas to Berlin, Germany, where I was a research intern for a SaaS cloud-based company named eKomi. More recently, I have an upcoming internship at the Cannes Film Festival, where I will be in a service position for the American Pavilion.

I have volunteered in various capacities throughout my life. My most recent endeavors have been with the American Youth Soccer Organization, where I was a youth referee. I have also volunteered for Reading Partners, where I was a tutor for 5th-grade students during the pandemic, and most recently, a Transportation Liaison at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

With a more thorough knowledge of Wittgenstein, I can apply this knowledge to my future goal of a German Fulbright experience. On Fulbright, I plan to delve into German art theory, philosophy, and language and explore how these aspects relate to the rise of alt-right fascism in America. I aim to identify the warning signs in art history and understand how Germans have portrayed the aftermath of this phenomenon through their artistic expressions. To achieve this, I have worked tirelessly to stand out on the Fulbright board, and the Tukman Research Residency would undoubtedly bolster my credentials.

With Professor McElhaney's guidance, my research on Wittgenstein will add to the compendium of written works about the philosopher. My summer program at Cambridge allows me enough time to dedicate to this project as it is sectioned into two three-week semesters, where I will have only one class in the first semester and only two in my second. As the program starts in July and McElhaney and I are already excited and motivated about our project, I am confident I can complete this project before my last semester begins at Hunter College.


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