Date of Award

2013

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.H.K.

Department

Kinesiology

Keywords

Social sciences, Communication and the arts, Health and environmental sciences, Music inolympics, Olympic movement, Olympics, Olympic studies, Sociocultural studies, Sport history

Supervisor

Martyn, Scott

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

The present study examined the opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The purpose was to investigate the narrative by employing Seymour Chatman's theoretical model of narrative structure. The structure of the ceremonies was observed, denoting the events, actions, characters, setting and elements of expression, specifically music. Focusing on an interdisciplinary approach, the study provided a foundation for understanding the ceremonies as a spectacle, which relate to storytelling principles. Through a content analysis, media sources, news articles, musical recordings, an interview with the Music Director, and official documents from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were examined. Additionally, the complete video footage of both ceremonies was instrumental in the data analysis. The analysis was categorized into pre-analysis, video analysis, and post-analysis. The results indicated that the ceremonies produced expressed a narrative as each component of the structure wove together and captured a unique story highlighting Canada.

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