Digital dualism: The invisible soul made visible through digitally animated humans in American cinema

This dissertation investigates digitally animated humans in American film when they portray the nature of reality as dualistic, being comprised of both material and immaterial substance through the representation of the human soul/spirit. This concept has been identified as digital dualism by the author. The research question is: What is the relationship between the concepts of realism and formalism in film theory and the portrayal of digitally animated dualistic humans in American films? This research will propose that computer animation achieves a powerful synthesis of realism and formalism when the digital human spirit is seen on screen (when digital dualism occurs). Realism in animation depends on the degree of detail of the image while formalism in animation deals with the degree of manipulation done to the image. This research contributes to an understanding of the tool of computer animation as a bridge between realism and formalism. The synthesis of realism and formalism through digital animation is made possible through the very nature of computer animation.