Date of Graduation

Spring 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Committee Chairperson

Pete Duval, MFA

Committee Member

Rodney Mader, PhD

Committee Member

Kyle Vealey, PhD

Committee Member

Daniel Teylor-Storm, MA

Abstract

Terry Gilliam’s use of fantasy genre conventions in his filmography is obvious in presence, but elusive in understanding.  Time Bandits, as an early entry into this filmography, simultaneously seems to mock and embody these genre conventions.  This paper seeks to find a way to understand Time Bandits on a structural level through existing frameworks in fantasy criticism and to see what deeper meanings the film holds behind its silly, fantastical presentation.  These structural templates of analysis are John Clute’s “full fantasy model” from his Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Farah Mendlesohn’s “portal quest fantasy” from her Rhetorics of Fantasy.  By deconstructing Time Bandits on a structural level and establishing the purposeful use of fantasy conventions, the opportunities for analysis of the film become clear through psychological, philosophical, gender, and genre lenses.  Disguised as a wacky, irreverent fantasy children’s film, Time Bandits proves itself to be a thoughtful journey to the center of the self.

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