Kiana Picanco

Kiana Picanco is a first-year MA student in the Media Studies Program at Concordia University. She recently completed her undergraduate degree with distinction, specializing in Communication Studies and minoring in Film Studies. During her undergraduate degree, Kiana was named a Faculty of Arts and Science Scholar in the Department of Communications Studies for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Kiana’s research interests include topics such as gender studies, race, class and sexuality. As well as accessibility and mental health. She enjoys analyzing these topics through different forms of mass media such as film, television, and social media.

Thesis title or subject: The tentative thesis that I would like to focus on and investigate throughout my studies is: “Does the success of a film outweigh the hardships women must undergo throughout the production process?” In other words, I would like to focus my studies on researching the negative experiences women must undergo in the film industry, which many may be oblivious to because of the success of the film, with a focus on culturally successful films.