Topics

The best 'good stories' have a meaning/symbolism to them, most people agree; however, some stories out there impress that too hard, some stories don't 'require' you to search for any subtext, and some stories' meanings/symbolism you only realize later. How far should one go to impress meaning/symbolism, how much should be impressed, and can/should a story be…just a story?

The new Netflix original series 'Master of None', brainchild of Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, covers important social themes in some of its episodes, for example racism against Indian actors and yellowface, sexism in the media and in daily life, how the elderly are treated, and being the child of immigrant parents in the U.S. What effects does the show's handling of these topics have, is the balance right between comedy and commentary, and where do these themes go by the end of the show?

As game developers cut costs on flashy graphics and powerful game engines, story, creativity, and unique aesthetics are becoming vital. Consider "The Wolf Among Us" from Tell Tale Games. There is action in the game, of course, but only in a minimalist sense. The game's strength is in story telling, a signature "look", player choice, and voice acting. Still, at its core, the game is a new take on the old school point-and-click detective games (think Carmen San Diego). Is this a sustainable model? Can these sorts of games and developers continue to compete with blockbuster games like Mass Effect, Halo, etc?

Until Dawn and Life is Strange are both video games this year that have tackled the idea of the butterfly effect. Both are cinematic adventure games with a heavy focus on narrative, and both are built around the consequences of choices the player makes. Does one game do things better than the other in this regard? Does Until Dawn lack a unique mechanic when compared to Life is Strange's time-travel powers, or does the latter overcomplicate things? Which game creates a better network of cause and effect, and which does a better job of maintaining that web?

Novels, especially in the genre of Fantasy have long relied on prologues which give exposition for the reader so that they can understand the fictional world's origins and major conflicts. There is another approach which has been used which is to start in the middle of the conflict, and explain origins later as the action is moving.

Explore the pros and cons of both approaches, and make suggestions for what kind of stories work best with the two approaches.

Discuss the joy, frustration, anxiety, etc. of trying to write stories, plays, memoirs, or screenplays to eventually become a pitchable TV show. Or vamp a hypothetical TV series concept and discuss all of the reasons not to commit to writing it. Develop a cast, a location, time period, class, gender roles, ancillary characters or diversified cast, genre, subtext, political/not political etc. Fully commit as if this were something you were going to do, and then do it.

What are some examples of representations of mental ilnesses/disorders in animations aimed at children? Who exactly are the characters that exhibit certain maneurisms of such things for? Are they for the children to idenify and connect with or for the parents to have an awareness and to help spot any symptoms?

The big example for both it's animation adaptation and book is Winnie the Pooh. Essentially all the characters appear to be diagnosable with specific mental disorders; Eeyore is perhaps the instantly recognisable one with depression, but Poo exhibits symptoms of ADHD, Owl dyslexia and even Christopher Robin with schizophrenia.

Other animated characters that could be mentioned I can think of off the top of my head come from Pixar. There are various examples of depression in the Pixar film universe – Marlin(Finding Nemo, Carl (Up), Jessie (Toy Story) and Wall-E may exhibit some signs of OCD and/or anxiety disorders.

There are plenty of different animations that could be mentioned for this, but the real driving point should be the questions mentioned at the beginning. How can these characters be read in terms of what illnesses they may portray? Who are these representations for? What purpose (if any) do they serve and is it useful?

With the advent of not only the Internet, but content-creating parties based entirely in the web, a new type of humor has arisen: LOLRANDOM HUMOR. LOLRANDOM HUMOR, so aptly named by one of my friends, is oftentimes a blitzkrieg of images, sounds, non-sequitur tactics, and other various "wacky" items from the grab-bag of Internet Comedy. Examples of this kind of humor can be seen in Vines, popular YouTube Comedy Channels, and virtually any message board of the World Wide Web. With this kind of comedy becoming so prolific, what could it entail for the future of humor, at least in pop culture, as a whole? Is this brand of humor harmless, or could it be the marker of the end of what we know as comedy today? Analyze what this could do to both up-and-coming content creators and consumers alike, and discuss whether or not this kind of humor is destined to be a simple characteristic of contemporary culture that is sure to give way to something else, or if it's around to stay for good.

Aside from all of the work that gets put into a film, there is a specific look in terms of color grading that higher grossing/higher budget films seem to have. The change from black and white films to color was an exciting moment in film history, so why does it seem as though the latest trend in Hollywood is to make the images darker, specifically more blue and more green than realistic life? What do those colors exhibit to viewers, similarly, what makes them and that kind of grading the latest artistic choice in blockbusters?

The film's title suggests the possibility of 'The Danish Girl' being either two of the lead characters, Lili and Gerda. However, whilst the story may seem to be about one of the first prominent transgender, it really becomes about the story of Lili's wife, Gerda, and her struggle with Einar's transformation into Lili. Whilst Hooper delves into Gerda's attraction to Hans, he does not really explore Lili's attraction to him. Critics have argued that the film conventionalises the story, that Hooper makes into one of charm rather than really showing the struggle of this emotional and physical change.

Does the film handle the subject of transgender successfully? Who was the real 'Danish girl' in the film?

Explore the extent to which fandoms influence the progression of the television show they are associated with. The show "Doctor Who" comes to mind particularly, especially in terms of the episodes that feature more than one incarnation of the Doctor working together. This can be seen as an appeal to what the fan base would want to see, though the producers are able to fold it into the internal logic of the "Doctor Who" Universe. This article might also explore the motivation for shows like "Doctor Who" to incorporate popular aspects of their fandoms into the show.

Since the time that the Epic genre has passed along some of the greatest works in literature, such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, there is a noticeable gap in the attention it has received in spite of its influential past. The genre continues to enjoy periodical bursts of success that extends beyond the 13th century, and various works have maintained a status of exceptional etiquette among scholars of the literary discipline. The question is, why has there been fewer Epics written, and what has become of this style of literature?
It is encouraged to research the background of the Epic genre, and the examples that represent it. A suggestion is to analyze the style of these pieces over the course of time, and how they portray the period in which they are written. And finally, it may be of great importance to see how certain Epics have continued or have been remodeled in the recent years (a brilliant example is the television adaption of War and Peace), and what that may mean about the modern approach to this ancient genre.

There are many times in novels where betrayal has occurred in certain friendships for example like Macbeth and Banquo. Can we really let go and forgive others? How do you show your justification for this? If your best friend betrays you, would you be okay?

The wildly popular Fifty Shades trilogy was initially written as Twilight fanfiction. Does this create issues related to originality or creativity? Should there be legal ramifications when a "published fanfiction" becomes as popular as Fifty Shades did? What lines are drawn to differentiate between these two series? Were enough lines drawn between the two? (The relationship between these two series are used as an example– if any other series exist with a similar relationship, feel free to use those instead.)

Examine how the place of political cartoons has shifted in the context of the political landscape. Political cartoons used to be a huge part of news media. While publications like The New Yorker still publish political cartoons daily. They do not carry the same weight they did in the early twentieth century, for example. This can be largely attributed to the shift of consumer's media focus away from newspapers. Do these cartoons still carry the same integrity and level of social criticism they once did?

There's a large volume of stuff out there that makes up the horror genre. But for all its variety, it just feels like there's a lot of the same thing. With the recent and upcoming horror movies of "The Boy" and "The Forest" (featuring famous actresses from "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones", respectively), one has to wonder whether anything new is being done here. Tried-and-true tropes seem to be the basis for these movies, and one might wonder as to the prevalence of these tropes throughout a whole slew of horror movies from the past decade.

When you say "horror movie", most people probably think of dolls, knives, clowns, gore, axe murderers, and–most prominently–'jump scares'. These are all well-recognized symbols and elements of the genre. As far as a topic goes, I think it would be interesting to talk about what really separates horror movies from each other. Not necessarily just in general–a large part of discussion might be what in particular separates 'good' horror movies from 'bad' horror movies. In the end, what makes a movie uniquely scary?

Can art be used as a means of therapy or treatment? We already have research suggesting that certain colors evoke certain emotions and feelings. We also have research suggestion that certain images and music may do the same thing. Is it possible that patients with minor behavioral issues could be helped by meditating over an image when they become sad or even angry? Or perhaps that sad music could be listened to to evoke low emotions and allow grieving, and then quickly followed by happier music to bring a person back to a positive state of mind?

People have been reading and writing stories of revenge for about as long as stories have existed. From tales of vengeful gods/goddesses, to The Count Of Monte Cristo, to Kill Bill, it seems like people through the ages really love their stories of revenge. The theme isn't just found in writing, we see it pop up anywhere there is a story line: video games, comics, even songs. Are these forms of entertainment a way for us to vicariously feel like we've gotten back at our own enemies? Or do we simply delight in the dark side of these stories?

Home education, or "home schooling", is sometimes a hot button issue. This article would examine depictions of home education in film. How is the issue dealt with by plots or characters in chosen examples? Do recent films reflect a change in attitude towards the subject in contrast to older films? Is there a recurring theme/attitude in these depictions? I only know of 1 or 2 examples of home schooling in film (Mean Girls and RV) but there may be other examples. I also recall an episode of Law & Order: SVU (guest starring Marcia Gay Harden) that depicts home schooling in a negative way.

This topic was inspired from multiple conversations I have had with people pertaining to my own writing. The first full-length fiction piece I wrote was a fan fiction based off of Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games. While I expect most people to react with a wrinkled nose or an amused chuckle, several have been enthused by the concept, articulating that fan fiction is a valuable part of the dialogue between author and reader.
My question then surrounds the purpose of, and thereby value of, fan fiction literature. Is it supposed to be a semi-rational approach to an author’s work, exploring underdeveloped facets of their created world, in a kind of creative dialogue? If so, much fan fiction seems to fall short, as the characters developed or plots imagined do not coincide with the author’s original content at all (The character arcs found in the Dramione ship from the Harry Potter fandom is a key example). In that case, then, is the purpose of fan fiction really a sort of wish fulfillment for the fan base, a resource through which they can create – as all fiction writer’s do – their own version of reality? Each approach comes with its own set of artistic constraints and merits, and I’m curious as to whether or not one approach can be “valued” over the other.