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I'm sitting in a public metropolitan library as I type this, something I haven't done since before I attended college. There are tens of thousands of books wrapped in clear protective plastic on metal shelves. Those walking around me and sitting near me range from young students to elderly men and women. In a time of advanced technology and "doing-it-yourself" mentality, they all came here to do their own private work.

I'm curious as our culture changes, how do we continue to grow and learn? Why do the age-old mediums, like libraries and communicating with each other, stay relevant.

I would love to hear what others think. Please consider this is me throwing some ideas against the wall and seeing what sticks!

Both Ozu and Mizoguchi were excellent film directors in Japanese cinema history. In their films, they pictured various kinds of people and their lives. Through the cinema, we could see the living situation of people in that period. I would like to see an analysis of how the two directors pictured the personalities, lives, and/or struggles of modern girls. Are there any similar traits of their films? What are the differences considering the cinematographic techniques and styles they used? The examples can be narrowed down to two films.

Steven Universe is often praised for its diverse cast of characters and positive depictions of LGBT rights and issues. However, I feel one central theme has been mostly been ignored throughout analysis of the show, aspects of colonialism present via the Gem Homeworld's invasion of various planets, including Earth. The characters on the show often mention Earth as a Gem colony yet I feel that there is a lack in addressing the ramifications of what this means. Historically there are many examples of cultural influence and knowledge imparted by colonists to the inhabitants of their colonies, (The French and Haiti, England and India, and others for example). Yet, there seems to be little impact of Gem colonialization on the Earth or the human inhabitants, most of which seem to be totally unaware of Gems. I think there is some interesting stuff to explore in this unexamined theme.

What would be interesting to analyze is how the growing trend of killing off major characters in TV seemingly out of nowhere in TV season finales makes a TV show "amazing" and "unexpected". What also might be intriguing is the buzz that comes about when a TV finale is about to air and, more specifically, the fans' speculation on "who's going to die" instead of "what's going to happen". Game of Thrones depicts this perfectly; the countless deaths of its beloved characters has made the show extremely popular, where the high death rate in its season finales brings in many viewers and, subsequently, many dazzling reviews.

In the manga, Golden Kamuy, the Ainu people and their culture is a major theme throughout the series. The way they eat, hunt, dress, and go about their lives are explored and raise awareness of this group of people. Should we, as readers, show more support towards authors and artists such as these to spread awareness and attention towards ignored cultures? Is this one of the first in a long trend of authors providing a spotlight towards more obscure cultures?

There have been a lot of changes to the adaption/re-make of the classic series Lost In Space. The women now hold the most power, including a female version of "Dr Smith" and it has also introduced multiculturalism into it's episodes, by re-creating the eldest daughter as a mixed race child, from a previous marriage. I would be very interested in reading an article based on the changes and how they represent the positive changes in societal and individual perception.

Dragon Ball Super contains a numerous amount of scenes where the Z fighters are maintaining their fitness levels. The belief that a Saiyan has no limits seems to be true as Goku and Vegeta constantly go beyond their limits that were set for them. This is also true with humans and the human limit, correct? No one believed a man could ever climb Mt. Everest or break four minutes for the mile. Well both of those were obtained by humans… multiple times. Is their Saiyan pride deep down in every human?

Joe Russo, co-director of Avengers: Infinity War, recently stated that other major film studios should avoid trying to establish cinematic universes like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although Russo said that audiences crave new methods of storytelling, he stated that some things simply cannot be "sustained through a cinematic universe." Do you agree with Russo?

Speculative Fiction is an umbrella genre for stories that are other-worldly. For example, fantasy, science-fiction, dystopian fiction, paranormal fantasy and more. I think it would be interesting to discuss the genre as a whole, in terms of story dynamics. A lot of speculative fiction has one foot in reality and another in a fantasy-like setting. Often speculative fiction has a lot to tell us about our reality, whether this is reflecting our reality or subverting reality to reveal new truths about the world. It would be great to look at the varying degrees to which this occurs in speculative fiction.

Third-person Omniscient is something that many authors and readers have moved away from. But why? Extremely popular once, it has seemed to fall away in the last hundred years. perhaps a deep dive into this topic would be of interest.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an internet short film in three acts created by Joss Whedon and starring Neil Patrick Harris as the titular Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day as Penny. This was project was created in 2008 amidst the writer's strike, the Great Recession, and Election Season. What political themes exist and how might they have changed in the decade since the release of the work?

Addressing the success and failings of the FX series "Legion" regarding its representation of mental illness. While it is an exceptional psychological thrill ride, is its representation of mental illness accurate and respectful?

Altered Carbon is an American dystopian science fiction television series created by Laeta Kalogridis and based on the 2002 novel of the same title by English author Richard K. Morgan.

The premise of the show centers on a society that has been transformed by the invent of a new technology that allows for the transfer of the mind into a clone or another persons body. This has effectively created a wealthy class of near-immortals. A warrior, Takeshi Kovacs, who fought against this very intention is brought back to solve the "murder" of Laurens Bancroft by Bancroft himself.

What makes the show so interesting is the inclusion of a number of key philosophical questions about how we define humanity, the role of the body, the value of mortality, and more. All of which would make an interesting discussion.

Season One of Wynonna Earp was an interesting reversal of traditional gender depictions. Not only is the main character a kick-ass girl who wields an epic gun, she is also a stereotypical gunslinger, which is normally a man. She drinks (a lot), she swears, she is a sexual being, but she also is about family. However, this was not the only interesting diversion, rather it was the depiction and sexualisation of men in the show. The sidekick character of Doc Holliday is just that, a sidekick who does not diminish Wynonna's strength, the main villain Bobo delivers his epic bad-guy monologue shirtless, there are a series of other men-in-skimpy clothing moments throughout. The show is comedic and very tongue-in-cheek of its treatment of the gender roles, but it is also a great example of how very stereotypical most TV shows are when contrasted to this.

An interesting discussion would be to break down Wynonna Earp and compare it to other female lead shows such as Tru Blood, or even to other popular male shows such as Supernatural that deal in the same genre. Otherwise another comparison is to what happened in Season Two where suddenly we are seeing strongly sexualised portrayals of women, but in a largely lesbian manner – is this for the male gaze, or is it actually continuing to subvert gender portrayals?

I have been following the seemingly trouble wrought story of the game Destiny 2 with interest. Many have stopped playing, listing lack of in-game incentive as a primary cause for their leaving. Some fans have even reverted to playing Destiny 1, claiming the game is superior to the sequel. Bungie recently held a ‘community summit’ in an attempt to address player discontent, and continually update what they call a ‘roadmap’ to increase perceived development transparency. Bungie is not the only developer who has met trouble in trying to appease angry players who have their own ideas about the direction a game should take. My question is this: how transparent should game developers be when it comes to the creative process of game design? To what extent does community feedback and discussion help or hinder the eventual product?

Jersey Shore was a guilty pleasure to watch by everyone that was old enough to understand the sexual innuendos and see the drama first hand. Now that they are older and that I have seen the first two episodes I can easily see how they have changed and how censored the show already seemed to be. I think this topic would be great to explore once the month-long adventure is done and see if this one can live up to what they have done in the past. What do you think?

This is something that's been a discussion point with some peers recently, and I was wondering if someone else had some extended thoughts regarding it.

What do we want out of the next Metroid Prime title?

I mean we can safely assume that it will be a first-person shooter with puzzle-solving elements like past Metroid prime titles… but could we also expect an overhaul at all? And to what extent? Will they throw everything out the window and make it a bejeweled-based action horror game? Or will they just abandon some Metroid traditions and maybe put in more of Prime 3's ambitious but flawed cinematic cut-scenes? It's hard to tell. Mostly cause I don't know what I want either.

Breath of the Wild wowed me with it's perfect blend of embracing old Zelda traditions, while experimenting with some wild (no pun intended) ideas. Can we expect the same of Metroid? Or will it perhaps just be a return to form with some typical but fun Metroid gameplay?

On the 5th of May, writer Junot Diaz was confronted by author Zinzi Clemmons, an individual whom Diaz had succeeded in forcibly kissing years earlier. Several other individuals have since come forward to testify and solidify Diaz's sexual misconduct allegations, and Diaz has since retreated from the public eye by stating that he "takes responsibility" for his past.

Since then, Mary Karr reminds us of the sexual misconduct of deceased postmodern writer David Foster Wallace, and more importantly brings to light the public's indifference toward the matter. It's no surprise that our literary figures weren't morally upstanding individuals: Somerset Maugham's characters and stories exoticise the supposed "orient" in a rather unpleasant manner, Hemingway was a noted misogynist and sexist, and Bukowski has a history of quotations that aren't sympathetic to the female sex.

After last year's fiasco in the entertainment industry, I'd like to draw us back to the world of literature and fiction. What parts do we, as readers, consumers and therefore enablers of these individuals (alive or not) play in such a changing climate? Should we say nothing in the tradition of respecting the voices fostered in the creation of what we consider "good art", even if that means reproducing a male-centric perspective for the coming generations? Or should we condemn such works on the basis that they promote unsavory attitudes towards groups of people, and therefore bear the artistic cost?

"Roseanne," the show, both the original and the revival, are extremely radical in its handling of topics as lesbianism, crossdressing youth, teenage sexual awareness, women's rights, and political differences in families. Yet because of the star's recent utterances, which often border both on the inane and the insane, viewers and critics see the show through Roseanne-Barr-colored glasses, and are oblivious to actually what is being portrayed, which is often an anti-Trumpite agenda. How hard is it to separate the "art" from the person?

As we have seen in the development of the Marvel Universe, when a single franchise owns a series of titles there are great opportunities for cross-over story telling. This contributes a number of interesting aspects to story telling: it allows for a greater sense of verisimilitude, that the world the story is set in is a real place; it encourages fan involvement in a multitude of stories, which also increases the viewing numbers across multiple shows; and it allows for diversity in story telling. So if it is so successful why do we not see more of this? Why are studios that put forward multiple shows set in a similar universe not including this type of story telling? What are the limitations of doing this?