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5

Political power in GOT and House of Cards

I would like to see an article written about the different ways that political power is wielded. Foucault understands all citizens as complicity in state power (in a democracy), since one individual has a sovereign rule over us and governs our liberty, however en mass the public hold tremendous amounts of power during elections. Recent political history in Australia shows the power of public opinion polls, as leaders there have been usurped by party members due to their failing public credibility. But power also requires tenacious maintenance in a political scope Francis Underwood from House of cards illustrates the amount of time and effort he has to appease and blackmail other members of congress to retain his position. This involves calling the bluff of many different international and domestic threats to his reign. Lord Baelish from game of thrones also shows how a character with little credentials can hold great amounts of power by dancing between leaders of different kingdoms. There could also be a discussion about the gender intersection of power in both these shows as Claire Underwood and Cersei Lannister are both excellent case studies. 

  • I like this topic...I wonder who you would direct this to? The average Joe who doesn't understand politics would probably benefit from a comparison like this, because they might understand the analogies from these TV shows? Also the gender power side topic is great...Cersei needs someone to acknowledge all the hard work she does in maintaining her status! :) – AbbyMay 7 years ago
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  • I'd definitely be interested in reading this! Might be worth honing in on a particular season of each show to get a focussed analysis going. I think Claire v Cersei would be an excellent comparison! – Zujaja 7 years ago
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Pro-Wrestling: A Fan's Primer

Pro-Wrestling has been around for decades and has tens of millions of fans, but is often misunderstood by those on the outside. Moreover, the complex and serialized nature of pro-wrestling story-telling makes entry as a new fan difficult. A complete overview of the sport up through present trends and story-lines would be interesting: formation and history of the sport, brief summation of the legal players and corporate/owner factions, explanation of terminology used in the sport, brief summation of story-line factions (faces/heels/teams), and an explanation of why ' it's scripted, not fake ' is essential to understanding the appeal of the sport.

  • I love this topic! It would be worth mentioning how many pro wrestlers later became actors such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. – Cagney 10 years ago
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  • There is a lot to talk about with this topic besides the above mentioned. Another thing to look at would be themes used in wrestling story lines that are also used in other genres in the media. – lisa82 7 years ago
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  • This is really interesting. But I am afraid there are already accounts (introductions and summaries) that address this questions. – T. Palomino 1 year ago
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When is it "too much" nostalgia?

Nostalgia's been widely regarded as a good thing, but when does it go too far? When does it become unhealthy for us to stick ourselves to the same ideas, the same properties, solely because we associate good things with them and they make us feel safe? It is necessary for us to be challenged, but how can we do that if we're constantly being given the same thing because that's what we like and what we're used to? With all these reboots, when is enough enough?

  • Interesting topic. Do you have any examples of nostalgia done right versus nostalgia done poorly? – JakeV 7 years ago
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  • Nostalgia and reboots can be considered separate entities. – m-cubed 7 years ago
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  • Too much is when the story hinges on it. It should be sprinkled throughout the story, and could conceivably work without the nostalgia. – AGMacdonald 7 years ago
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  • Already saw a page on face book called Clinton Obama, but running the wives in 2020. maybe American politics should be like a shriners convention, no wives allowed, try and find someone or something new instead of making George Lucas as Gore would say, Your Dante found. – Antonius865 7 years ago
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Images of Terror and Terrorism in the Age of Trump

Recent events in London and abroad raise questions of how we should be representing terrorist attacks and the victims of those attacks. The visualization of difference is crucial to our popular understanding of these events as they unfold and reverberate throughout the world. Discuss the way major news organizations like CNN, Fox and MSNBC visualize these events. What differences arise between these televised news sources? How can stations visualize the aftermath of these attacks and the victims in tasteful ways that don't compound the trauma?

  • It would also be interesting to explore the way the Manchester attack was reported by American sources (releasing information before the UK, reporting false information, etc). Also, the lack of reporting terrorist attacks in non-western countries. Could this be due to the fact these sources don't want the US sympathizing with the middle-east? They want us to view them only as the terrorist and not as the victim? – BreannaWaldrop 7 years ago
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  • An interesting spin-off on this topic would be to explore the way in which news outlets are manipulated for PR reasons by both terrorist organisations and celebrities to manage their public profile. For example, the controversial decision of Grande to "go home" to the US was quickly followed by an announcement of the One Love benefit concert and return to Manchester. The decision of Noel Gallagher not to attend also resulted in a PR issue, which he felt compelled to then "explain". – bethlauren 7 years ago
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  • There are not one, but three shows this coming fall about the deified seal team six, and homelands and such, in which I don’t think its redheaded step children had the GI Joes now are gunning down. Of course we have to do that, lest we ever hold a politico feet to the fire, ah where we get impeachment, as you can hate the Romans all you want, but…turns out there were war television stations for whom a money shot of Virgillian sadness for fallen men in an unmarked grave in an unmarked war would be something that might caste a lull in the coloreds usury drunks and lesbians who just love a good parade, and don’t you forget it. And why make a point about those soldiers dying in that mess, as marking the earth with your ruin always gets some suckers boiled into the muck. You shouldn’t have waved the flag so vociferously when that bag man was bombing hospital’s, because to be antiwar after that hag quoted Caesar, is just another reason people who just so hate Trump in that mausoleum of a senate are plunging away, with that bumbling old coot unraveling before us, looking like the evil eye of Mad comics. Maybe one too many 300’s for you to seem so sanctimonious now. Everything is plastic, and is fake, as maybe the Bushes weren’t the patricians those grave robbers tried to convince you they were. See if you couldn’t impeach that buffoon, who sat there and careened from one disaster to another, well, whats the point of La wanda and her studying the crime bill as if the digest of Roman law as I had to , but then, survived being Jesuit pre law. Oh, now you weep…?, as my namesake said, … – Antonius865 7 years ago
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The Rise of the Instagram Artist

Instagram has become a way for artists to cultivate followings and promote themselves in a way that artists in the past have not been able to do before. Poets have become household names and makeup gurus now have their own beauty lines all due to the power of the 'gram. How does this new medium affect content? Are their negative consequences for using this service? For example, copying others work, authenticity, and quality.

  • Cool idea! I've noticed a few problems with people claiming that people are stealing ideas. I'm thinking specifically of the Harry Potter wand makeup brushes that 2 separate companies tried to market at the same time. I didn't spend too much time researching it, but basically, Buzzfeed featured one company and got a huge response while the other company claimed the idea was theirs initially. I'm not sure what happened with all that, but it would be a good specific case to look into if you're interested! – agmill 8 years ago
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  • Nitpicky but poets were household names before instagram... also I've never heard of any poets becoming famous/known through instagram but maybe I'm just not informed enough on that topic. Anyways, a VERY important aspect to consider for whoever writes this article is the fact that uploading content to instagram automatically grants them, and anyone else, really, to reshare and use the content as they want. This has lead to some controversial cases, one prominent one (worth researching) being this: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/27/living/richard-prince-instagram-feat/ – Lusk22 8 years ago
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  • Instagram is pulling artists into the mainstream. Artists' ideas are being seen by a vast audience, and in many ways, the newness or novelty of the artist becomes copied or replicated. Artists may get name recognition, but are they getting financial compensation? – sarahknight 8 years ago
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  • Instagram is really great for artist exposure. It's a free way to brand themselves and show the world what they offer as their own unique artist. I believe that snapchat might also become a new standard for viewing art. – damaddeo 8 years ago
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  • Instagram certainly poses issue with stealing content, an issue seen between companies like Huda Beauty, Vlada, and Kylie Cosmetics, where marketing materials were arguably stolen. This type of "borrowing" from others content can be seen throughout history in terms of influence between artists and apprenticeships. Artists have always been influenced by their mentors which often resulted in very similar styles but this ultimately leads to progress in style periods. In terms of recognition, it certainly offers new outlets for rising artists as well as well-known artists. It is a wonderful method of reaching new audiences, audiences that otherwise may not have interest in visiting galleries and museums. Artists like Jeff Koons and Kehinde Wiley have an immense following consisting of everyone from celebrities to your average teenager. – BreannaWaldrop 8 years ago
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  • Very cool topic. I'm wondering if you're planning to cover Instagram artists from the same field (i.e. make-up) or whether you wanted to cover artists from a variety of disciplines? – Amanda Dominguez-Chio 8 years ago
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  • While I think it's great to see social media being used as a means of supporting artists of all types, it seems to me that there is the potential for a problem in the fragmentation of content, and the necessity that comes from needing to make your art marketable. The first of these concerns is a problem, I would argue, with social media's effect on culture in general, and as we become more and more accustomed to bite-sized content the more engaging, long form content, as well as the way we consume said content, could suffer as result. I'm thinking specifically of mediums such as books, although there is definitely an argument that platforms like Instagram mostly act to entice people into further exploration of the work in question. Then there is the necessity of self marketing, and the potential of sacrificing the quality and/or genuineness of one's work in order to make it more popular, although this has always been an issue, even before social media. Ultimately I think all social media is a fantastic way to promote art of any kind, so long as one is able to sidestep the potential pitfalls of pandering to the public and becoming overly concerned with exposure rather than the work itself. – woollyb 8 years ago
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  • Instagram's a great platform for making the art world more accessible, which is still a huge problem despite the best outreach efforts of massive museums. I think it's also changed the way artists work in a way that's quite refreshing. We see a lot more works-in-progress and get insight into an artist's influences for example. – bodjaman 7 years ago
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  • I think that it's like a knife with 2 ends, it can go great or otherwise. It's a good thing that through these media channels people can get art closer to them and spread it. – AichaB 7 years ago
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  • Instagram provides a great platform for artists to put their work out there for others to view. The use of hashtags makes it much easier to find a specific subject than rooting through deviantart for hours. I can see instagram accounts replacing certain art magazines like high fructose or tattoo magazines in the near future. – cbonifa1 7 years ago
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3

Fatal flaws of the Superhero films

Superhero movies are some of the most popular movies coming out today. After so many being released at this point, and two major comic book film universes, some people are getting "superhero fatigue". What that means is that people are starting to get tired of these movies, and are accused of being all the same. What are some patterns and flaws that are commonly seen in superhero movies?

  • I'd say removing the part about superhero fatigue from this topic would make it sound a bit better. It really has nothing to do with exploring the patterns and flaws of the recent superhero films that have come out. I'd say box office records and an influx of social media superhero presence would make the "some" people who are tired of the movies irrelevant. – Steven Gonzales 8 years ago
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  • A fatal flaw that should also be examined is their balance between trying to make differences with the superhero to draw in fans, but risk alienating fans of the actual comic. This attempt to balance between the two has been one of the defining factors for superhero movies. – shugo828 8 years ago
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  • To me it is the reliance on CGI at the expense of story. There come a point when I get bored watching computer generated bots fighting each other; it has to have meaning from a character/plot perspective for me to feel satisfied leaving the theatre. – Jeff MacLeod 7 years ago
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  • A very common plot trope is the superhero being educated in humility when his/her closest ones land in danger/or are killed of. The superhero then channels their inner zen to take the battle straight to the enemy, sometimes sacrificing themselves for added dramatic touch when they realise that some of their closest aids were the ones who sold the superhero out to the enemy. This is followed by some scenes of repentance and the superhero is back alive to embrace his now reformed people. A special scene at thee d refers to the villain of the sequel. Keep the money rolling. – Dr. Vishnu Unnithan 4 years ago
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The Role of Opening Credits

TV opening credits obviously let viewers know who the main cast is as well as give everyone involved in the process their due. The aesthetics and artwork of each individual show's credits can also persuade the audience into participation. How do opening credits function depending on what shows one is watching? There are certain shows that begin with catchy themes, eye-catching graphics, or contain "easter egg"-like codes/foreshadowing. There are others which keep the visibility of opening credits to a minimum, perhaps to heighten the realism of the show's fictional world. How does the nature of certain shows determine the way opening credits are presented to the audience?

  • Approved this, but I was going to say would you be able to add some examples? One that always springs to mind for me is the minimalistic credits for Hannibal – Francesca Turauskis 8 years ago
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  • How about a little bit of comparison and contrast with the opening credits from previous decades? I've notice several old programs that have opening theme songs that the lyrics were actually displayed on the screen as they were sung. – NoDakJack 8 years ago
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  • This would be such a great prompt to expand on--once I get to the point where I can publish articles I may take this on myself! So many nuances and storytelling aspects can be found in a good opening credits sequence. There's so much to talk about! Context clues and interpretation of the cinematography and any song lyrics would be good points to discuss. – RachelHart 8 years ago
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  • Just going to leave this right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG_P_1JnfXI – ProtoCanon 8 years ago
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  • Wonder if there's much of a difference between opening credits and opening titles, but here's a fairly enlightening video by Cinefix i hope you find useful :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8twthdaqB8 – Matchbox 8 years ago
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  • Just a pet theory for filmic opening-credits, but there must be an evolution in length. Perhaps I'm pointing to the obvious, but Hollywood films produced pre-millennium seem much longer than productions after. Watching Kramer vs. Kramer, I realized it was an eon worth of attention span for the generation of viewers today. The opening for some production during earlier periods are an encased vignette telling an encapsulated story. Perhaps viewer patience have been eroded that opening credit structure is susceptible to such pressures. By the way, after watching the opening-credits for Dexter, does anyone crave ham and eggs with a splash of Tapatio? – minylee 8 years ago
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  • To expand on the comparison of opening credits now versus years ago, almost all older movies and tv shows (mid to late 20th century) feature the majority, if not all, credits at the beginning. Now, generally only the main characters are billed at the beginning, with everything else credited at the end. Perhaps you could examine what caused the switch, if anything, and how that has impacted the audience's viewing experience. – Noelle McNeill 7 years ago
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Interracial Representation in Popular American Imagination

Miscegenation in the United States is a social taboo stretching back to early colonial North America. At first, Puritan theology condemned its practice. With the institutionalizing of slavery, the racial-caste system crystalized such divisions segregating specifically black-white sexual union. Subsequently from the religious to pseudo-scientific racism, eugenics further legislated such prohibitions. By the twentieth century, the effects of Jim Crow laws restricted the spirit of artistic license by suppressing interracial imageries. With the arrival of motion pictures, the Hays Code firmly enforced anti-miscegenation guidelines in popular Hollywood film. While a knee-jerk assumption is to summon pervasive binary between black and white miscegenation, the article proposes examples of all diverse mixing of racial and ethnic categories. Meanwhile, it explores a variety of interrelated questions. How are interracial romances treated in recent popular culture across the varying artistic mediums? What elements of interracial relationships are censured? What does such specific excising say about our society? In contemporary United States, what are considered the more acceptable pairing[s] of interracial couples and why?

  • A few grammatical errors here, but not a cause for rejection. – m-cubed 7 years ago
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  • Sounds interesting. There has been a shift in inter-racial portrayals. Good topic. – Munjeera 7 years ago
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  • I love this topic. I do agree with you and understand why this is a topic of interest. – daefray24 7 years ago
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  • I definitely want to read this! Even as recently as this year, the backlash towards film and television that shows interracial relationships proves there is still work to be done. Might be good for someone to hone in on one type of media, whether it be comic book films, music videos, dystopian literature etc. Your discussion points are really interesting and complex, I hope there are some takers. – Zujaja 7 years ago
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Michael Douglas: Keeping the Audience Reeling

The actor Michael Douglas graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in Drama. The real work began after an impressive portfolio of film and television roles: The Streets of San Francisco, The China Syndrome, Romancing the Stone, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Black Rain, The American President, Wall Street, and The War of the Roses. He has played: detective, banker, lawyer, reporter; in both an acting capacity and as director. As if that wasn't enough to qualify on your own merits, he is the son of famed Hollywood thespian, Kirk Douglas. But, success has no limits and Michael Douglas is proof that the territory of theater is his dominion. It is no surprise then that the University of St. Andrews in Scotland bestowed upon him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 2006. With a vibrant history of contribution to the arts, one must wonder–what was the allure that kept audiences flocking to the theaters and Hollywood studios beckoning with scripts? One avenue to explore could be the pressure the character has to deal with in front of the camera; crime, career, colleagues, addiction, moderation, or marriage. Who holds the key to a great performance: the scriptwriter, the actor, the circumstance, or the foil? In what way does Douglas figure against seasoned counterparts, gender-ethnic based peers, or immediate audience? Is it a matter of how willing and able the actor is to crossing boundaries (cultural, professional, geographical, personal, ideological) for the sake of the film industry, even if merely for the art? Consider this common thread of crossing material and metaphysical boundaries in the analysis.

  • Website http://www.seofreetips.net/blog Business Email admin@seofreetips.net About Me:- I am Internet marketer, blogger and social media expert I share my knowledge about SEO at seofreetips.net Ask me any question related to SEO, Link Building and Online Money making. FB Profile: - https://www.facebook.com/seo457 Twitter:- https://twitter.com/nekrajb1 Google Plus https://plus.google.com/+NekrajBhartiyaBoss Intagram https://instagram.com/nekrajB Wordpress https://bloggingtoolreview.wordpress.com/ Tumblr http://seofreetips.tumblr.com/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGxDRvKsxhwptSqQ8ALPbQ Pinterest https://pinterest.com/nekrajbhartiya LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nekraj-bhartiya-74a4b7112/ – seofreetips 7 years ago
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The main causes of John Grisham's success

I have always wondered why it was that John Grisham, within his genre, has come to such massive fame. Please do analyse the ways in which his work appeals to his target audience and his rise to success.

  • A quick analysis of his other non genre works too like Playing For Pizza could help the article too by establishing whether/not he is a gem of a writer or is more along the lines of a legal thriller generator factory. – Dr. Vishnu Unnithan 4 years ago
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Is the Window for Being a Career YouTuber Closing?

YouTube revenue is at an all-time low, in part due to the recent departure of several major advertisers over concerns about their products being associated with hate speech. Many on YouTube now rely on services like Patreon for income as much or more so than their YouTube partnerships. That said, Patreon is typically only successful for content creators that have already built a brand and a following. Is this the beginning of the end for YouTube as a cottage industry? Is there room for scrappy newcomers to make a living anymore?

  • This is an interesting question. You'd probably have to decide on an angle from which to address Youtubers, either as celebrities or small business entrepreneurs or a combination of the two, as it's a pretty unique career and there is no clear historical equivalent to compare it to. It would be important to acknowledge that youtube is only one element in a broader career for many youtubers - Troye Sivan and several other musicians attribute a degree of their success to it, but it would be a stretch to say they'd be nothing without it. Even in the case of beauty youtubers, who often get the short end of the reputation stick, many of them are industry professionals (Glam&Gore is an LA-based special effects makeup artist, pixiwoo are celebrity makeup artists, etc). This is not to say that this is the story for most Youtubers, but just something to bear in mind. Beyond Patreon, you would also have to consider one-off and also contract sponsorships, as well as business opportunities external to youtube. Other video-hosting apps and sites (RIP Vine) experience crossover with youtube so you'd want to touch on that as well. OK textblock over. – Cat 7 years ago
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  • As its been since Roman walls, hate speech, so thoughtfully scrubbed now that the sopranos is off the air, is any speech that Augustus dent want to hear. But not every wall is controlled by GE and the NBA and the lords of middlebrow decency, or the Jews theyve married,...ah, my credo, all graffiti says the same thing, This is not my wall. a roman aphorism. – Antonius865 7 years ago
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  • This would be interesting to look at from a variety of perspectives: beauty, gaming, lifestyle youtubers- I think it is different in each one. I've heard from a lot of the 'smaller but still popular' youtubers that the new advertising rules have ruined a lot of their income, so it really depends ob what type of personality/ look you are portaying. One thing that annoys me is that content aimed at young adults/ children is becoming more popular because advertisers feel comfortable working with those youtubers. It's starting to annoy me for example, that a lot of beauty youtubers have changed their personality/ content to become more kid-friendly, and have began making more videos about topics such as making friends at school or revision techniques, etc. – kwoodhead1 7 years ago
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What happens when our favorite shows come back?

Nostalgia is every where as many shows which had been cancelled or ended long ago are returning. X-Files and Gilmore Girls came back, Young Justice finally got its long awaited season three, and Charmed is getting a reboot. How does this affect how we watch the new season out reboot? How does this affect our perceptions of the old show? Does waiting so long end up paying off?

  • Great topic! From the moment PrisonBreak ended I have been waiting for it to come back. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • You might also delve into, which shows get a comeback, why, and who should get to decide. Are there shows that haven't received a comeback, but should? What makes a show popular enough to warrant one? – Stephanie M. 8 years ago
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  • I think that sometimes shows shouldn't come back because they are rarely as good as the original and sometimes try too hard. I would love friends to come back, but i know that i'll only be disappointed because it can never recreate the magic of the past. Maybe try and identify where comeback shows go wrong and some examples of this. – Emefa1 8 years ago
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  • Awesome article topic! – SeanGadus 7 years ago
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  • This could be a super interesting topic. Another thing to think about is the effect it can have on a new audience who didn't grow up with the original shows, and whether they should update it to fit the times or keep it as it was? Or perhaps what to update and what not to? This definitely raises a lot of questions, I like it! – Sarah A. 7 years ago
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  • Would be very interested to hear the perspective on the idea that Prison Break will be returning - is it legitimate for shows to return and pretend that the seemingly final last episode was never meant to be final? Is it okay for us to accept this re-writing of the planned narrative after the fact? – jessfaith0912 7 years ago
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  • Great topic. It's such a grey area with a lot to explore, you have those who are all about the reboots (I am a sucker for nostalgia) and those who are against them. Plus, reboots tend to get a whole lot of criticism, mainly because people have so many expectations. – MikaylaMargaret 7 years ago
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  • Not that I ever watched the show to begin with, but it might be useful to mention the upcoming Will & Grace reboot, which is set to ditch its original ending because it was inconvenient. I can't imagine fans are going to be very happy about that. Sometimes tinkering with the story like that can hurt the original. – AGMacdonald 7 years ago
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Gaming's controversial move into the world of TV on a professional level.

As esports and professional video gaming become a much bigger part of the wider world, there seem to be many people that show resistance.
A tournament of an online game (can't remember which game) was televised on ESPN recently and I was shocked by some of the comments. "These people weren't bullied enough in school," took the cake from the pool of negative comments.
Do you think gaming should make it's way into the mainstream world via television broadcasts? Should it stick to game-centered shows and websites rather than leak into the professional sporting world?

  • I don't necessarily believe video games should be recognised as a sport, but it's definitely worth looking into why kicking a ball back and forth is somehow more social than playing an MMORPG with friends online. – AGMacdonald 7 years ago
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  • AGMacDonald. Great point. I laughed at this. This a wide debate that has been going on for years. I even attended a conference where para-professionals delivered their papers on video games as a sport, how gender controlled the video game world can be, and how gamers perceive the concept of gender. It is an goimg, and interesting quetion, why is ghe gamer world still gender centered even though the LGBTQ is very much present in the gamer world. Back to video games beung considered a sport, honestly, a sport requires the movement of the body. It doesnt require a heavy focus on being socially active during the action of doing a sport, but it does mean that you get out of your seat and do something recreational. Interesting topic though. – breeyabrown 7 years ago
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  • When I read the topic I initially thought about the move of games/gaming into action movies. Perhaps a comparison of how films such as Hitman 47 and the new Assassins Creed movie are received as entrants into the wider public sphere with that of more traditional "sports" approach would be interesting. One could even work to tie in the mixed format aspects of current online media such as Twitch (which admittedly I know little about) or Web series such as Video Game High School. – derBruderspielt 7 years ago
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Blurred Lines: The Surge in Branded Content and Advertainment

Examine the incorporation of branded marketing in the history of film and TV, and how the normalization of sponsored content has allowed for successful films like The Lego Movie to branded documentary series like Margot vs. Lily by NikeWomen. Is it changing the world of advertising or is it changing the world of entertainment?

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    Will Game of Thrones Inspire the Future of Television?

    Game of Thrones has seen incredible, groundbreaking success, such it has developed a devout following. The success is due to multiple factors. Two of which are duration and quality. The fact that GOT is indeed a television show instead of a film, allows characters to truly develop and grow. Films generally have a time limit of three hours to develop any characters. Films on the other hand, have quality that tv shows usually do not. Game of Thrones is able to connect these two aspects, tv show length for development and film like quality. Fans are able to become much more invested than other movies or shows. In the future, we can hope that other TV shows look to invest in the higher quality, and produce great shows like GOT.

    • The showrunners for Star Trek: Discovery have named Game of Thrones as an inspiration for the format of the show. – AGMacdonald 7 years ago
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    • I sincerely hope that the success of GoT inspires other writers/producers to make series with a similarly long game view.; either book adaptations, as GoT, or stand-alone series. – JudyPeters 7 years ago
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    The Future is Female?

    Currently, there has been a trend in female protagonists taking over multiple different franchises (e.g. Star Wars, Avatar, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, etc.), do you think there is hope that this trend will steadily continue or have an impending decline?

    • A lot of times we are seeing quantity over quality. Leia may have been the only women in the original Star Wars, but she was much stronger than Rey because she had flaws. The main problem with The Force Awakens is that while I enjoyed Rey's character and love Daisy Ridley, Rey never really struggled. Disney was so afraid of their female characters being labelled weak that they made her good at everything. If there is going to be a decline it will be because people are too afraid to have female characters that suffer and have flaws (like Sansa in Game of Thrones) due to backlash on said characters. We should treat female characters no different than the males: sometimes strong; sometimes stupid; sometimes downright maniacal. There's an array of characters out there, and strength doesn't necessarily come from being the best. – AGMacdonald 7 years ago
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    • There's potential with this question to address an often-missed issue with the upsurge in female representation, which is that women aren't "taking over" - the gender ratio is just leveling out. If the number of female characters were to decline, media wouldn't be going back to normal - it would just be going back to a male majority. This is bearing in mind that we aren't even at equal numbers yet - to take Marvel as an example, every single movie title except for one is male, and the separate teams have a male-female ratio of around 6-2. Two other important points would be to acknowledge the bizarrely venomous backlash to female characters (Rey, Ghostbusters etc), as well as the significant expectations placed upon female characters - if they aren't perfect, they're lambasted as slutty/bitchy/manipulative/whiny/etc, and if they are perfect, they're Mary-Sues. – Cat 7 years ago
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    "Alice in Wonderland" in Adaptation: What Makes it so Difficult?

    Lewis Carroll's nonsense novel has seen endless variation in adaption across all forms of media, but how many of these are actually successful? Look at both the more faithful adaptions (Disney, the 1999 TV Movie), and the "darker" or somehow radically different ones (American McGee's Alice, The Looking Glass Wars). Compare some of the adaptions which are similar in tone, like Tim Burton's recent film and American McGee, or the Disney film and the TV Movie, with an eye for determining, which one does what it's trying to do better (e.g., a faithful translation from book to film, a darker take), while examining what makes adaptation of this novel so difficult.

    • One of my favorite adaptations is actually the 1999 TV movie. That's likely an incredibly nostalgia-based opinion since I watched it a lot during my early childhood. Nevertheless, it's one of my favorites because it still retains the intelligence of the book. I wasn't a huge fan of the Tim Burton version (although I still haven't seen the sequel yet) since it was more of a fantasy action-adventure story involving good versus evil. For me, it lacked a bit of Lewis Carroll's signature wit whereas the 1999 version did a good job of showing just how ridiculous and nonsensical the adult world can be through the eyes of a child. – aprosaicpintofpisces 8 years ago
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    • You could also reference the difficulties of crafting a screenplay, which follows many story rules, compared to the wandering nature of Alice in Wonderland. Think of The Wizard of Oz--it has a similar path, but the character journey and story structure are quite traditional. ALICE takes more liberties. – Nate Océan 8 years ago
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    • You read my mind... Been thinking about a way to make Alice reverberate to contemporary minds, as I, like you, first experienced it as young child. It's a tale that always prods and pokes at the right strings in the pivotal moment. Meaning, I walked away from Alice as soon as first grade was over, only to find that Wizard of Oz was faithfully waiting in the wings of second grade. Third grade weighed in with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, just as I figured I'd seen it all. (High school brought the MTV variety, with Tom Petty's Alice.) Can it get any meaner? Peter and the Wolf? Write this one as a classic, in and of itself, shouldn't be hard to do, with such a fan base. – lofreire 7 years ago
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    The Protagonists Of Murakami's Work

    The protagonists in Haruki Murakami's works are usually simple, average individuals with routines are certain behavioral traits. In fact, the majority of his stories are built up around characters discussing their idle thoughts and activities to pass the time. By having these characters come across as "simple" and "average" we can understand their feelings with more depth as they are thrown into surreal, ridiculous situations. It can be said that, by making them "boring", we further sympathize and connect with them.

    • In a way, I don't see these average individuals as the protagonists though. They serve as the medium we see through, showing us a skewed characterisation of the true protagonist of his story. Eg. Sputnik Sweetheart = Sumire seen through 'K'; Norwegian Wood = Naoko and Midori seen through Toru; Wild Sheep Chase = Rat seen through and unnamed character. Each story has this average joe 'protagonist' that we can relate to yet instead of acting as a protagonist they serve as a sort of diegetic narrator. – Peneha 7 years ago
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    • Analyse his short stories too (eg. Barn Burning) where the protagonist plays a similar conduit like role where we can identify with them as they experience what Harika does to their world. – Dr. Vishnu Unnithan 4 years ago
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    The terrifying relevance of Nevil Shire's On The Beach to 2017

    This book was written in the late 1950s as a dystopian and cautionary tale about the perils of all out nuclear war. Rereading it in 2017, explore the dystopian tropes of the book in the light of American relationships with North Korea, China, Russia, etc.

    • One small correction. Nevil Shute wrote 'On The Beach'. Otherwise, this should make an interesting topic to address, considering the lunacy of present day 'international' politics. Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of history? – Amyus 7 years ago
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    • Autocorrect 😫😫😫😫😫 – JudyPeters 7 years ago
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    The Rise of the Strong Female Lead in Modern Cinema

    In the last few years, we're seeing a rise of strong female characters in lead roles – especially in Action Films (the most prominent being Rey, in Star Wars). These strong characters are everywhere in literature, but tend to be overshadowed by the sequel or the reboot – and if they are picked up, tend to be altered in some way to make the film more marketable: for example, making that female character more masculine (atypically stoic, cold natured, oblivious, and otherwise displaying a shallow level of emotional value – "beefing up" the character, whilst almost ignoring the duality of a strong female character, and their ability to rise to the occasion with a strength of mind and heart; Rose Dawson from Titanic, or countless literary figures from the age of Jane Austen). Are we stepping in the right direction, or is this another false Hollywood campaign?

    • By the way it's 'Rey'. I think an interesting point is how shallow her 'strong female character' really is. She doesn't have much of an arc ('I have to stay at home because some people might come back but we haven't established that they mean anything to me other than a brief memory' to 'I'm gonna find me a Skywalker!') and she's magically good at everything she does/touches, including Jedi mind tricks which she's apparently never seen before. – jackanapes 7 years ago
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    • I agree to a certain extent. It is true that lately the presence of female characters has risen significantly in books and films, and also that such characters tend to be portrayed in masculine terms (see Ripley in Alien). At the same time, figures such as Katniss in the Hunger Games or Furiosa in Mad Max Fury Road, in my opinion, are redefining femininity onscreen, as they eliminate the idea that a film with a male character is more successful, and also offer a more complex and layered portrayal of women. In light of this, it would be interesting to explore such ideas in an article! – CostanzaCasati 7 years ago
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    • I personally think that it is great that female actors are taking on such diverse roles in the film industry. – claraaa 7 years ago
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    • I agree that we are seeing an increase in female lead characters, which is a positive for the film industry and women in general. But at the moment, I'm not sure if it's a huge problem that many of these characters are made more marketable, as we need to take small steps in the right direction. – Courtney 7 years ago
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    • There is an increase in female lead characters recently. After seeing shows like Jessica Jones I can't help but hold onto the hope that maybe Hollywood is redeeming itself. Jessica was a complicated and flawed character whose strength wasn't just physical but mental too. The creators did a good job of portraying that and using other female character like Trish Walker and Hogarth really cemented the fact that women can be complex characters. on the other hand, Hollywood seems to be great at taking a strong, female lead and sticking her into the 'romantic subplot device' peg hole. Black Widow is the ultimate example of this (Avengers 2). – norcelona 7 years ago
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    • The idea of "masculating" a female character to make her strong or tough is a really interesting one. People seem to forget that women can be and are often powerful and forceful people, without falling into a masculine role. Some examples of female characters that are both feminine and awesome are Mikasa in the anime Attack on Titan (her deep and emotional love for the protagonist drive her every move and allow her to be stronger than anyone else in the show barring one or two characters), and Buffy from BTVS (Buffy never gives up her femininity for her strength, she has boyfriends and wears makeup and cries and loves, but only grows stronger as she does so.) There are an unfortunately large number of Hollywood examples that fall into either the "woman is good character because she is big tough man on the inside" or "woman is a pretty lady who the protagonist gets with when he defeats the baddies" category. I adore seeing both strong and feminine characters on the big screen, we really don't need to pick one or the other, woman can and should be both. – Sabrina Thompson-Cook 7 years ago
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