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All Female Cast: While Oceans 8 works and Bird of Prey does not

The best way for a film company to make money while at the same time show that they are aware of female social issues is to create an all female cast spin off of an existing franchise.

Examples like Ghostbusters 2016, Bird of Prey, and Oceans 8 come to mind.
However, there has been a bit of backlash towards feminist films in recent years. Films like Bird of Prey and Ghostbusters are disliked by the public for being a feminist version of beloved men centric films. As a result, the film makers and actresses blaming the audience for being mysoginistic.

While that may be true in some degree, it is the writing and creative process behind making the film that determines its success.

In comparing Oceans 8 with Bird of Prey.

We are able to determine how to correctly produce an all female cast film.
While Bird of Prey had the female cast part down, they failed because the film makers did not adapt the comic correctly. They decided to make Harley Quin the main protagonist, in a film that is based on a comic where Harley does not appear in. In addition to that, they wrote the film in a way that made Harley quin a giant goof ball, where luck was constantly on her side.

Meanwhile, Oceans 8 does a better job, by justifying the need for all woman's cast. It mirrors the other Ocean movies visualy and incorporates original characters from Oceans 11, while keeping it unique with its own new set of characters and film score.

  • When talking about Birds of Prey, that aspect of the comic world has always been entirely female whereas the other examples have not, so to compare them as needing 'justification' doesn't quite work. However, I think this topic would be better suited to a discussion of how all-female casts are being approached by the film industry and by the public. Was the success or failure of these movies down to their casts or because of other situations? i.e. for ghostbusters, people not quite ready for their childhood to be changed at all, let alone with an all-female cast. – kerrybaps 5 years ago
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  • I think that some people might argue that critically, Birds of Prey was fairly successful, but the audience/box office numbers don't seem to match the films critical reception. I found Birds of Prey to be as enjoyable if not more enjoyable than many other films in its genre. – Sean Gadus 5 years ago
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Retellings and Nostalgia in Literature

There has been a surge in new and upcoming book releases being retellings of old stories, whether they be classics (for example, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley) or fairy tales (like Beauty and the Beast). What does this suggest about society at the moment, if literature is a reflection of our current state of mind? Are these retellings to do with nostalgia or a need to bring the past to the modern age? Do authors succeed in doing so?

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    Scandal: The White Hat symbolism

    Throughout the entire series the term white hat is tossed back and forth but what does it mean. I think its about being the good guy. Whoever where the white hat is considered the one who is winning and doing the right thing. In this show we easily see where the lines between good and evil are crossed so is wearing the white hat even worth it. I think if someone could track the metaphor they'd be able to understand the relationship between Olivia and Joshua a lot better.

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      Art in the Time of a Pandemic

      After witnessing the devastation of the 1918 flu pandemic, Virginia Woolf made the titular heroine of "Mrs. Dalloway" an influenza survivor, embracing life with flowers, friendship and a dinner party.

      In recent weeks, we have all seen images of the doctors, nurses and other frontline workers, saving lives in hotspots like Italy and New York. Their faces, tired and worn out, call to mind Edward Munch's "Self Portrait with the Spanish Flu" and "Self Portrait After the Spanish Flu".

      I propose a feature on the lessons we can learn from the art of past pandemics.

      • Nice topic. Maybe you can make it How to learn from the art of past pandemics. – birdienumnum17 5 years ago
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      Analyzing the Rising Popularity of Visual Novels

      Visual novels (VN) are an interactive game genre that originate from Japan where text-based stories are presented in a narrative style of literature and allow for readers to interact as well as decide on the flow of a story. These mixed-media novels have, in recent years, gained more popularity outside of Japan especially through gaming platforms such as Steam. What sets these mixed-media novels apart from other genres such as film, animation, manga, and comics?

      • Love this! Ultimately it contains a visual narrative that a novel just doesn't have. In addition, I have just been reading The three escapes of Hannah Arendt. I have read her philosophy and theory on tyranny and socialism and as everyone knows philosophy is quite hard going at times. The graphic novel is a great starting point and really gets to grips with both her story and philosophies and breaks it down into amazing visual story telling that transcends any language barrier or prior knowledge to her work. It accessible and at the same time demonstrates emotive power and understanding of her background and the tyranny she and others faced under the oppressive facist regime. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37941885-the-three-escapes-of-hannah-arendt – Lousands 5 years ago
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      • This would definitely be a good idea! I think especially because gaming media is still under the impression that story-based games aren't selling as much as, for example, battle royales or multiplayer games. I would look at big AAA games, like Final Fantasy VII, as the most recent story-based game release. For an indie title, Undertale was a massive one and Little Misfortune, which is a suspenseful horror game that recently made the rounds. – kerrybaps 5 years ago
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      What truly constitutes violence in film?

      The depiction of violence in film has evolved dramatically over the years and it is not uncommon to see a number of films that depict war violence, gang violence, or glorified murder (think "The Purge"). How come this type of violence seems to permeate more throughout American culture in the 21st century than other, more psychological violence like that depicted in the French film "Cache" – which involves an almost ritualistic suicide? We seem to be, as a culture, more willing to accept and assimilate to the grand-sized violence where hundreds if not thousands of people die than we are to a film where only one or two deaths are seen in detail. Consider also slasher films like "Saw" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" as opposed to "The Silence of the Lambs" and how this type of violence relates and speaks to our culture's appetite for specific forms of violence.

      • So after searching for awhile I couldn't find the youtude vid I saw that introduced me to the topic but the synopsis is generally this. Its found that in most horror/scary movies the perspective is subtly biased towards men. The youtuber shows a dozen or so examples of movies where when woman is being chased/killed by the antagonist of the film, its usually shown in the first person perspective, whereas men being chased/killed are usually shown in the third. Its an interesting tell and thought it tied into the topic of violence in film. Hope its useful. – ilookatyourshoes 9 years ago
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      • I feel as if the reason behind people being more comfortable with glorified mass murder over a single killing or two is because it is incredibly impersonal. Not to quote Joseph Stalin, but one of his most famous quotes is, "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." And not to AGREE with Stalin here, but he is very right. The writers killing off a character that you've come to know and love hits you a lot harder than an entire city of people being completely obliterated. It's sad, but unfortunately true. – botheringcat 9 years ago
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      • I feel like a lot of what counts as "violence" in any given story has to do with the context. A particular act might seem horribly cruel in one kind of series, while just being business as usual in another. For instance, a single murder will stand out a lot more in a story about, say high-school kids, than it will in a story about hardcore gangsters. – Debs 5 years ago
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      • I think people called it "violence", then it must have conflicts between the things of people's daily life and the content in the movies, esp in terms of human intereaction. – RoyHung 5 years ago
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      • I would also advise whoever writes this topic to look into some Quentin Tarantino interviews on violence. He was spoken a lot about his justification and purpose of violence in his films and responded to the criticism. It might be quite helpful to get the non-horror genre perspective! – hilalbahcetepe 5 years ago
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      The Transition from Internet Content Creation to More Traditional Media

      Examine artists who have taken successful careers from internet niches (E.L. James, Kris Straub, etc.) and how they pivoted from this success to a more mainstream kind of fame. E.L. James took a Twilight fanfiction and turned it into a successful novel trilogy with barely any edits. Kris Straub turned his Candle Cove creepypasta into a successful Syfy original series. What goes into the process of bringing the internet into line with traditional media?

      • It might also be interesting to discuss the Slender Man movies, mainly the Sony one. It did moderately well financially but was critically panned. How do we define success when it comes to transitioning internet content to more traditional forms? Financial success, creative integrity, heavy reliance on the source material, or some combination of all of these? – Emily Deibler 5 years ago
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      • An interesting topic to explore could be the trend of YouTube creators writing books. Many are often very heavily criticised. Many of these people, perhaps, would never have considered writing before finding Internet fame. What is it about the medium of books? Is it easy to break into? Is it widely popular? Is it something about the physicality of books? Is the trend just that, a trend, people seeing others being successful so doing it too? – leersens 5 years ago
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      Isao Takahata doesn't get enough respect

      Because Hayao Miyazaki has been the most well known renowned figure of studio Ghibli, many people sometimes forget that he's not the only ingenious individual at work. Isao Takahata the co-founder of studio Ghibli has also made many good films amongst them some are on a par with Hayao Miyazakis work and some of them even greater than Miyazaki features. Don't you think?

      • I think if anyone is taking this topic, they should explain who Hayao Miyazki and Isao and Takahata are as not a lot of people know the Ghubli studio. Indigenous films should be talked about more. Can't wait to see how this article goes. – Amelia Arrows 5 years ago
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      • For anyone thinking of taking on this topic suggestion, I'd recommend first reading an article published in the Artifice on 1st April 2018, written by Matchbox: https://the-artifice.com/isao-takahata-retrospective/ It addresses the issues raised above. On a personal note - I'd love to see more written about Isao Takahata. A fascinating character in his own right. – Amyus 5 years ago
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      Buffy as a role model for us all

      Link the narrative arcs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) to the #metoo movement. Buffy manages to be the one who saves the world (with the Scooby gang) whilst working her way through a number of relationships with the 'wrong' man. These included the bad boy who can't be saved, the stalked, the good guy who finished last and 'beer goggles'. in the context of metoo – how is Buffy conceptualised in present day through this lens?

      • I guess there is some way to link Buffy to the MeToo Movement, seems to be a strange linkage. – Joseph Cernik 4 years ago
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      Kitana From Princess to Empress of Outworld: Women's clothing in video games

      In the past many video games generally targeted at males, like fighting and racing games feature women characters "scantily clad" clothing. However, when Mortal Kombat 11 released last year, most of the female characters had stronger personalities and covered up a lot more of their skin than they had in previous games.

      One example is Kitana the former princess of Outworld. In previous games, she often wore blue string-like clothing with high boots. As the new Empress of Outworld, however, Kitana not only has power, but is covered from collar bone to ankles.

      • J.D Jankowski-- I apologize for not elaborating, this is my first post. I thought it would be interesting to find some commonalities in how character design and story arcs have progressed over the past thirty or so years in gaming, or possibly other media. Mortal Kombat is a classic example of a game that has been around for a long time. Also, it is a game that has been majorly revamped since it has been taken over by a new company. Munjeera-- By all means, expand on more than just clothing, I just find the new direction in these sorts of games interesting in comparison to how they used to be. Sean Gadus-- Exactly, I was mostly using it as an example but if anyone wanted to take the topic and use another game alongside it as a comparison that would be interesting too. – ruegrey 5 years ago
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      The power of fashion in social progress

      While the fashion industry has been historically known for promoting unhealthy beauty standards and gender norms, it is shifting towards a more diverse representation which breaks down gender norms. The article would analyze the shifts in fashion media and trends overtime and how it pertains to gender norms, body image and more. Additionally, it will detail the areas in which the industry still lacks.

      • Interesting topic! I think narrowing down this broad idea to a country would be helpful. There are many discussions that can stem from beauty standards, body image and fashion, (such as a shift from thinness and starvation to plastic surgery for wider hips/backside). Gender norms within itself can be a topic of its own as it changes throughout time (specially the last few decades). This topic could be root to many ideas! – Scharina 5 years ago
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      • This is a really interesting topic since fashion has been a core element of art and design since time immemorial, however I think this is too broad a topic to take on in one essay, as I wrote a history of fashion myself and it’s just too complex not to focus on a certain time period. Your material will be richer and more detailed, and if you enjoy the research then by all means start a series, fashion art is amazing – chloedubisch 5 years ago
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      End Game: An act of genocide or an agent for change.

      Analyse existentialism and Thanos as a free and responsible agent of change through his own genocidal acts in the name of environmentalism, make a comparison to the environmental concerns we face today and if Thanos was right in his efforts to decrease or eliminate the population.

      • Interesting idea! I think it's also worth considering the idea that since the Infinity Gauntlet was so powerful, Thanos did have other options (e.g. doubling resources or reforming our existing structures/policies to be more sustainable). How does the possibility of these other options (which may have their own flaws, to be fair) further complicate the morality involved in his snap? – Demetra 5 years ago
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      • It's been done. – T. Palomino 2 years ago
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      TVDU and it's abundance of LGBTQ ships

      The Vampire Diaries and its spinoffs (The Originals, Legacies) and canonically full of mostly heterosexual relationships, but a significant portion of the show's followers and fans are deeply committed too gay, lesbian, bi and pan ships that have little chance of setting sail or solidifying. Is this because of the show runners? Is this because of the channels it's airing on?

      • Great topic! Be sure to check a couple typos ("are" instead of "and" in the first sentence). More importantly, though, I would recommend looking at queer-baiting across fandom. Fans have spent decades building huge archives of fan work dedicated to LGBT+ "ships" to compensate for the lack of LGBT+ relationships in mainstream television shows. I would recommend looking into reasons why fans feel so strongly about these ships, and then look at some statistics about LGBT+ representation on tv. Also, can fans ever go "too far" with these ships? The Vampire Diaries is a great series for this topic, but I've seen a similar trend with Supernatural, Game of Thrones, and lots of anime. – Eden 5 years ago
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      • Cool topic, I assuming its because the Vampire diaries universe is mainly aimed at teens and young adults, people who are members of the most LGBT+ generation, although their are some gay and lesbian role models in shows like the vampire diaries their arnt many pan or other LGBT+ people or relationships on tv. Which thus leads to fan fiction. If their arnt any role models they hope for some to be introduced or create their own. – BrigetteH 5 years ago
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      What does Mob Psycho 100 say about individuals?

      Mob Psycho 100 is a series from the creators of One Punch Man. Focusing on the title character of Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama. Mob is a esper, he learns as a child that his powers are link to his emotional state. As a result he is emotionally muted and appears with a blank expression. He has no friends (in the beginning) and is social awkward. In contrast, the character of Reigen is the opposite of Mob.

      Reigen is the boss and master of Mob. He is a con man, whom, uses the power of his words to manipulate his clients into believing he is helping them with their problems. A common theme that is brought up in the series is the idea that Mob's psychic powers are one aspect of him and he is no better than other's. Reigen believes that his powers are really no different from someone who can sing, dance or play a sport. Basically, everyone has something special about them.

      Explore the theme from the series, that we all are special in different ways. Question what the difference between being ordinary and extraordinary is. Explore how the various characters, specifically, Mob and Reigen display the theme.

      • Yes, so much yes. The idea of "being the protagonist of your own story" is a great theme to delve into, as well as the emotional lessons of the story. I would also touch on additional characters and how they negotiate having powers, i.e. being special, with their level of emotional maturity. Ristu, Serizawa, Sho, Hanazawa, and Toichiro all cope with being "special" in healthy and unhealthy ways. I'd be very excited to read a piece about this. – Eden 5 years ago
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      The Silent Protagonist

      Analyse what makes a silent protagonist work and what doesn't: when does a game benefit from having one? When does it not? What are some instances where a silent protagonist could have been better as a speaking one, or vice versa?

      Or maybe, what warrants the use of a silent protagonist, particularly in plot-heavy, character-driven series' like Persona? How are they characterised, if at all, and why?

      • Could look at Link in The Legend of Zelda as well! – Sean Gadus 5 years ago
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      • There's also the case where silent protagonists stop becoming silent in the series, such as Jak in Jak and Daxter. – Emily Deibler 5 years ago
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      • One could consider the role of the silent protagonist’s “silence” as it pertains to immersive purposes. Some silent characters are not only mute—they have no explicit Idiosyncrasies or traits to establish themselves as full characters. Others, like Link in “The Wind Waker,” have more a sense of character through facial expressions and other complex reactive behaviors to story and gameplay elements. Exploring this dichotomy can prove useful in answering the question of the benefit of a silent protagonist. – James Polk 5 years ago
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      The Evolution of Mills and Boon Romance Novels

      Analyse the history and evolution of the Mills and Boon romance novels. How the content and cover art changed throughout the years.

      • Mills and Boon romance novels have been around for so many years, maybe like 50 or 100. You can analyze how they evolved over the years in terms of their covers (illustrations on the covers) as well as the stories themselves. For example, more recent versions have more explicit language. – nsafwat 5 years ago
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      The Trolley Problem in The Gone Girl Movie

      The 2008 neo-noir movie puts to light a conflict over different types of ethics; deontological and consequentialist wherein Patrick has to choose between doing the right thing by convention (returning the child to the mother) as opposed to ensuring the child's welfare by allowing the benevolent kidnapper to keep the child. An examination of this moral dilemma in terms of ethics and philosophy would make for interesting reading.

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        What is right, truth and justice when it comes to the American democracy?

        Do notions of right, truth and mercy matter? If so, How do they matter in relation to "Just Mercy (2019) ? How do legal terms such as beyond a reasonable doubt and burden of proof work in a society where disguising the truth is evident and inevitable?

        • I like the concept of your article, but I would think that you ought to clarify what you mean by these terms as well as what "modern world people" mean in particular. As a philosophy buff , I'm interested in how this goes. – RedFlame2000 5 years ago
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        • Talk about an incredibly broad title. Maybe the focus needs to be on whether there was some consensus in an earlier period on truth and justice and what they meant now versus now. But, even then, that earlier period needs to address who was included and not included. – Joseph Cernik 4 years ago
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        The Depiction of Religion In Anime

        Religion is an important orienting concept for societies so it is not surprising that anime has often dealt with it in many different forms. An article examining religion in Attack n Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist and D Gray Man would help provide for exciting reading. One could look at either the depiction of the organisation or religious themes within them.

        • That would be an interesting article. Especially in how Christianity is portrayed (or referenced). – OkaNaimo0819 5 years ago
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        • You might add Avatar: The Last Airbender to that list. Hindu and Buddhist concepts are all over that, not to mention the usage of the elements (I'm not sure what religion that's tied to exactly, but I have seen it in a lot of fantasy/anime-type literature and movies). – Stephanie M. 5 years ago
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        The Best Standalone Episodes

        Having recently finished watching Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, I was struck by how my favourite episode was #5 Dark Quiet Death – a standalone episode that featured two completely separate characters. It got me thinking of other examples, like a similarly video-game focused episode of You're the Worst, and countless others.

        So thought it would be a great idea to accumulate these into an article, or perhaps even analyse why audiences respond to these episodes (as Dark Quiet Death is the highest-rated Mythic Quest episode on IMDB by far).

        • Another example that might fit: among the three best-rated episodes of Stargate SG-1 on Imbd, two of them can be considered as standalone episodes: Window of Opportunity and The Fifth Race. The monster-of-the-week episodes of The X-Files might also belong in such an analysis. There might also be a difference between standalone episodes in more ‘procedural’ TV shows (such as SG-1 or X-Files), where standalone episodes are a regular format), and TV shows where, no matter how good they are, standalone episodes stay an exception. (I haven't watched Mythic Quest, so I don't know in which 'category' it would go.) Could that issue be discussed in the same article or would that fact call for two separate ones? – Gavroche 5 years ago
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