I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about the dissolution of the physical descriptions of characters in books if the narrative does not periodically draw attention to their descriptions, and particularly if the character's physical description is not a crucial part to the story (e.g. Harry Potter's tousled hair, scar, and "eyes like his mother's," etc.). Instead, we posited, readers start to develop their own visions of the characters in their mind based on the people in their life with similar personalities. What are the psychological factors at play here and what are the ramifications of this? Is this valid?
Alternatively, how critical are physical descriptions in casting adaptations of novels? Are they more or less critical than establishing the same personalities/motivations of the character in the novel? Why?
This is super relevant topic especially considering race, a common statement made today when a PoC is casted in a book adaptation, for example "The Darkest Minds" people say that the main characters race was never specified so people could interpret her in anyway they like. Seeing how physical descriptions affects a readers perception on a characters would be a fascinating topic – tmtonji7 years ago
These are two interesting topics that may serve better as a two-part series than one combined piece, unless you could have one naturally flow into the other. That being said, the first component here is relevant to aspiring writers and those who want to consume writing content in a more informed way. I for one would love to read that piece and learn more about how we construct fictional worlds (characters, but this could also extend to things like objects, sensory experiences, and settings) from our own collections of experiences, and how writers best help us recall those experiences in their own work. The second component, as tmtonji discussed earlier, is very relevant politically. To reference your example of Harry Potter, the casting of Noma Dumezweni as Hermione in the London performance of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" made headlines and (I would posit) introduced the public to changing the way we imagine characters or link their identities to race. Another example is the Marvel company's changing of race and gender of some of their classic characters (perhaps, more accurately a transfer of a character's title to a different canonical character, but still) and how different audiences have reacted. It's definitely something you could delve deeply into. – Shaboostein7 years ago
I am highly interested in this topic and how readers (psychologically) make their characters look like in their minds. For instance, Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series was never described in terms of skin color, and this goes for many other characters in other books as well. An important note to make when writing this article is how many book adaptations to film tend to have light-skinned actors/actresses, and figure out whether it is intentional or not, and WHY this occurs so often. – Yvonne T.7 years ago
This is a great topic. Personally, when Im reading I prefer character descriptions to be vivid and frequent. I can't pot a random face to a character when I read. I don't know if this is due to my own inability of imagination or what. But I also feel that since reading is a form of escapism for a lot of people, making a characters face in the image of someone they know might be counter intuitive. – vmainella7 years ago
A common complaint in literature is the presence of one-dimensional secondary characters. These are characters outside of the standard formula or protagonist and antagonist; or are characters that act as a stimuli for plot progression. Understandably a character that is only going to dominate a single scene or at times a single line of dialogue in your story is not going to be one that you develop in any real depth. However, the lack of any consideration, or flippant description, can be both jarring and demoralising for your reader and will ultimately remove their engagement in the story. The two most common issues are completely generic stereotypes – the balding fat cop or the little asian punk girl – or the use of disjointed extremes – the asian emo-punk girl cop with pink hair but still wearing the standard police uniform – both of which will break the verisimilitude of the reading experience.
One suggestion is to begin to develop framework secondary characters using RPG character sheets. This is similar to making up a skeleton outline of a character, but using a template that keeps all the information in the same areas. The idea is that by using these pre-generated character sheets it will allow characters to be briefly fleshed out in ways that create them as more than a stereotype, but less than a full-blown character. The use of a standard template is already a good organisational strategy that will help you manage your secondary characters. And anyone who has had experience as a DM/GM will know how vital this is for developing NPCs (non-player characters) that populate their worlds. An RPG template will help you categorise the different abilities, skills, characteristics and even notes on physical appearance of each of your secondary characters in a fast and efficient manner.
As a GM, this is an interesting proposition and I agree wholeheartedly with the need to flesh out background characters (especially if you find yourself relying on cliches too often). However, I question whether Character Sheets are the best way to do this. A lot of what's on character sheets are strictly numbers, and while this could lead to inspiration for character traits (ex. This guy has an 8 in Charisma, I guess he's a bit stand-offish), there are other ways of fleshing out characters that lends itself more immediately to narrative traits. For example, there are countless "20 Questions For Developing Your Character" articles and things of that nature that can help a writer create a more developed character. Something that could set this piece aside from articles like those could be further recommendations on how writers should further utilize character sheets once they're made, perhaps using those numerical representations in their writing process beyond having a convenient layout for abilities and gear. – Shaboostein7 years ago
I'm not predominantly a fiction writer, but my partner is and from what I've gleamed from him regarding the use of writing templates/formulas is that they are very good for beginners and getting used to structure etc., but when you begin writing more they can be somewhat constrictive and actually quash creativity. I'd say it would work the same in this case. It's probably a good exercise if you feel like you need to improve your skills in that area or if you're a new/beginner writer trying to figure everything out but after awhile you'll probably need to take off the 'training wheels' (so to speak) in order to do more. – ToriBridgland7 years ago
I love your topic, and I think it can go a bit broader than the specific scenario you suggest here. Your idea goes beyond just keeping track of detailed character descriptions.
Personally, my favorite parts of storytelling are creating new worlds, creating characters that are shaped by those worlds, and plot twists that change the arcs of those characters and/or dramatically impact those worlds. RPGs, especially from the GM's chair, offer those three things in spades! After making the world and using the rules to combine various elements of that world (this is how magic can intermingle with big swords, this is what affects a robot differently from a human, etc.), you can use any plot twists you come up with as milestones for the characters to be reached. The rest of the plot fills itself in through improvisation and (usually) dice rolls. See also the LitRPG genre. – noahspud7 years ago
The choice of a name is quite powerful in literature, and in most popular-culture texts, as it can set particular expectations, symbolise aspects of the character, identify even the unique context of the narrative. Children's literature in particular has used this to good effect with the choice of names that capture the popularity and every-man position of the particular period in which it was produced. For instance Mary of 'The Secret Garden' is an ideal choice for the period in which the book was set, as it was an iconic English name. An example of a symbolic name is Bella Swan from 'Twilight' that means beautiful swan, which sets against the symbolic fact Bella perceives herself as an "ugly duckling" that blooms within the love story. There are many such examples of both selecting names of the time and names with symbolic value. What other examples can you identify?
What you're describing is actually its own well-established sub-discipline of literary studies, called "literary onomastics." If you'd like to read up more about it, I'd recommend perusing the decades worth of essays that have been published in Literary Onomatics Studies (https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/los/) and its successor, The Journal of Literary Onomatics (https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/jlo/). There's also the Names: A Journal of Onomastics (https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ynam20; I believe you'll need a university library login to access this one) for a less specialized view of names and naming, not exclusive to its function in literature. Some authors I'd recommend are Leonard Ashley, W. F. H. Nicholaisen, and Grace Alvarez-Altman; you also might want to check out the Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (ed. Carole Hough, 2016), which is a pretty comprehensive primer on the subject. With regards to the article that you're proposing, I'm not too sure if "What other examples can you identify?" is necessarily the best springboard for a discussion, as it may reduce this broad field of study to a handful of stray observations. (Most of the early LOS articles were limited to how names are used by a specific author or text, so as to keep the discussion directed on a central argument.) The article may be designed as a cursory intro to literary onomatics for beginners, which would work best if it delved into some introductory theory, rather than being limited only to case studies. Or, since you seem to be interested specifically in naming in children's/YA fiction, that could be tighter focus for the article. That way the selection of case studies would be more directly relevant to matters genre and reader demography, as opposed to trying to be representative of the full extent of naming's power. Just my two cents. – ProtoCanon7 years ago
Literature is a field of study. It is categorisation of all written (and some multimedia) texts that engage to some extent in narrative storytelling. It covers early Greek theatre, ancient mythologies, classical romance and gothic, horror verses weird, modern, post-modern, paranormal romance and so much more. It is a vast and unwieldy monster of source material.
As such, to make sense of it literary critics engage most often with literary theory – lenses and concepts that can be applied to categories of works. These range again widely: genre, feminist, post-colonial, structural, mimetic, queer – theories, etc. The use of these different lenses is important as it helps to highlight the various hidden, intended or contested views within different literature. It also helps make sense of the context in which a text is produced, and reflected on through the context in which it is being examined.
However, for many the plethora of literary theory is a terribly daunting and overwhelming spectrum. I would propose a great article that would help many would be to take a single text, one not too complex or long, and apply the different lenses to show how they work. Actually what would be excellent would be if a few people took on this topic with different texts (some old, some new) to help show the diversity of theory.
Excellent idea. This is definitely a topic worthy of approval and important. Literary theory is messy with its multiple categories and subcategories. I would suggest that anyone who takes upon this task takes a "Intro to Lit Theory" approach and perhaps chooses (for instance) 5 main theories for analysis. Sub genres could be listed later without going into detail. For example, within romantic literature gothic as a horror genre come forth. But gothic in itself has already split into post colonial gothic. Therefore, Romantic would be your main point off analysis, but later a small paragraph on its fruits of gothic could be 'listed' to help simply this heavy topic. – Pamela Maria7 years ago
@Joseph. Part of what I'm trying to highlight is what Pamela has identified above, which is this is such a messy category that it cannot be narrowed easily down. I could just put forward a topic such as Feminism Readings, but even that has so much contextual weight in literary theory to be enormous. Instead what I want people to consider with this topic is that these are simply categories designed to help a theorist expand on the knowledge already present within either the text or the society in which the reader exists. I don't necessarily see an issue in having multiple people take on this topic, and it something that could work quite well on this site with so many disparate viewpoints. – SaraiMW7 years ago
I also agree that this is a great topic, but could turn into a daunting article. Perhaps this could be a series set for decoding different fields of literature - ex. one article for post-colonial literary theory, one for queer literary theory, one for genre, - etc. Someone could tackle these one by one, or a whole host of folks address topics they feel best suited to. – LoganG7 years ago
It is common to see celebrities of all stripes coming out and championing various causes. This makes headlines and is good publicity. However, is there any real evidence that this type of campaigning by modern celebrities has made any difference in real life? Is there evidence that the world is a much better place for this type of activism?
Like any type of activism, the result depend on the person, the cause, etc. Individual cases will differ. This is true of all types of activism, regardless of whether the activist is a celebrity or not. – Sean Gadus7 years ago
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2018/04/celebrity-activists – Sean Gadus7 years ago
I think it also be interesting to explore if celebrity activism is being pushed upon public figures. Often they are told they MUST be role models, each of their actions are scrutinized, and activism gives them a better reputation. Often celebrities who go down a 'bad' route are hot news for a few weeks before blending into obscurity. This could be an interesting angle if looking at the sincerity of celebrity activism. – Pamela Maria7 years ago
Adding to this Charity Navigator has a rating methodology so that can be used in an essay to look at charities with celebrities and see how they measure up. – Joseph Cernik7 years ago
Take a look at how Denzel Washington's character, Whip Whitaker creates a disconnect between consciousness and his underlying alcohol and drug addiction. Modern cinema doesn't often put viewers in the shoes of someone who realizes their problem by the end of the film. Some of the saddest scenes in the film occur when Whip is drinking. Additionally, he is a great pilot and his drunkenness does not seem to get in the way of that. Perhaps it would be interesting to see how addiction becomes reliance in this case, and how well the movie portrays two characters: drunk Whip and sober Whip.
I saw Flight a while ago and I was blown away by Washington's very raw performance and portrayal of an addict/alcoholic. – Sean Gadus7 years ago
Maybe this can be broadened to look at alcoholism in several movies so Denzel Washington's portrayal has some perspective. Are there general ways that alcoholism is presented? Are there significant differences? I was thinking of Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend and Frank Sinatra in The Joker Is Wild. – Joseph Cernik7 years ago
Mom and Dad is a polarizing movie, to say the least. But critics are focusing on the acting, and not enough people are talking about the over-the-top and louder-than-necessary soundtrack that plays throughout the film. Were the music/audio queues a miscalculated mistake, or a statement?
Write an article assessing the accompanying audio to the movie. Do the loud stereotypical mood sounds take away from the narrative or add to it? I found the soundtrack an interesting element that added extra commentary to the narrative. Although the actors took their roles seriously, the audio's juxtaposition to their struggles, highlights a lack of seriousness (especially when scary buildup music is playing in the beginning, constantly threatening danger before any is close to being presented). The situation the characters experience are dire and unfortunate, but the noise in the background continuously reminds audiences that the premise itself is still ridiculous.
The term "creativity" or "creative" was once connected solely with art. Now, both business and science have adopted this term as a way to cast themselves as innovative, relatable, lively and fun. Some even use "creativity" as a way to insinuate that they are progressive and efficient (though there is nothing efficient about being creative!). If business and science are adopting the term "creativity," does that then encourage artists to adopt the qualities of business and science? Does art need to justify itself or can art still be produced for art's sake? Should creative be reserved only for the arts, or is the broadening usage of the term an exciting development?
Should it be "Who owns creativity?" – Joseph Cernik7 years ago
I think the world of science has always relied on creativity, more so than people realize. Likewise, there are definitely approaches and techniques to art that might be associated with science, like experimentation, formula, structure, etc... But maybe a specific definition of "creativity" would help. As a whole, it's hard to say that a word can only (or should only) be used to describe one form of expression. While a word does have a certain purpose, it doesn't have to have a certain application. I guess what I'm trying to say is it sounds like a great, engaging article - but the term "creativity" and its use might need to be very clearly defined in the intro. Maybe a history of the word itself? Where does it come from and how has it been used historically up till now? Look forward to reading it! – jrdino7 years ago
Creativity is vital to any human activity...doctors make new innovations when they become more creative...romantic relationships grow stronger when creativity is exercised to impress and excite another person...even politicians use creativity to solve problems...or create new and exciting ones...this is a great topic to explore further... – kmaxx1257 years ago
I’m a big fan of the screen – films and tv shows, I wondered how come Australia doesn’t produce more films and television shows based on science fiction, fantasy or even the superhero genre which has taken over the world. America and Europe have many films and TV shows dedicated to depicting these things and Australia doesn’t have much and if we do, they don’t get much air time. This fact doesn’t irritate me but if depicting films and shows within these genre's are such huge successes in other regions how come Australia hasn’t tried it? I know there are a few films and shows out there but if there a more I would love to know. Is Australia against these films? Is it against our film/tv industry to make these? Have they tried and failed? If/ when a film or TV show in Australia has elements of science fiction / fantasy involved how come they don’t get the same exposure?
Has someone written about this already and I don’t know?
I tried looking for it again, but had no luck on finding it - but during my time at uni a few years ago, I read a fascinating paper on how Australian audiences enjoy and are open to fantasy and sci-fi media. But due to the scale and the risks associated with producing this kind of TV and film, our under-funded networks and companies are too hesitant to take the big venture. However, times are hopefully changing with the 2017's "Cleverman" an awesome show focusing on indigenous mythos that uses fantasy and dystopian elements to create a cool and engaging show that balances social issues with it's superhero-esque storyline. Stories and features on the production of Cleverman could perhaps tell us more about why sci-fi and fantasy films are so scarce in Australia? That's my suggestion at least. – Dimitri Adoniou7 years ago
You make some very good points and I think this is a subject well worth investigating. Off the top of my head I can name but a few 'purely' Australian sci-fi projects, such as the original 'Mad Max' (directed by George Miller), the wonderfully theatrical 'Farscape' series, 'The Infinite Man' (2014), 'The Death and Life of Otto Bloom' (2016) and 'Alpha Gateway' (2018). There are, of course, many other sci-fi and fantasy films that have been filmed in Australia. It might be worth looking out for a documentary entitled 'Not Quite Hollywood', which covers the subject quite well, for anyone wishing to pursue the topic further. – Amyus7 years ago
The Oscars recently announced that they are introducing a new award category for "outstanding achievement in popular film." Although the Oscars have periodically added new awards categories, some might think that this is a desperate ploy by the Academy to attract more viewers. On the other hand, others might perceive the introduction of this new category as a legitimate attempt to celebrate both the commercial and critical successes of box-office hits that are rarely nominated for Oscars. What do you think? In the context of this latest award category, do you believe that the Academy is under pressure to attain higher ratings? How have previous awards additions been received by the public, such as the "Best Makeup and Hairstyling" award in 1981? In comparison to the introduction of other awards categories, do you think this new award will have any kind of impact on the film industry?
I am honestly relieved after the announcement of this category, because while it seems to me less prestigious than "Best Picture," I feel it will take the pressure off of the "Best Picture" category to simply be the most popular film of the award season, rather than the objective best, or most artistic/creative/original, as the category should be. – jillholstad7 years ago
I absolutely think that it's an attempt for the Oscars to salvage ratings. They hit record lows last year (26.5 million I believe) and amid all the scandals and scrutiny that Hollywood is under I think people are getting too disillusioned to watch rich celebrities walk a red carpet. Even calling it a "popular film" award is really on the nose. Considering how many quality movies get snubbed because they don't exude the apparent "grace" that the academy swoons over. You may as well call it the MCU-Fast and the Furious sponsored Marketing Budget award, because those are the films that are going to be represented every year. I don't think it'll matter anyway because anyone who would care that those movies win that award still won't watch the ceremony. – JamesR7 years ago
'Charmed' is a tv show that spanned from 1998 to 2006 following the lives of sister witches that vanquish demons. The show remains a popular choice for reruns and still has a strong following. Although in no way original in plot, lore or dialogue it has remained an enduring favourite. I would argue that in many ways, similar to 'Supernatural,' the show's popularity is based not on the genre but the relationship between the sisters and the drama inherent in their lives. An interesting discussion would be to look at the comparison of the fantasy genre elements to the drama elements to see what truly is the appeal of this show.
I approve. :) Might you consider comparing Charmed to similar shows that deal with female friendships, such as The Golden Girls or even a romp like Fuller House? You subtitled the topic The Power of Three, so I'm extremely interested to know what you think about female trios/quartets/friendship groups across genres (supernatural, dramadey, dom-com). – Stephanie M.7 years ago
The trailer for the remake has been released and might be worth taking a look at. Supporting your argument, the central thread still involves three sisters and their relationships with each other and to magic. However, because the women casted are people of colour, I am wondering how race will impact the narrative. – oddiem7 years ago
The same could be said about Supernatural. If this is to be a comparison. – PoweredxJarvis7 years ago
This topic requires a look back at the early days of TV, which might not seem to matter but still has an influence. TV, at one time, was an experiment and it might end up being a surprise that certain shows became popular and had a following. Looking at the early days of children's shows and how they contrast with the present provides an insight into how far TV has come–not necessarily always for the better, just a reflection on how far we have come. Contrasts or evolution or maybe it is just development are a way to measure change: What is different about the present and whether it is better or just different from the past is useful. An historical perspective is a good way to look at the present. In this situation, looking at children's TV shows can provide that perspective. Change should not always be seen as an improvement, sometimes it is just change–we do things different than they were done in the past just not necessarily better, just different.
It is possible to look back after the first season of a show and develop a feeling that it was a good show, or even after several seasons. But, when a show first appears on TV and all that exists are those first few episodes, maybe no more than the first two or three, then what type of opinions can develop about it? It is possible to talk about a "tipping point" what something starts to take off, but here, at the beginning, the tipping point might not yet have been reached. Early on character development, character interaction, plots, story lines might be seen in different ways then might be the case after the show has been on for a longer period. When a show has been on for a season or more, the audience has more of a history to draw upon in how they see character interaction and plots develop, that is not there with only a few episodes. Those first few episodes can begin to lay the foundation for what is to come and, perhaps, it is how the audience speculates about where they think the show and its characters might be headed that matters in determining if viewers see a show as having the potential to be a good show.
This is definitely an interesting topic! And definitely something that would be interesting to look at. It would be interesting to talk about the difference between shows that try too hard and those that bring you in slowly. – ChaosMistress58177 years ago
This is quite an interesting concept to delve into. Especially because of how often shows get cancelled early in the season due to ratings in our current television network climate. It is almost essential now to have that "it" moment early on to get people talking and tuning in. A bit off topic, but it might also be of interest to look into how streaming services and binge watching may prolong having those "tipping points" later in the season because the entire seasonal storyline is available at hand. What does this mean for network shows? – Lexzie7 years ago
I think everyone has suffered from anxiety at some point in their lives. Whether it's gut-wrenching anxiety with extreme mind fog or worrying about present/future events. Being a writer, I understand exactly what it's like to have several things pulling me in different directions, in a single day. I want to write, I have creative ideas, I've gotta find leads, family, friends, exercise and all of the other things, I need to do to "adult".
What if I could tame the beast with creativity. The ability to transmute anxiety from one container and articulate it into a creative container. Creativity comes in numerous forms, whether you're cooking your favourite dish, writing blog posts or even arranging flowers in your garden. Practicing a creative cycle weekly has proven to lower stress levels and I think it would be an interesting topic in a day and age, where anxiety is at such a high.
I think this is a great topic! The only thing is that anxiety can often prevent individuals from being creative. Even though I don't think that anxiety can necessarily be cured with creativity, I definitely agree that finding treatment options that help revitalize creativity will certainly help ease the burden of anxiety. – Kurlehh7 years ago
I agree with Kurlehh, and I think that if somebody writes this article they should focus on how well anxiety could be "treated" with creativity. – Indigo7 years ago
Instead of the word "cure" maybe "manage" is more appropriate in describing how anxiety can be handled? Maybe the topic could be broadened into what exactly is anxiety, how to recognize it, and how to go about handling it with creative pursuits; how anxiety can be a force for productivity and accomplishments. – chloet27 years ago
Things about how creativity could be motivated or created and through that you can judge about anxiety and how it can be treated – Rusi7 years ago
"Practicing a creative cycle" I think needs to be rewritten, it's not clear what that means. But what motivates creativity is a good idea. – Joseph Cernik7 years ago
I definitely agree with the people above. I suffer from GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and while creativity can help me a ton, there are some days where it is so bad that I can't bring myself to be creative in any way. I think creativity is more of an outlet than a cure. While sometimes I certainly do feel recharged and elated when I get my creativity flowing, the anxiety disorder itself is still there. This is great topic, insightful points can be made. This is just a topic that I feel needs to be addressed from all kinds of perspectives! – Megan Taylor7 years ago
Gone With The Wind (1939) can be seen as a good movie. But, at the same time, it presents an image of the South which was never true in the first place and which presents slavery in almost passing reference ways. There is this time before the Civil War where, we are to believe, that the South had an ideal existence. Seeing the movie from the present, makes one quite aware of what is left out and glossed over and makes one want to go "Wait! Stop! Go back!" How can we and should evaluate the movie today?
It is important as always to remember the framework of literature, that it is a fiction and GWTW was always framed as a historical romance that drew on some elements of the civil war, but largely was about the journey of Scarlet O'Hara through a changing period. It is a story about the dangers of unrequited love and unrealistic ideals, but also about strength and resolution. In many ways the representation of slavery in the film/book needs to be balanced against the fact it is told from the perspective of a woman in that period, most of which had the same rights of slaves in the time. Scarlet is also an unreliable narrator as she perceives the events around her from a very self-centered lens.
However, all in all it is still an interesting text to discuss. – SaraiMW7 years ago
analyse the current trend of video game to movie adaptations and why they fail to perform in the box office; also make suggestions on what could be done to improve future adaptations.
I will note that not all are "expected to fail," but that yes with the failure of many there has become an overwhelming sense of despair in relation to this.
To deal with this discussion the concept of "failure" will need to be outlined, as since films like Tomb Raider were not financial or popular failures, but many game players felt it was (as did many feminists but for different reasons). Also films such as the Resident Evil series are categorically not failures. So part of the discussion would include what the success stories are and what made them different to the other obvious failures such as - Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, The Angry Bird's Movie (although seriously!!!) – SaraiMW7 years ago
To further add to this, it might be worth going back a few years when video games were just starting to become mainstream and adaptations of various games were starting become the norm – AidanGuagliardo7 years ago
I feel this expectation is fundamentally tied to the vast difference between film storytelling and videogame storytelling. Depending on the director and creative team, both can be dealed with in various ways, but it is the way that people absorb these mediums what will always remain in duality: films are passively watched and videogames are actively played. I think this will always make the transition from videogame to movie feel less than its original source. Another thing to keep in mind is that creative works such as videogames tend to harvest what one could call hardcore fans and although this is true for probably anything in this world (train fanatics, car alarm fanatics, cricket fanatics...), when you have this medium where your actions unfold the story, or in the simplest cases you're controlling a jumping figure going through trial and error until you get to the final stage, people build a connection to its digital world that could be a very emotional one (with nostalgia playing a giant factor in many cases). Fans like these will hardly accept a mediocre movie about the franchise they love. Even the movie adaptation of Silent Hill, one of the most well-recieved adapations, is called out for its use of monsters that kind of go against the franchise's lore. – Pigman087 years ago
The Legend of Zelda is a game series that many of us cherish dearly as gamers. However, when the previous Zelda games came out it seems as if they were all ahead of their time (Ocarina of Time, the Wind Waker). This doesn't seem to be the case now. Although BOTW is a great game, it seems to borrow pieces from other recent RPG's: such as Skyrim and the Witcher 3. Do we as a community think that this is Nintendo giving a nod to these other great games, or are they falling behind in the RPG community?
I think it's a sign that fresh blood is entering Nintendo. People who have played these other games and RPGs. By understanding and improving on the mechanics and systems from games in the wider marketplace, Nintendo has been able to polish BOTW to perfection. Although, this could be seen as "falling behind", I think this is proof of Nintendo changing in some ways. For better or for worse, it's hard to tell yet. – Dimitri7 years ago
Honestly, there are so many people who eat up Nintendo IP's regardless of the content of the video game. I personally loved playing through BOTW and enjoyed the new direction the game moved in, but I think the developers don't have anything to worry about when making new games within their traditional IP's. In other words, it may not necessarily matter how far they fall behind other triple-A RPG's because Nintendo has such a loyal fanbase. I do believe however that this was the right direction for them to move in. – gavinrayr7 years ago
Much discussion has occurred widely, and here on The Artifice, concerning the representation of women. From their characteristics, values, roles, costuming and purposes within film, TV, literature and comics, there is a rising concern about the way women are represented in popular culture.
However, one area that has not received too much discussion yet is the concept of the representation of the female form. By this I am referring to the actual body type and shape of female characters. Although there is much written about the over sexualisation of the form – an emphasis on unrealistically sized breasts for example – there is little that discusses what constitutes a positive portrayal of the female form. For instance, if we go to the polar opposite and position women physically with almost a masculine form are we undermining the concept of femininity? Does that even matter? Or if we present them as pseudo-teenage boys does this then privilege the male form over that of the female form? As quite frankly, outside of supermodels most women will have pronounced breasts. Should this physical feature be depicted or ignored? What is the better choice? How can we continue to represent women in a positive manner without removing their gender altogether? I recognise that some would argue for this, an androgynous form, but would that form actually resonate with women or would it isolate them further?
How can we today present a positive version of the female form?
I actually added to this, but seem to have lost the update so I will add it here: A jumping off suggestion for dealing with this topic is to examine the representations of the female body currently popularised in visual means, look at the exact form and physical features and develop an overview of common stereotypes. Alongside this should be the discussion of the purpose of the different portrayals. This should then be compared to what fringe art is doing in the construction of the female form and explore how they are portraying gendered bodies in a modern manner that could be adapted into mainstream presentations. A discussion of the issue of the male-gaze and the stereotyping of body to gender expectations could also be interesting to explore. There are a number of interesting new representations of the female in comics and general art that are presenting more "realistic" views of the female body. – SaraiMW7 years ago
Sharknado is suppose to end its run on TV with the release of the sixth in the series of made-for-TV movies. These movies can best be described as "camp" which might express the poor quality yet, at times, hard to resist desire (or curiosity) to watch them. Camp and television have had a long relationship, with shows such as Batman and Gilligan's Island in the 1960s to Charlie's Angels and CHiPs in the 1970s and 1980s best described as camp. What is it that attracts viewers to camp TV? Is there a clear dividing line between comedy and camp?
A bit of a historical background and theoretical framing of the concept of 'camp' will be required. Otherwise I think it is a fair discussion to have. It could be widened further to generally look at the appeal of what is such an odd series of culturally successful TV movies. – SaraiMW7 years ago
This can be a very topic to talk about it. Not every piece of entertainment has to aim to thought-provoking high art, that's why Camp exists. It's entertainment junk food that only aims to keep people entertained. Also talk about how guilty pleasure and camp can go hand in hand – cbo10947 years ago
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has, for better or worse, changed the way that many studios view big budget film making, world building, advertising, and developing film projects. The Marvel Formula, (with individuals films, team ups, and spin offs) has been enormously successful and with Disney's enormous backing and support, there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. Will there be a point where Marvel movies will stop being as lucrative and successful as they are now? What possible reasons could contribute to a slowing of this seeming unstoppable engine?
At this point this is highly speculative, but a really interesting topic to put out there and see what happens. It is always difficult to gauge what will endure and what will fall apart. Often it is about the "engagement factor," how engaged an audience still is with a particular work/body of works. I would put out there that like all film and TV, a series of failures for whatever reason will put an end to the MCU. However, you do raise a good point that they now have the backing of Disney, who has experienced failures (a few in a row too) but this has not dented their continuation. So who knows? – SaraiMW7 years ago
Has it slowed? "Engagement factor" seems to be a term needing a great deal of clarity. – Joseph Cernik7 years ago
I think this is a really interesting topic! A couple areas of focus could be the remaining movies of "Phase 3," and the possible directions that the MCU could take after the fourth "Avengers" movie to maintain its popularity with audiences. – Scalera187 years ago