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Many different TV series and films offer various visions of the future. Spanning from a dystopic universe where water is scarce and people scavenge, such as Tank Girl, or where the water levels have risen and earth is scarce, such as Waterworld, to futures where we have expanded into the stars, Star Trek, etc.

There are many interpretations of what comes next for us, and I thought an interesting topic would be to map some of these and look at the origin concept at their core. The easiest example would be to use Waterworld: rising sea levels due to climate change lead to eventually all but the highest peaks become completely under water that is more salt than fresh. Humanity moves to living in floating communities and diving for materials from the world before.

Many of these interpretations are not that far into our future and offer some interesting points of view on where the human race is heading. Can you think of other examples?

Compare the two fictional characters by contrasting character development for each. Also, shed light on how similarly crucial each character's narrative is to the overarching narrative.

I would love to read an article detailing Native American representation in Hollywood cinema. Whitewashing, the Marlon Brando Oscars debacle, and more.

Ask any English major, teacher, or even English student about the current literary canon, and you'll probably get a tongue-in-cheek response about dead white guys. Although the canon is expanding, most English literature curriculum offerings are still centered on Shakespeare, Dickens, Faulkner, Twain, you name it. If a class or canon is not centered on dead white male authors, it is labeled as such (World Literature, African-American Literature, etc). and sometimes taught as an elective. This sends a negative message to minority and female students, or those who may be white but of non-European heritage.

Then again, I have no problem with some of the old dead white guys. I was reading Dickens when I was ten; he actually inspired some of my (rather bad) first forays into creative writing. I developed crushes on Shakespearean heroes. You get the drift. But we need so much more variety in our literary diets. So the question at hand is: How can we balance the canon so that all authors get representation? How much "dead white guy" literature do we need? Whose works deserve to stay in the canon, and who needs to go? If you could design an entire curriculum or canon yourself, what would be in it? Why?

I'd love to write this myself, but I'm even more interested in what others think…so let's get going. The floor is open!

Analyse how the protagonist, Lucy, is simultaneously the antagonist of the YA novel, The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo. Lucy is an egocentric female lead, based on many actions she goes by in the novel. She also lacks good communication with her love interests, ultimately leading to the tragic demise of someone.

Food, a staple of life, has often had significant meaning attached to particular types of food. For instance, the most commonly known are foods that are considered aphrodisiacs, or chocolate that is linked to lust and decadence. An interesting article could be the exploration of these meanings and how in literature these have also changed over time and across different cultures.

A few examples to whet the appetites would be: the easiest would be the role of chocolate as lust, desire for worldly sensuality in Joanne Harris' Chocolat; sandwiches eaten on a picnic rug in Wind in the Willows represent friendship and trust; wealth is often represented through food, such as cucumber sandwiches in The Importance of Being Earnest when cucumbers were imported from India; or food as taboo, as in A Doll's House where the macaroons represent secrecy, concealment and rebellion.

It could also be included in the discussion the rituals that surround eating: many novels will include a moment that captures the family eating together or even the break in this ritual, such as in Harry Potter where family meals with the Dursleys highlighted Harry cooking or serving but not often eating. Or even looking at subversions of food and rituals, as in Alice in Wonderland with the Mad Hatter's tea party or the enlarge/reduce eat/drink items, all of which acted to challenge the over emphasis placed on Victorian rituals surrounding food in that period.

Thanks to social media, social justice movements have become more prevalent over the past decade. The prominence of social justice sounds like a great thing; promoting equality between sexes, improving rights for marginalized groups, and recognizing that there are more than two genders are just a few examples of the diverse, multifaceted social issues that exist in our society. However, many companies and celebrities use buzzwords like "feminism" and "equality" to win the favour of their audiences. Does this bandwagon approach trivialize serious social issues? To what extent are we helping a cause and to what extent are we exploiting it?

Marvel has used the superhero movie genre to tell a wide variety of stories – for instance, a heist film (Ant-Man), a spy thriller (Captain America: TWS), and a war film (Captain America:TFA). The same is true on television, where the Netflix series deals with such serious issues of race, sexual abuse, toxic masculinity, and much more. As the slate of superhero content stretches out massively into the future, can it be constantly used to tell varied interesting stories, or are the limits already beginning to show?

Sexuality and gender are widely explored in television, film and other mediums, but what about romantic orientation? I feel this is an under-represented area (at least in my viewing experience) that would otherwise add complexity to representations of sexuality, gender and relationships overall in stories. I've seen characters have sexuality crises because they happen to like someone of the same sex, without considering that they could be biromantic. Why the lack of focus in clearly defining or exploring characters' romantic orientation? Is it difficult to represent people being romantically attracted to someone they're not sexually attracted to?

In a recent interview, the male stars of Arrested Development, a sitcom with an impending revival, defended the actions of Jeffrey Tambor, who verbally abused co-star Jessica Walter on the set of the show. Tambor also has a general reputation for misconduct, including the sexual harassment of women. The male actors from the show, who comprise most of its main characters, have been criticised for speaking over Walter. Online, many people are vowing to boycott the revival as a result, considering its cast to be misogynistic.

Keeping in mind the actors' recent comments, analyse how gender is expressed in Arrested Development. Are the female characters simply shallow, or do they subvert feminine stereotypes by being assertive? Is Tobius' femininity presented as laughable, or is the audience encouraged to empathise with him? Is Michael's rationality implied to be synonymous with his masculine, fatherly traits?

In the wake of Halloween (2018)'s trailer (which looked pretty cool), I can't help but wonder why we're rebooting and remaking so many stories. I'm reminded of when Andrew Garfield was cast as the "new" Spiderman. And then, Tom Holland. The uproar. The hate. It (2017). The Star Trek reboots. Top Gun's getting a sequel. Older sitcoms are getting reunions. We're revisiting these old universes, these old characters, these old stories. Some of it is nostalgic for the older generations. Some of it is outrageous and insulting. I'm left wondering what will be remade from my youth, fearing who will be the next Iron Man (and crying about it). What's with the demand for these reunions. Who's deciding to remake these movies? Are we so scared of the new, we revert back to the old, or are we out of new? Is that well all dried up?

Currently, well over half of the world's population lives in a city. That number is expected to do nothing but rise in the future. A greater concentration of people means less room for each individual, and places greater importance on shared public spaces. In much of North America, there has been little concern for beauty within our cities – perhaps because we historically imagined we had such a surplus of land that everyone could have their own space that could be made beautiful to their standards. As our personal spaces shrink, how can we be sure that public art and other placemaking techniques are given importance in city budgets? What argument can we make in support of public art and the benefit it confers to residents of a city?

T’Challa is not the typical hypermasculine black superhero attributed with traits like emotional sensitivity, thoughtfulness and respect. On the other end, Killmonger the villain of the film has many traits closely associated with the black action hero and the stars of the blacksploitation films. Explore and contrast the gendered depiction of T’Challa and Erik Killmonger and how masculinity is constructed in Black Panther.

We all like food and competition, maybe that is why we have so many competitive cooking shows. The shows are generally given slightly violent titles like Cutthroat Kitchen, Cupcake Wars, and Chopped. There is certainly never a shortage of chef's who come to the show who come searching for the money, respect a recognition that comes with winning a contest like this. Perhaps we should look at the culinary field and see what has inspired such shows. Being a chef is a competitive field, with long hours and a low starting salary. Furthermore many chefs are often suppressed creatively since they often must stick to the menu designated by their employer. Is competitive reality TV the new spot to make their voices heard and craft respected?

Over the last several months, there has been an astronomical rise in allegations of misconduct (sexual or otherwise) within the mainstream entertainment profession. Recently, Morgan Freeman himself was accused- a man that many view in an extremely favorable light. What are the implications this rise in allegations (founded or not) will have on the entertainment industry? Will they fade away, or spark significant changes? I believe this is a relevant topic that may be of interest.

Young adult literature and children's literature is a true paradox. It is written by adults but the market suggests it is made for teens and children.

It seems that there are 2 theories regarding the ending of Inception. If we accept that the entire movie is not a dream and that Cobb did in fact escape his limbo with Mal, then it is reasonable to believe he also escaped his limbo with Saito.

It is possible that the entire movie is a dream, and that Cobb never left his own limbo. Which one do you think is the correct one? Or do you have a different theory?

Identify and critique instances of fat shaming in various stories that are present across the different categories of anime, manga, and comic books. How/why is fat shaming in these genres harmful? How can the situation be improved?

While many films, particularly those with fanciful settings, are visually spectacular, sometimes, when concept art is released, I personally find that the rejected concepts are much more spectacular than the final product. What are some deciding factors for what makes it to the final film and what remains an illustration?

Animals are widely used in the film industry for various reasons, but are they always accurately represented? In the reboots of "Planet of the Apes," I highly praised the use of non-verbal communication between the animals, as a lot of the way animals communicate is through body language. However, horses are commonly portrayed as loud and always making a sound if they are on screen, which is very inaccurate of horse communication. Film is an intriguing medium that uses both sight and sound, so a lot of animals have sounds inserted to add to the verisimilitude, but it can actually detract – in my opinion – when animals who wouldn't normally be making sounds are indeed doing so. Thoughts?