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10

Why Space Jam Worked

If we're being honest with each other, the idea of throwing Michael Jordan together with the largely dying Looney Tunes franchise was a risky decision at best. And there wasn't much of a precedent for a film like this either, as at the time blending animation with live-action wasn't very common. So how did this film become a landmark of this blend of genres alongside films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? This essay will discuss the attributes of Space Jam that made it such a success and revived the Looney Tunes franchise.

  • Hmmm, interesting. Maybe bring in a film like Who Framed Roger Rabbit as a point of contrast. – Stephanie M. 3 years ago
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  • I would suggest comparing the original Space Jam to the recent sequel/reboot/whatever that was. Did that one work as well as the first? Why or why not? – noahspud 3 years ago
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  • I just want to note that Michael Jordan was probably the most important athlete in the world/one of the top of 3 athletes across the world at the time of the making of Space Jam. So having Michael Jordan in the film was a huge selling point. – Sean Gadus 2 years ago
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  • Space Jam worked because at that time, pretty much any off-the-wall idea with MJ in it would have worked. – Montayj79 2 years ago
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  • Space Jam worked because it was such a fun idea and had promotion written all over it – WesleyBraid 2 years ago
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Why Are There So Many Neurodivergent Super-Detectives?

The list of fictional characters with relatable representation of neurodivergence (ADHD, autism, OCD, et cetera) has a lot of detective characters on it. Examples include Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Benoit Blanc, Adrian Monk, Shawn Spencer, and Sonja Cross from The Bridge.
Some of these characters were created before the diagnoses became popular, and yet they match the symptoms remarkably well. Their special interests and hyper-focus help them notice details others might miss. At the same time, their unique way of seeing the world often separates them from society.
Analyze various fictional detectives and consider why so many of them are neurodivergent. Is there some reason neurodivergence would make someone a better detective, as opposed to some other career? Do these characters run the risk of making their diagnosis their entire personality and not being fully developed characters?

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    Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: Hard to Adapt?

    Douglas Adams' foray into detective fiction, with his iconic twist of science fiction and extremely British absurdist comedy, was a novel called Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and its sequel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. These books have been adapted into two TV shows, one on BBC4 and one on BBC America. The books and TV shows are all quite different from each other; even the character of Dirk Gently changes a bit between adaptations.
    Compare and contrast the book(s) with the TV shows. Why did the shows change so much? Is there something "unadaptable" about Adams' original work?

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      Dungeons and Dragons OGL Upset

      The RPG controversy of the year was Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary, draft Open Game License changes sent fans and game developers into an uproar. The OGL was a default license established in 2000 that allowed fans to use portions of the Dungeons and Dragons property in their own work. This was framed in similar ways to open software licensing in that it could be used as a foundation to create independent works as long as it was using the specific System Reference Document in doing so. This allowed gamers to develop their own works and even to sell them. The most commercialised version of this was the work of Kobold Press and Green Ronin that developed independent games using the SRD as a base. This has always been a successful space for creative engagement with a beloved property.

      On January 4th 2023 a new OGL 1.1 was to be released but an early leak of this content exploded into the zeitgeist with very concerning changes including WOTC ability to claim royalties from sold works and complete control over the content produced. The backlash was huge and fans and content creators both began to rally online and establish a response to the changes. This response included unsubscribing from WOTC's digital toolset and protesting in social media. Further, the largest third party users (whose income was most threatened by the change) announced plans to step away and redevelop their own games.

      WOTC has retracted its plans but the damage is done. But a number of key questions have begun to be raised: Was this a failure to listen to its fandom? Was this merely a cash grab? Has this action doomed WOTC and its aligned products into the future? Has this been the initiative needed to get more producers developing independent game engines? What does fully open sourced mean financially for game developers? How will this shape the next twenty years of gaming? And, significantly, does this mean D&D is dead?

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        The History and Impact of Modern Cartoons

        Analyse the development of modern cartoons and animations. What impact might they have on young children's perception of the world – whether that is related to how a certain animal/person/character looks like (their visual representation), or whether it impacts behaviours in a certain way. How might kids react to certain characters and relationships portrayed on the screen? Can some of these have a perceptible negative impact on their lives?

        As a starting point, trace the development of cartoons (from Disney, to Cartoon Network, etc) and some iconic shows.

        • I like this idea, but I definitely agree that it'd probably be best to pick some (or even one) specific show/s. Or maybe the way that modern cartoons have impacted one specific part of life/culture? There are so many different impacts you could argue modern cartoons have had, after all. – AnnieEM 2 years ago
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        • This might be a cliche suggestion, but an interesting route along these lines would be to analyze a cartoon that is bursting with political and social commentary (Like the new She-ra and The Princesses of Power"), to see if any of the major themes are actually absorbed by kids, or if they are more like fan service (harsh term but lacking a better one) for the many LGBTQIA adult viewers the cartoon's producers knew would be watching. You may be looking for more of a meta-analysis, but a lot of interesting things could be gleaned from examining She-Ra and it's viewership. – adhyuki 2 years ago
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        • I like this topic - perhaps you could detail the change of modern cartoons from purely for children (but with bits and gags meant to help their parents be entertained as well, I'm thinking Rugrats), to what Modern Cartoons look like now. For example, Adventure Time and Stephen Universe, which obviously are enjoyed by all ages due to its creators using a mixture of techniques (both visual and writing) to entertain a wider audience. Perhaps then you could delve into how this change then affects children today - for example, how much are the picking up on themes/ideas that are not meant for them? Or how is the overall tone, perhaps from purely chaotic comedy (Fairly Odd Parents) to a mixture of serious and comedy (Avatar the last airbender/Adventure Time) to purely adult animation that we all know many children are watching (Invincible/Rick and Morty etc). – Harry P 2 years ago
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        • There's definitely a lot of interesting directions you could go with this topic. Like how the decline of linear television and concurrent rise of streaming has broken down demographic barriers. Or how social media has transformed the ways fans interact with creators and the works they produce. – AddThreeAndFive 12 months ago
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        Poetry and Art: How is poetry integrated into contemporary visual art?

        Analyse the different ways written and/or spoken word and poetry gets integrated into visual art pieces. These can be artworks where words are used as a visual cue, as an integral part of a performance narrative or any other way. What is the link between the sound and image of a word/poem? What effects does it produce on the viewer/listener? Can words be used as a visual element only? Examine instances where classical poems are reworked through a ontemporary lens and reused in a modern context.

        • Would also be interesting to note the differences between reading a poem and hearing the same poem read aloud or performed. How does this change our interpretation? What aspects are different? Emotion, pauses in breath, etc – kaitfitz 2 years ago
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        The Hero vs The Villain

        When consuming television media, do you find yourself gravitating more towards the hero or the villain? To whom do you more relate and why? What are your criteria for determining who you're rooting for? This is an extremely subjective question, but often stories are not presented in nuanced ways that fully do justice to all the sides.

        A good example is the "Karate Kid" franchise. The first three movies are set up to tell a one sided story following Danny, and until recently, that story has gone unquestioned. With the inception of Cobra Kai" lends more dimensionality to the narrative; it shows how the rivalry between Danny and Johnny still exists, but has changed, and allows for a more nuanced understanding of the story as a whole.

        I suppose what I'm asking is how do you determine whether the hero is actually "good" and the villain actually "bad"? Do you hold heroes and villains to the same standards? How, and why?

        • this topic may benefit from being opened up to matters of broader philosophical stances. like who are the bad guys in Star Wars, the Light side or Dark side wielders? Jedi or Sith? Can Dark siders be good guys? Jedi can certainly be bad guys (dark Jedi), as has been seen in legends. Another potential would be analysis from the intuitive background info, and putting one's self in the "villains" shoes. For example, was Sharpei a true villain in High School Musical? her attitude was bad and mean spirited, objectively, but she had the right to be angry, self-conscious and confused that her adeptness she trained her whole life for (theater performance) was suddenly under harsh question. A true "hero" would step up to the challenge graciously, but would a true human? probably not. – adhyuki 2 years ago
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        • I think this is a really good topic and one that I've been thinking a lot about myself. I think it's really important to look at the character's past as well as their environment, as that would help us understand what makes one a hero and the other a villain. I think it would be useful to look at this topic through a more psychological perspective in order to put yourself in a character's shoes and analyze their past. – dashatsymbalyuk 2 years ago
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        Bertold Brecht's distancing in Video Game experiences

        Brecht has implemented in his theatre the "Verfremdungseffekt", which can be translated to the "alienation effect" or "distancing effect." Essentially, by creating interruptions or fissures within the illusion on stage, the audience can achieve a certain distance to the characters and events, allowing for evaluation and critique. During his performances, the audience is presented to some cues that indicates that what they are seeing is an ilusion, that what they are seing is actually an actor playing a scene. This cues can be strange objects, non-connected actions or actors speaking directly to the audience for example. Different of the Theatre of Pleasure, when the audience is emotionally connected to the play, Brecht seeks to create a critical discussion about what is being showed. He redefine it as Epic Theatre.

        Is it possible to have the same effect in Video Games where you, as a player, is somehow intensively connected to the gameplay and the character?

        • A minimum of one or two video game examples must be provided by the author, together with a discussion of how each one employs the technique in question, the player's experience with it, and the degree to which the implementation achieves the objectives that were set out when it was created. Some examples are: The Stanley Parable; Her Story; This War of Mine; Papers, Please; etc. – Samer Darwich 2 years ago
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        The Red Ten vs The Boys

        From 2011 to 2017, Tyler James and Cesar Feliciano created a ten-issue comic book series in which a parody of the Justice League were mysteriously murdered in a plot eerily similar to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. As in Christie's novel, it was slowly revealed that the superheroes were being killed because they were guilty of dark secrets.
        This series bears a resemblance to The Boys, the comic series by Garth Ennis currently being adapted into a TV show. This series has its own parody of the Justice League, hiding their own dark secrets. The titular characters, the Boys, set out to test the heroes' limits and, if necessary, deal out bloody justice.
        Compare and contrast these series, their characters, their themes, etc.

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          The mod - new gameplay and community

          In general, the mod (modification) of the game means the process of code editing and changing to add extra flavour on the original game. Usually, the mod makers are game players with sufficient coding or programming knowledge. Each mod can give different experiences to the gameplay and form specific player community. To analyse, how does the mod benefits both game and players? what motivates a player or players to make a mod? Who has the rights on the mod, maker of game company? What is your own opinion towards mod? The article will give insight into creative consumer and new cultural online society. Note: You can focus on specific game or company to give more detail on a specific group of community.

          • Mods can benefit both the game and players in several ways. They can add new content, features, and gameplay elements that can enhance the overall experience for players. They can also fix bugs and improve performance, making the game more stable and enjoyable to play. In addition, mods can also create new player communities, as players who are interested in specific mods may come together to play and discuss the mod. – sophiakaile49 2 years ago
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          • Mods can help in different ways one being that people are gaining knowledge on different aspects of a video game,such as how it looks or behaves and is sub-discipline of general modding. – FANLOVE 2 years ago
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          • Most mods are pretty modest, I'd say. They might fix a set of bugs or give the player access to overpowered, often game-breaking gear. What fascinate me are the conversion mods, which essentially create a new game out of an existing game. For example, one ambitious modder named Kael (Derek Paxton) changed Civilization III and IV into a completely new game of his own, Fall from Heaven and Fall from Heaven II. The mod had very active online discussion forums. His mod was even included as a scenario in Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword. That conversion mod would be a very rich example for any discussion of creative consumers and online gaming communities. – JamesBKelley 2 years ago
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          • Mods can help companies a lot. Look at Sega's relationship with people who make mods and fangames, they encourage it because they know their fans are passionate and talented. Sega hired Christian Whitehead, who created Sonic Mods and fangames to help make a Sonic game. That game is now Segas most successful and critically acclaimed game to date. Mods can also help restore and recover cut content, or previously planned but scrapped content to help enhance a game. – tahaxo 2 years ago
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          “Unsex me here” - Lady Macbeth as a Disruptive Force in Macbeth

          In 'Macbeth', Shakespeare substantially emphasizes the male-female relationship and gender dynamics. Shakespeare shows the relationship between gender and power which can be related to the patriarchal discourse of early modern England. He portrays women as major determinants in men's actions. Men are portrayed as strong willed and courageous, but a female character such as Lady Macbeth is also given a ruthless and power-hungry personality, which was, in that era, typically associated with masculinity. She is a strong character who is deeply ambitious; her role in 'Macbeth' becomes important because it further explains Shakespeare’s presentation of women characters. Lady Macbeth is associated with supernatural subversion as well as sexual temptation – the question is, how did she use her femininity to disrupt her environment and what does her character teach?

          • think this could be examined through a lens of either upward or downward comparison: does seeing depictions of suffering more significant than ours elevate ourselves and make us feel better about our own relatively insignificant problems, or does viewing suffering as adjacent to our own validate our emotions and allow us justification to be upset? – FANLOVE 2 years ago
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          • the reality is that people actually feel elevated when seeing depictions of more suffering when it is more than what they are going through – FANLOVE 2 years ago
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          The Importance of Travelling to Creative Writing

          Analyse the importance of travelling to experience other cultures on the creative writing process (either your own experience or an author you are familiar with).

          • I think it would be good to include the aspect of travel as not necessarily only the aspect of exploring other countries and cultures, but to use 'travel' as a metaphor for stepping outside of our comfort or familiarity zone even in everyday life, and thereby creating more depth and experience to draw upon in our writing. – MonicaGrant 6 years ago
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          • Stepping outside of the world you know and into the unknown or the other worlds we’ve only read about is essential to unclogging writer’s block. As MonicaGrant said it’s also about getting out of your comfort zone, mentally. Traveling allows you to open up to these new spaces in your mind. It gives you new perspectives and issues to expand upon. Traveling gives you the opportunity to tell the people’s story of them that may not have a voice. – Jailel 5 years ago
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          • I agree with the sentiment that "travel" us a metaphor for stepping outside of one's comfort zone. Furthermore, an author travelling and exploring the unknown lends proper authenticity in regards to escapism, a trait that so many, if not all creative pieces, aim to have readers experience. – TahliaEve 5 years ago
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          • I'm wondering if this relationship might be more reciprocal than the suggested topic allows. What if creative writing is what encourages people to travel? – kelseyodegreef 5 years ago
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          • I definitely like this idea as I think many on this site could relate to the ideas expressed and would be interested to hear another's input. Especially when analyzed through the work of a few great authors of the past. – RJSTEELE 5 years ago
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          • Travelling I always feel can be taken both from a figurative and literal perspective as what one does in promoting their individual growth. The individual experiences of every writer play significant role in how their works turn out, and as such exploring not only the literal notion of traveling from one place to another, but also the mental traveling one endures when dealing with day to day life would be interesting for discussion. – ajaymanuel 5 years ago
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          • An example that could be drawn upon is Steinbeck's Travels with Charley: In Search of America. – EJSmall 5 years ago
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          • W.G. Sebald’s Rings of Saturn is an interesting read that could tie in will here – Samantha Leersen 4 years ago
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          • Travel de-centers our way of thought for reasons that startle, astound, confuse, intrigue, and all of the above. This happens because we don't know how we are meant to "feel" or "think" in a place that is culturally distinct from our own. In short, our way of life is being challenged, and we feel the need to confront the new in order to re-center ourselves. – JuanGomez 3 years ago
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          • From a literal sense, actually traveling to locations, especially those that enjoy a culture much different from our own, is enlightening: both on an intellectual level and one of pure pleasure, experiencing the vernacular within language, architecture and geographical differences, experienced in both plein-air and urban landscapes, together are catalysts (or persuasive elements) vital for the creative thinking. Though we have the means to travel through virtual conduits, these fantastical journeys can only, barely prick, our inner emotions, desires and social consciousness of the world around us: the virtual experience feeds only the mind, but only reality can be prick our souls. Lance A. Lewin – Fine Art Photographer/Instructor/Lecturer Georgia USA – LanceLewin 3 years ago
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          • Writing about other cultures without not visiting the related destinations is the same as describing the taste of food if you haven't tried it. Travelling is a must, otherwise, it's just work based on theories. – Christof Claude 2 years ago
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          • The cultural differences would certainly stand out and would be addressed. But, with culture, there is so much that picking and choosing what to address becomes the issue. – Joseph Cernik 2 years ago
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          • traveling is what actually encourages people to write an example would be 'the happiness of pursuit 'by chris Guillebeau-fanlove – FANLOVE 2 years ago
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          • I think travel does fuel creativity. Wordworth's awe for the abbey led him to write one of the greatest poems of all time. I lived in another country for a few months and was forced to adapt to local life. I came back home afterwards and oh boy did it really inspire my creativity and view of the world afterwards! – aumi 9 months ago
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          "I Don't Like ****, I Don't Go Outside" An Exploration of Depression

          "I Don't Like ****, I Don't Go Outside" is the sophomore album by Odd Future Alum, Earl Sweatshirt. Despite maintain a level of darkness in his tone and instrumentation, Earl is distinctly alien from his former self. Gone are the edgy shock-lyrics of cannibalism and murder, replaced instead by a vulnerable young man drowning in depression reliant on drugs and alcohol to keep himself going.

          What is it to be a celebrity? A chosen one at that, to be the idol of millions of people you've never met while isolated from your friends and family. The album speaks to the thin veneer of happiness success can really be.

          Earl was often a center piece of the fandom from the "FREE EARL" days and yet it doesn't seem as though the freedom was very liberatory. The lack of hope and overwhelming sense of abject bleakness from Earl speaks to the hollow nature of what was gained by his fame and his regrets seem innumerable as each song on the album falls further in further into an inky blackness of despair.

          That then begs the question, what does this album serve? Is it just a self-exploration or can there be some universal message garnered from the album? What can be said of Earl and his developments as an artist? What of the raised awareness about depression and how it can shape and distort a person's view not just of themself but of the world around them.

          • Agree with first person. You do a good job summarizing what the album is about, but what specific question are you trying to ask? – Montayj79 2 years ago
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          Disney movie changes from 1927 until now

          An analysis of how disney characters have changed over time. Describing the differences in the characters and plotlines of the old disney as it started to how it is today. Figuring out why these changes have happened or how they benefited disney.

          • It is still an extremely broad and ambitious topic. Revising a century of cinematic production of such a gigantic company as Disney just to see what changes occurred is unrealistic and even pointless for a single article. What exactly do you want to achieve? Focus on a cartoon, a franchise, a specific character, a genre maybe. Limit the time frame; suggest an original starting point to initiate the comparison; propose an innovative an doable idea and a clear objective. – T. Palomino 2 years ago
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          • Interesting topic! Besides looking at the films and plot lines within them, exploring the changing film processes and evolving technology used to create films would also be helpful – Anna Samson 2 years ago
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          • A good topic, it probably needs to be narrowed. In addition, whoever writes on this might address what might have brought about changes (marketing or public attitudes). – Joseph Cernik 2 years ago
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          • This topic has a lot of potential and many directions it could be taken in! There's a lot of opportunity for author interpretation here, though I agree that narrowing the approach a bit might be helpful. Perhaps one could focus on the evolution of themes specifically? What messages has Disney left in the past, and what ideals are they trying to shed greater light on? How has this shifted the morals that Disney's storytelling now rests on? (The evolution of the "Disney Princess" image especially provides a pretty deep well for possible examples). – mmclaughlin102 2 years ago
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          NFT: Nothing More Than Digits Without a Soul?

          Art in its classical sense and form has a soul. A human puts a part of their soul into something that later can be highly appreciated by society. Digital art, where all images generated by neural networks can be attributed without direct human participation, is soulless. It will acquire a soul only when it is created by artificial intelligence. One can be sure that the first picture painted by AI will be costly.

          • I completely agree. The reason we attach ourselves to artist's is because we want to know the story behind a piece, for example, Van Gogh. With NFT's there is no story, no cultural significance for the style of choice of colour. – FrankiRue 2 years ago
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          The Blending of Christianity and Horror

          The most recent horror film on Hollywood's docket is Prey for the Devil, which concerns Sister Ann. This devout nun wants to be an exorcist and would be great at it, but her training school accepts only men. Yet Sister Ann may be the only one who can help the patients in the school's attached hospital for the possessed, including a ten-year-old girl. The blending of Christianity and horror in this film is by turns respectful to the Church and seems to encourage audiences to explore, if not root for, the demonic.

          It's a conundrum found in many similar films, such as The Exorcist and The Nun. The question is why this blend comes up so often, and especially why the Catholic Church is presented on the front lines in this murky battle between good and evil (they aren't always on the "good" side). Are these portrayals as balanced as they could and arguably should be? How can or should horror films stay true to their genre, while portraying Christians or perhaps people of other faiths, as those who would protect or save innocents from the demonic? What do these films say about spiritual battle lines in real life? Discuss.

          • Midnight Mass is a great miniseries to look at. The show expertly uses Christian/Catholic imagery as a backdrop for its story. Faith and religion are key components of the show. Its an exceptional show for this topic, and a great piece of art generally. – Sean Gadus 2 years ago
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          • I think mention of films like the Witch, Saint Maud, and Men could help this topic — their connections to christianity are more textual and less aesthetic. It would also be worthwhile to get a little more specific with the thesis. – loubadun 2 years ago
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          Rituals of Writing

          Countless famous writers– Maya Angelou, Kerouac, Victor Hugo– have been documented as having strange writing rituals that jumpstarted their creativity. Angelou only wrote in motels, Victor Hugo wrote naked… the list goes on. What were the strangest rituals in the history of the greats? What are some rituals proven to work? How should writers looking for structure embrace the practice of rituals before writing?

          Provide an overview of what's wacky, what's working, and what's downright weird.

          • This is fine. But if someone decides to write an article about this topic, I would like to see more than just a list of writers and their eccentricities. The author will need to work with serious and reliable sources because there are many rumors out there about “rituals of writing” that are just plain lies. There are scholars who occupy a big portion of their research in debunking these rumors. The author of the potential article will also need to provide with a thorough analysis that expresses a reasoned and substantiated position about the subject. Otherwise we can just google the subject and be done with it. – T. Palomino 2 years ago
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          • This subject is an exciting topic; perhaps the author might mention some negative aspects of either having rituals or not having them. Another point would be giving examples of significant routines involved in writing and how these improve or hinder creativity. Also, the author might provide evidence of writing rituals that improved the author's work and others that caused writer's block. – Richard 2 years ago
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          • Excellent look at different sources, like writing rituals, I think you can reimagine a different landscape – mfolau18 2 years ago
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          • I think every writer is different and it takes time to really hammer down their own person writing ritual. Every writer is different and no two writing ritual is the same, that's what makes writing so brilliant, individuality breeds new ideas which in turn breed new stories. – MichaelQualishchefski 2 years ago
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          • Interesting, but broad, and perhaps problematic considering that what's strange or wacky to one writer or layperson might be completely "normal" to the next (whatever that word means). I'm more concerned, too, that you might run into a lot of overlap. For instance, a lot of writers today have the same advice (write at the same time every day, make yourself sit your butt in the chair, stop in the middle of a sentence and come back). Perhaps you could expand from writing rituals to specific advice for specific genres, or something of that nature? Or perhaps you could focus on writers from different periods, and make a case for how the writing process has evolved from say, the twentieth century to now? – Stephanie M. 2 years ago
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          Tarantino and Food

          Among the many motifs in Quentin Tarantino’s cinematography, food is one of the most important ones. It has been pointed out that the relation between food and power/domination is key to understanding the functionality of violence in his films. For example, when Jules bites some guy’s hamburger and drinks his soda (“Pulp Fiction”), he does it as a prelude to intimidate and kill. When Hans Landa forces Shosanna Dreyfus to try strudel with a glass of milk (“Inglourious Basterds”), he does it to let her know he knows who she really is. When Beatrix struggles with chopsticks and finally uses her hands to eat (“Kill Bill”), Pai Mei throws her food away and tells her that if she wanted to behave like an animal, she will be treated like an animal. These are just some examples of the many ways food is used to dominate and to impose over someone, and ultimately to exert violence. A study that analyzes this phenomenon in deep using one or two specific examples in Tarantino’s movies is something that has not been done yet. The goal of an article on this subject would be to delve into an aspect of Tarantino’s films that has not been fully explored, but it is evidently important to understand how this director’s mind works.

          • Tarantino once worked at a video rental store, where he delved into a ton ob obscure and old films. He credits this as a starting point that honed his love for film. In writing this topic, it would likely help to look up some interviews in which Tarantino discusses this. – Ethan Fenwick 2 years ago
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          • When writing this, the use of Police Academy is a must to talk about stereotypes and misleading views of police. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget that sometimes stereotypes occur very true-to-life, which in turn can be misleading too. – Christof Claude 2 years ago
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          The Dark Side of Beauty Standards in Helter Skelter

          I have been wanting to write an article about the Japanese movie Helter Skelter by referring to the manga that is based upon it. I decided to submit a topic beforehand to see what the Artifice community thinks about it. This movie is unforgettable because it makes the audience realize how ugly it is to go desperately after physical beauty. It is a great lesson about youth, beauty, self-esteem, and ethics. The article is expected to be about the analysis of the main character Ririko, the way the plot evolves, and how other minor but important characters contribute to delivering the message that obsessively seeking outer beauty is a toxic behavior. Since the movie is about models, focusing on the fashion industry as the concerned context would be appropriate. However, this phenomenon of having certain beauty criteria on social media is becoming a lot more common nowadays and it is causing a lot of mental health issues particularly among teenagers and young adults. Connecting the ideas generated in this film to a real contemporary problem would also be interesting to provide interpretation and discussion of the analysis.

          • Exactly. I would like to write this topic and I didn't know it is for other users only. So what do I do now? – Malak Cherif 3 years ago
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          • I think this idea is great and if you write about this you have a lot of material to collect from. – ImaniX 2 years ago
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          Rise of the Villains: Is It Wrong To Love Them?

          Especially with the change of villains after the 2000s, the history of cinema has gained many cult characters. Joker, Ozymandias, Magneto, Thanos, Bane, and more. These villains, whose sole purpose is not to destroy the world, as before, all have different motivations. All of them have different purposes. They are far from being an ordinary villain, thanks to their delicately written characters like the main character of the movie. For this reason, they have many viewers who see them right and love them. The best example might be the Vikings. Although they were bloody raiders, we had a great time watching them. So how right is it to enjoy it, to support the Joker, to love these villains who are essentially trying to harm? Or trying to break the society we live in?

          • Still. Out. Of. The. Scope. Of. The. Artifice. – T. Palomino 2 years ago
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          • Ignore Palomino. I think this topic becomes more and more relevant as we get more and more complex and interesting villains in media. I think it's perfectly fine to enjoy a character that makes you think and has an impact on you, even if they're what we perceive as "bad." – LeoPanasyuk 2 years ago
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