mattcarlin

mattcarlin

Environmentalist, Law Student, Dad, Trainee Pilot, pop culture nerd, photographer and amateur voice actor, academic and business professional.

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Latest Topics

1

Daria: La la la, excuse me...

Daria was a TV show that ran for 5 seasons from 1997 – 2001. It explores the life of a teenage girl who is a sarcastic realist in a world where her family life and school life are decentralized from her values and morals.

Given the recent rise of political correctness, how important is it for a person to stand for their beliefs even when they are unpopular? An look into the life of the fictional character Daria – Who is she and what does she stand for?

  • I'm not familiar with Daria, although I've heard a lot about her (should investigate). Love the topic. :) In writing it, be sure to: (A) Define "political correctness" (B) Compare/contrast what beliefs are acceptable or unacceptable, and why. How has that evolved? (Example: in the 1950s and '60s, what we now call "liberal" beliefs were highly unpopular for many. But as liberalism and conservatism have evolved, so have our stances on them). (C) Compare/contrast other characters with Daria. Even if their beliefs aren't obvious, what do they seem to be? How do the characters stand up for what they believe--or don't they? If not, why not? – Stephanie M. 7 years ago
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  • Looks so interesting. I'm not familiar with the show either but I find this topic potentially very stimulating and topical. – JulieCMillay 7 years ago
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The plain English writing movement

A look into the plain English writing movement and how this has impacted newspapers, and social media as well as academic, professional and contemporary writing.

Has the plain English writing movement improved writing standards and expectations?

Or has is simplified and ‘dumbed’ down writing skills such as comprehension and interpretation?

  • I did update this but it didn't work. Plain English (or layman's terms) is a style of communication that uses easy to understand, plain language with an emphasis on clarity, brevity, and avoidance of overly complex vocabulary. The movement began in the 1970's to improve legal documents. The purpose was to remove the confusion to the layperson because of the obscurities of the style of writing. Fast forward to today and we are seeing organisation who's sole purpose is to teach anyone involved in writing documents or online content how to write in layman's terms. The movement has penetrated universities, government and others. – mattcarlin 7 years ago
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  • I think that depends on what/why you are writing. Plain language is less precise, and is often less poetic and eloquent (although not always- I'm thinking writers like Hemingway). That said, it makes the writing accessible to a larger population. Personally, I find it frustrating that many people would rather have easy content than improve their comprehension abilities, but it's undeniable that in certain circumstances plain English is for the best. There is probably an argument to be made that overuse could lead to an increasing lack of intellectual acuity in the content and in the readers, as well. – Ben Woollard 7 years ago
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  • Oooh, there are so many different angles to approach this from. I'd recommend a sociolinguistic one for the reason that form VS function, linguistic shift etc are easier to frame and explore if you look at it from the perspective of how language is commonly used. The prescriptive VS descriptive debate is a longstanding one and there will be a lot of literature on the topic to wade through, but otherwise, should be fascinating to read and write about. – Cat 7 years ago
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Guardians of the Galaxy versus Destiny Guardians

There are two kinds of guardians of the galaxy. The first is portrayed in the movie with Starlord, Gamorra, Groot and Rocket. The other guardians are portrayed in the game Destiny. Memes have been circulated on social media lately hypothesising which group of guardians are the coolest. Destiny, you and a fire team take on hoards of enemies and constantly take on boss levels to push back the darkness and restore the travellers light. In the movie, a band of four misfits come together to stop tyrants from taking over or destroying the galaxy. A critical reflection of our humanistic desire for good to overcome evil – who would you prefer to fight this battle for you?

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    Latest Comments

    mattcarlin

    I didn’t really get what this movie was about at all until the end. It is a simile for life, relationships and family i.e. we annoy each other, fight, have our internal and external problems but in the end its still family.
    I can’t say I liked the movie, but I can sure support the messages it was conveying

    Little Miss Sunshine or Little Miss Psychological Dysfunction
    mattcarlin

    Good article and explores issues faced by many writers.

    The Applied Author: From Concept To Completion
    mattcarlin

    I would not be surprised if the Pope did give this game a go. He did use a fidget spinner in a Homily recently to explain the dogmatic teaching of the Holy Trinity.
    Using video games to decide the fate of the world or explore environmental issues has been done but perhaps not in a way that drives home the real world problems we are currently experiencing.

    What Would Jesus Play? (or, Gaming With the Pope)
    mattcarlin

    I agree with of the comments previously posted. I have never viewed superhero movies to fall into a specific genre such as science fiction or fantasy. I understand they need to categorize it somehow and perhaps super hero movies do need their own genre.

    Super Heroes films as Genre Films
    mattcarlin

    For me, Harry is a kid who has suffered torment and abuse. He is then pulled into another world by Hagrid on Dumbledores orders. He is the main character because he is the boy who lived. That is a great premise. For me, the main trio Harry, Hermione and Ron are a unique group of friends. But the characters I more relate too are the older more experience witches and wizards like Mad Eye Moody etc. These minor side characters that have had great influence in the magical world. For me, it is the people surrounding and supporting Harry is what makes it interesting for me.

    Harry Potter: The Remarkably Unremarkable Main Character
    mattcarlin

    In many conversations I have had with my fellow nerds on many things about Firefly, one thing about the show was that the viewer felt like they were part of that world and perhaps part of the crew. Like we are an observer on the ship and through their journey you feel like you know these people and sympathise with their situations. So this makes sense when applying psychological principals to characters in a show – as the article says – it draws you in.

    Firefly: A Freudian and Jungian Analysis
    mattcarlin

    DLC, while a great source of generating a greater return of investment can be troublesome. When we consider the fiscal impacts of gaming and the DLC of certain games it is not only sequels or additional maps, characters and gear. Now games are coming with season passes, so gamers are not being hit with a double price tag unless you score some sort of deal before the release of a new game and pay a heft sum of money to secure the DLC and the season pass. Unless you are a hardcore gamer, I do not see the value added benefits in season passes.

    From Expansion Packs to DLC: The Evolution of Additional Video Game Content
    mattcarlin

    The evolution of ILM and Lucasfilm, WETA etc have contributed to CGI and special effects bringing the imagination and creativity captured in books and showing it on screen.
    In movies like Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and even cult tv shows like Buffy, Star Trek, Babylon 5 the special effects in those were brilliant for its time. Fast Forward post 2000’s and movies like Transformers, the newer Star Wars Films as well as the Marvel and DC it would appear are now reliant on CGI whereas before the CGI was more of an embellishment.
    I think there are time when CGI is overused and detracts from the story telling. Either way, CGI is here to stay, though I do not want to see it replacing story progression or character development.

    Does CGI Benefit Special Effects or Detract From Them?