Matt Sautman

Properties like Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z have proven that anime influenced by Eastern myths and folklore can succeed on an international level. While these inspired stories gain fame, their source material often can go unnoticed in the West, or at least not be as well known as the anime itself. The purpose here then is to analyze what these influences are and to relay these influences so that their original stories can gain the notoriety that is due to them.

Criticism is often associated with siloed sections of academia. Yet with the advent of YouTubers such as MatPat, Rap Critic, Nostalgia Critic, and Todd in the Shadows, criticism has become more accessible to mass audiences. In choosing YouTube as a primary vehicle of disseminating their criticism, what changes do critics like these bring about to the genre of criticism itself? Is this a form of entertainment? If so, how does this entertainment value alter how this criticism functions? Has this shift made criticism more accessible? This topic seeks to investigate questions such as these to pinpoint the effects YouTube has had on criticism as a form of academic discourse.

This topic calls for an analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, specifically in regards to how both wealth and poverty are portrayed within the novel. How do the rich live in East and West Egg as opposed to the poor in the Valley of Ashes? What is implied by this portrayal? What can readers learn from Fitzgerald’s portrayal about attitudes about class in the 1920s?

As a comic book character, few have garnered the notoriety that Superman has. This topic calls for an investigation into the character’s history and an investigation into the symbols the character has come to represent over the years. Questions for investigation may include: How has Superman changed over the decades, and why did these changes occur? What type of ideology does Superman best represent?

Since their first appearance on the "Blink" episode of Doctor Who, the alien species known as the Weeping Angels have garnered a large popularity amongst the fanbase that rivals that of series mainstays like the Daleks and the Cyber Men. Instead of asking why the Weeping Angels have managed to acquire such popularity, this topic asks the writer to investigate the symbolism encoded into Weeping Angels. How can a viewer interpret these creatures? What can these interpretations reveal about the viewer’s reality? In a sense the topic centers around two key concepts. What are at least some of the possible interpretations and how do these interpretations comment upon the viewers’ reality?