Discuss the spectrum of realism in the media's portrayal of those in the world of computers, such as hackers or security experts in Mr. Robot, visionaries and coders in Halt and Catch Fire, all the way back to films such as Tron or War Games. Is accuracy as important as story, or even more desired in the past ten years? Perhaps speculate on how these shows impact people's views of computers and how important they are to society.
It would also be interesting to look at films over a continuum of time and see what ideas/representations of hackers and security experts are portrayed and how they have changed (if they indeed have at all). – SaraiMW6 years ago
In High School Musical, the villain often identified is Sharpay Evans, but is she really the villain? We come to see her as the villain because she is constantly trying to win her place in the school's musical by ruining Troy and Gabriella's chances. But there are many things we don't think about till later on such as: Sharpay's dedication to her schools drama club, the unfairness of Troy and Gabriella's call-back when they didn't technically audition, and even the fact that the story is told from the point of view of the more popular characters. Sharpay fromt he beginning of the story was considered alike to a "mountain lion", something that can be cute but you definitely wouldn't pet. So, is she a villain?
Might be interesting to look at Sharpay Evans through the frame of how films portray successful or hard-working, determined women, rather than looking at it in a vacuum. – Zohal996 years ago
I would love to see someone analyse how the concept of the "chill girl", the girl who fits in with "the boys", who doesn't show extreme emotions and has sex without getting feelings, is constructed, perpetuated and idolised in modern romantic comedies.
maybe add some films you would like to see investigated to get people started! – ees7 years ago
I feel like John Green is really good at writing roles that fall into this category. – Kiranpreet Sandhu7 years ago
This sounds like an exploration of the Manic Pixie trope, which might be useful to look into :) – Zohal996 years ago
After recently watching Mad Max Fury Road for the first time (I know, I'm late!) I was astonished and kind of amazed by the movie's representation and empowerment of it's female characters. The primary cast is made up of heavily pregnant slave brides escaping from their tyrannical homicidal maniac warlord of a "husband" as Mad Max and the excellently-done female character: Furiosa. Watching all the intense action scenes where the pregnant women actually play a huge role in helping fight off the antagonists was really something new, and showed how the femininity of these women empowered them in this cruel desolate world. Their bodies belonged to them, and a huge reason for their desire to escape is to protect their unborn children from the abusive husband who treats wives and children like slaves and possessions. This inherently feminine anti-patriarchal rebellion is honestly the last thing I expected from the Mad Max series – which usually features a lot of exploding cars. That said, there were still a fair few exploding cars…
So what does everyone else think? Does Mad Max successfully empower it's female characters through these horrible situations, or is it perhaps wrong of the movie to even put these girls in these dangerous and horrible life situations?
I feel like there's a reasonable argument for either side, honestly.
I don't think the alternative side is that it is wrong for them to be placed in these situations, but rather whether this film really does further the representation of women. Yes they are escaping, but mainly due to the actions of the lead character and her drive, but it is also a film where again all the women are beautiful and perfectly proportioned - an unlikely situation in a society with so much inbreeding. It is also difficult to gauge the validity of their act, it is a rejection of oppression, but driven from a basis of a mother's desire to protect their child - which largely reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. I found this a difficult movie to gain a feel of, I think there are some fantastic aspects of female characterisation, but I also think there is still too much developed to appeal to the male-gaze that reinforces perceptions. This indeed is a tricky one. – SaraiMW6 years ago
Coraline, IT, Stranger Things, Pan's Labyrinth, The Babadook…the Gothic and horror genres appear to have a fascination with children. Does it stem from our primal instinct to protect our offspring from threat? Does it illustrate how our childish fears never really leave us? Also, are these texts really geared towards children, or to the adults watching with their children? Or both? So many questions with some possibly fascinating answers.
Great topic. There are a /lot/ of examples, including Henry James' long short story "The Turn of the Screw" or the film The Village of the Damned. My initial guess is that there's some sort of play on the oppositions of innocence and monstrosity. (Children can be at least a little monstrous in some ways. One of the characters in Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof calls the children in the play "no-neck monsters.") – JamesBKelley7 years ago
There's certainly an aspect of empowering, encouraging wish fulfillment in that the kids face the manifestations of their fears and defeat the nightmare monsters. – noahspud7 years ago
Another aspect might be the trope that children are more perceptive than adults, as in It, where only children can see Pennywise. – tedytak7 years ago
Love this topic, and the construct goes back a lot further than you think. The actual name escapes me, but there is an entire collection of ancient German stories, passed down through generations, that show disobedient children meeting horribly grim fates. You could start there, go into Grimm's Fairytales, and then discuss some of the other examples you mention (Coraline is a great one). You might also consider discussing some examples that aren't classic "horror," but do place children in significant and ongoing peril. The example that comes to my mind is Matilda, wherein the protagonist and her schoolmates are physically and emotionally tortured by an over-the-top headmistress. – Stephanie M.7 years ago
I, for one, was an angst child - partly due to the fact that I had absolutely no life experience. I loved horror, but didn't actually understand all of it. I grew up when I understood that horror and darkness exists everywhere. Especially in a dead end desk job. Those are the real goths. – nolarmade697 years ago
Lemony Snicket immediately comes to mind, but I wonder if you could also talk about modern day spoofs? For instance Scooby Doo deals with a lot of traditional gothic elements but shows that monsters don't exist -- it is only humans that are monsters – Mela7 years ago
This is such an interesting topic to consider! I have actually never thought about it but I do agree with previous comments about Grimm's fairytales and how they stem from that. Also, maybe because they do have children in the stories, it can kind of be more relatable to an audience? – ambermakx6 years ago
Analyze how the vampire evolved from the fear inspiring Dracula to the bedazzled Edward and all those in between. What are the pros and cons to different eras of vampirism.
Nice topic. Consider talking about how the publication of vampire stories has evolved as well (a few years ago they were everywhere; now you pretty much can't pay an agent or editor to read another one). – Stephanie M.7 years ago
I agree a good topic and if you narrow it to the presentations in film that will be a doable article, otherwise might go a little too big. This becomes especially interesting when you reach the last 20 years and the timeline branches into multiple interpretations. – SaraiMW7 years ago
Great topic, I used to obsess over teen fiction and vampiric based novels when I was younger and now I can see the trend basically vanishing in youth fiction these days - or at least the obsession with the vampire genre has faded. – NickyHoward6 years ago
This is such a great topic!! I remember when Vampire were all the rage and I grew up in the generation that adored the Twilight novels.... However, I also have taken classes in University that have shown me the importance of the changing vampire narrative in literature as well as television and movies. I think of the first Dracula and Nosferatu movie and novel and how both were considered terrifying in their day however now they would seem quite tame. The vampire genre has changed and evolved over time because the interests and intrigues of their audience has also changed we went from Nosferatu vampires to vampire like the Cullens in Twilight --> a huge shift! Then there are also the vampires in novels like Vampire Academy and Vampire Diaries. Then there is the romanced version of the vampire in TV shows like True Blood and the sci-fi vampires in movies like Underworld. Vampires are becoming a thing of the past because there is always a new monster craze with the changing of the decades and what is deemed scary --> today it is the Zombie craze. There are so many ways you can go with this topic! :D – ChaosMistress58176 years ago
It may seem as though the Vampire genre is waning but to me, many of their most loved (or feared) qualities still live on in human characters. I was reading an article about the Byronic hero in modern media and began thinking about all the characters who could fit that today: the outcast, fighter, on his own side, sexually mesmerizing and somehow possessed of antiquated fashion sense that works. As I looked at the BBC's Sherlock, he seemed to fit all the criteria, especially the anti-social and sartorial style. That coat! And the hair! He actually co-opted many of the things we used to associate only with vampires. He's also pale and super-intelligent, yet lacking in the social graces of most humans. Then, as I wandered back in time to Spike the Bloody, from Buffy, I had to laugh. There was Sherlock's coat, but in leather. He even has a scarf! Spike to Sherlock: You stole my coat, you toff!" Like Spike, Sherlock was "resurrected" from a Victorian version of morality and the life of a gentleman scholar. Ann Rice's anti-heroes, Lestat and Louis seem now to have metamorphosed into sulking, eternal teens like Edward Cullen or sadistic guys who "can't love", like Christian Gray, who bugs me even more than Angel always did! We also have moody, long-coated heroes like Ross Poldark, who are on the side of good but keep screwing up...and seem unable to be faithful to the women they love. Would it be implausible that, as writers began to use the popular traits of vampires in their portrayal of human males (both hero and anti-hero), the vampires simply lie in wait for...something to bring them back? After all, the one thing they have that human heroes don't is immortality! – SharonGenet6 years ago
When Death Wish starring Charles Bronson came out it was a blockbuster. The movie has a scene where police discuss an internal report that crime in New York City was down, no doubt as a result of Bronson’s character walking the streets at night dishing out his own form of justice (the new version of the movie does not carry that scene). Two years after the original movie was released, Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor introduced legislation which would become copied across the country, leading to concealed gun laws in states. The re-make of Death Wish starring Bruce Willis, has elements of the original but does not carry the same community spirit in the movie that supports this vigilante walking the streets of Chicago. Instead, the movie has a radio show, for example, presenting Willis’s character in a way where some can support him and some cannot. The original movie was received with often applause in movie theaters when a bad guy was shot, not so with the re-make. How the newer version is received is, perhaps, different than the original and can lead to a discussion of guns, violence, and attitudes toward addressing crime.
What makes something the Best Picture? And why have so many of them been forgotten about? Many movies that were considered the best movie of that respective year are not really talked about and pander to many of the voters expectations and agenda during that time. Great movies that are still talked about today like Citizen Kane, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Saving Private Ryan unbelievably lose to something that a lot of people consider lesser. While film opinion is subjective, it's a failure from the voters to recognize and snub a film that has resonated with a lot of people for legitimate reasons. What makes voters so caught up in the moment with certain films that causes the notorious awards snub?
In writing this topic it's definitely important to talk about the handicaps of the Oscars. As the poster said, the voters have a lot of room to improve on. Many vote only for what they know and for movies that focus on people similar to their demographic - usually white, affluent males. There's the notorious animation section which almost always goes to Disney, then Pixar. Superior animation is ignored in favor for the well known, status quo Disney. There was also that quote of the voter who said he votes for whatever animation his daugher likes. Does the Oscar's shortcoming stem from subconscious bias, laziness, or connections/deals or for preserving the status quo? – RyderVii6 years ago
"Snub" is a cute word. When it is used it implies some broad acceptance that many know a movie is good and was ignored. But, is that true? We all have our own favorites that were ignored and instead of just saying "my choice was ignored" saying "snub" raises it to a different level. Is that different than wondering why certain players are not in the Hall of Fame?
– Joseph Cernik6 years ago
