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Latest Topics

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Carl Jung on Synchronicity and the Esoteric.

An analysis of C.G Jung's astounding and provocative thought regarding his book on 'Synchronicity and the Paranormal.' Albeit having been the founder of Depth psychology, as the advent of esotericism within the 20th century, Carl Jung's work not only reaches the depth of the mind but borrows the symbolism prevalent within the occult. This article will elucidate the symbolism of Carl Jung’s ‘Synchronicity and the Paranormal’ wherein Jung’s writing regarding the ‘psyche’ and ‘daemons’ is taken into an analytical approach, analyzing the hidden meaning of Jung’s work on psychology and the paranormal and its relevance to the occult.

  • This is a pending post. I suggested changes so it touches more popular culture ways of seeing Jung. As it is here, it sounds more like a topic for a professional journal in psychology. – Joseph Cernik 6 years ago
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  • Awesome idea for an article. I have read some of Jung's work and I would add bringing spirituality and Nature into the fold since he believed our connection with Nature enhanced our intuition and to notice synchronicity in our lives when they happen. – youngmollflanders 6 years ago
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Mysticism and Carl Jung, an analytical approach to the Esoteric's of C.G Jung

Carl Jung, a disciple of Sigmund Freud, is revered by psychologists as having founded modern depth psychology. Albeit Jung's astounding writing regarding psychology, his work was mostly inspired by Esotericism and the religion and teachings of the ancient Gnostics. This article will elucidate the symbolism of Carl Jung's 'Synchronicity and the Paranormal' wherein Jung's writing regarding the 'psyche' and 'daemons' is taken into an analytical approach, analyzing the hidden meaning of Jung's work on psychology and the paranormal.

  • This sounds more like a philosophy question than an arts analysis question, but could work if applied to a specific piece or set of pieces. – Stephanie M. 7 years ago
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  • An interesting take on this topic could be in relation to the different perceptions of reality present in a particular style of literature or film as many of them have tackled this topic. – SaraiMW 7 years ago
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  • Take a look at this NPR article that discusses some of these ideas and consider adding the specific films to your topic? Pertinent information starting around ~40 mins. Do the memories we have need to be real for us to take them seriously? How does memory shape our worldview? http://www.wnyc.org/story/on-the-media-2017-10-06/ – derBruderspielt 7 years ago
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Published

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark: Was it inappropriate for children to read?

With Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark being released as a feature film, I think it would be a good idea to explore the original source material and why it was so infamous. Specifically, whether or not the book series was too inappropriate for young readers to delve into given the books' stories and controversial illustrations.

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    The need for Modern Young Adult Novels

    Explain and analyse why it is necessary to have modern young adult novels. In other words, authors should now include modern technology (e.g., social media) into their character's lives and how it may affect their decision-making.

    • I'm not sure where the dividing line is between "modern young adult novels" and whatever comes next? Is "Lord of the Flies" or "1984" too adult so not suitable for, say, high school? Decision-making relates to what? Do you mean personal choices? – Joseph Cernik 6 years ago
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    • I am not speaking about high school or any other school category specifically. I am referring to how modern technology plays a huge role in young adults' lives now, and should be included more in novels (e.g., social media platforms, video chatting, etc.) One new young adult novel that helps integrate that is "All We Ever Wanted" by Emily Giffin – Yvonne T. 6 years ago
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    • I suppose for this topic, the writer could address how technology shapes young adult narratives and how it might complicate or show these types of narratives in a different light. The coming to age theme is pretty common in young adult novels so it might be interesting to discuss how technology and social media influences this. – jay 6 years ago
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    • You could look at books such as Hank Green's "An Absoulutely Remarkable Thing" – CatBeeny 6 years ago
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    Published

    Harry Potter: Reading versus The Movies

    Character development, something that movies do not have the time for, but books do, allows for the creation of a more complex environment. In the case of the Harry Potter books, it was possible to develop an appreciation of the difficulties of learning magic and of the slow process of social interaction among a wide cast of characters. As a result, as one works their way through the books, characters develop more substance. What gets lost, glossed over, or just mentioned in passing in the movies, can be understood and appreciated when watched after having read the books. An essay can focus on the contrasts between understanding Harry Potter from the books versus watching the movies, without having read the books. This can be useful as a way of highlighting the importance of reading but also the difficulties of writing for the big screen.

    • I was just thinking about this topic. If you don't read the books but watch the movies, there is so a lot that feels like plot-holes if you don't know the context of it from the book. A lot of characters get thrown to the side or forgotten in the movies or mentioned in passing so quickly you might not even catch it. Great topic! – Zohal99 7 years ago
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    • A wonderful topic, especially in regards to Harry Potter. There is so much that gets swept under the rug that the Harry Potter movies remind me of a SparkNotes version of the books. – CarliStas 7 years ago
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    • Quite right you are, Zohal99. I was introduced to Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather by way of the film portrayal. I found it difficult to conceive that anything more could be said about the reality of such a family, Italian or otherwise. I then read the novel and was dumbfounded by what was amiss in the film. Granted, the real reason for Sonny's lady-in-waiting would garner an R rating here, nevertheless; each medium does what it can, how it can, when it can---I believe. – L:Freire 6 years ago
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    Guilty Pleasures

    What are we saying when we claim the book we are reading is a "guilty pleasure"? Why do we assume we should feel ashamed for our choice of literature? Are we presuming that all literature can be qualitatively measured? Why should we, even with a tongue-in-cheek intent, associate reading with guilt of any kind? It can be argued that when applied to food there can be at least metrics for what define "good" and "bad" (even if it amounts to the same thing: unnecessary and self-inflicted shame). Who are we assuming judges us for books that we think we should not be reading?

    • Actually a really interesting topic that spans literature and psychology. It would be interesting to also look at the division of categories - women vs men, different age groups, cultural divisions (for instance reading 'The Satanic Verses' in India is a very different 'guilty pleasure' to reading a Mills & Boons in America), even looking at the period changes as different popular culture texts have been adopted into mainstream society. – SaraiMW 7 years ago
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    • From my experience, a lot of 'guilty pleasures' are books that are marketed towards women, and because of this they're seen as inherently inferior to works that are aimed at a mixed audience. While, generally, these books are no less worthwhile than their counterparts, because of the stigma surrounding them people attempt to justify their enjoyment of them as a 'guilty pleasure' to avoid having to get into a lengthy discussion of why they should be allowed to enjoy them without ridicule. – jessicalea 7 years ago
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    • Very interesting idea! You could use works on the production fo taste such as Bourdieu's "Distinction" and consider the role of age, gender, race, sexuality, and other axes in defining what's a "legitimate" pleasure and what's a "guilty" pleasure. Maybe also consider the role of shame in the idea of guilty pleasure – rmostafa 7 years ago
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    • "Guilty Pleasure" as reading something that doesn't fit what we might usually read. Reading a romantic novel if it is rare for someone to do. It might it open up a new world to explore regarding how we develop different perspectives. In this regarding, guilty pleasure serves a purpose, not just something we read because we needed to read something. – Joseph Cernik 6 years ago
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    • I guess it's similar to when you like something but all your friends don't like it, so you either watch or read it secretly, like you're almost ashamed of liking it and don't want your friends to know you have a differing opinion. Or when you're expected to not like something, like an adult liking Barbie movies for example, or a man liking otome games. Not saying they can't, anyone can like anything. – TaylorKirb 6 years ago
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    • I personally am not exactly a believer in the idea of a "guilty pleasure." If something gives one a sense of pleasure, no ill feelings coming from it, then why feel guilty? I do suppose it comes mostly from how most popular circles perceived a piece of media that garners that term. If others in a majority are bound to call something bad or not the usual level of quality, it can make one feel somewhat lesser for being in the camp that sees merit. But they're the ones who should be the most vocal about it as well. – berryplusbears 6 years ago
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    • I personally never understood the notion of "guilty pleasures." If you enjoy a piece of media, then you shouldn't feel guilty about it. If I don't like a piece of work then I won't enjoy it, that's it. Like berryplusbears mentioned, I think it's from various media communities and how they may perceive other works that may not fit their specific criteria for what makes something good but still enjoy it. If you ask me, that's just expanding your tastes, but I guess it also helps some people justify liking certain things for themselves. – ImperatorSage 6 years ago
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    Gothic Literature and its Impact on Modern Day Horror

    While gothic literature and horror are separate genres, the two share a connection in inducing similar emotions of fear and thus often overlap with each other. Explore both genres in relation to each other, such as the genres' similarities and differences. How has earlier gothic literature novels influenced later works of horror?

    Some gothic literature works that an be focused on is The Castle of Otranto, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Mysteries of Udolpho. The popularity of Stephen King's works in both literature and film in addition to the great amount of praise Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House received can also be other points of interest for this topic.

    • I guess the focus of an article is how selected modern horror is connected, or has been influenced, by gothic literature. How can make it an interesting article. – Joseph Cernik 6 years ago
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    • Gothic Literature relies on horror and terror, as elements to evoke a supernatural environment in the setting. Horror is what contracts the soul, that the recipient feels dreaded by its presence, and terror expands the soul and awakens the faculties of imagination. I am paraphrasing from Ann Radcliff's "On the Supernatural in Poetry". You can refer to it if you wish to understand the workings and the distinction between horror and terror in gothic literature. I guess you can work your articles on these lines and find the influences in modern cinematic horror. I cannot really comment much as i did not watch The Haunting of Hill House – Azira101phale 6 years ago
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    • You have to trace the origins of Gothic horror novels and their influence on every horror film ever made back to The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. This novella is the social construct for almost all haunted house movies and how a house can possess its inhabitants. The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix took several plot lines and elements of Gothic horror from James horror novella. So, to conclude, one must study The Turn of the Screw if you really want to reveal the nexus between Gothic literature and the modern day horror film. – latracey 6 years ago
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    What would happen if authors re-wrote novels the way directors remake movies?

    Explore the way directors like Peter Jackson or Rob Zombie have made remakes of films that inspired them in the past (like King Kong and Halloween respectively), and discuss what might happen if this became as prevalent of a trend in literature. What if Stephen King rewrote The Lord of the Rings? Or Chuck Palahniuk rewrote The Great Gatsby? Why do film directors get this creative urge while authors seemingly don't?

    • This has a relationship to Seth Grahame-Smith and his books on Abraham Lincoln and Pride and Prejudice both confronting zombies. – Joseph Cernik 6 years ago
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    • I guess many authors don't like their characters being re-written in a fashion they do wish to. This is one of the reason why many authors kill their characters before they are being incarnated in someone else's novel. Though it's a heart-wrenching move for the fans of the franchise, but it's a necessary evil to be executed so that the character is not re-written posthumously, after the writer's death. You can of course buy the copyright from the original writer. There is an author by the name of Tilly Bagshawe, who bought the copyright from Sidney Sheldon and has apparently written sequels to his books – Azira101phale 6 years ago
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    • Perhaps the fact that more passion goes in to writing a novel due to creating images with words and therefore more work is done to create these images. Whereas, with development in technology and the ability to visualize images there is always room for improvement with films. – Indigo Jones 6 years ago
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    • This would be an interesting thought piece, for sure. I think books have the advantage of allowing readers to make their own movies in their heads, so we don't need or want remakes as much. Each director can have his/her own vision for how a movie should look, sound, etc., and each one is free to portray that vision. This doesn't cover plots, though. If Stephen King rewrote The Lord of the Rings, it might end with Frodo cowering in a corner muttering "my precious" as Sam stands over him tearfully. As I said, an interesting thought piece. I would definitely enjoy reading this. – noahspud 6 years ago
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