Analyse Hayao Miyazaki’s use of picturesque European-inspired aesthetics in his movies. Think "Howl’s Moving Castle", "Kiki’s Delivery Service", and "Porco Rosso" – all are either inspired by 19th and early 20th century Europe, or in the case of "Porco Rosso" use real countries such as Italy in the 1930s. How does Miyazaki draw on these elements of aesthetic to create beautiful and magical settings? How does the source material, British author Diana Wynne Jones’ novel "Howl’s Moving Castle", and the real world influences of the time period, World War 1 etc, influence Miyazaki’s renditions? What does he include, what does he exclude? What is the affect of these renditions on Japanese and international audiences especially when considering Japan’s relationship with the West? You can also compare these European aesthetic/story films with the Ghibli films set in Japan, such as "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away". Plenty of questions to ask yourself when doing this article. I recommend potential narrowing down the subject to certain aspects of the aesthetic, such as subject, technology, colour etc.

Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home deal with the multiverse in various ways. Multiverse stories can be interesting and also complicated. How did these movies handle this complicated plot? Was it done well or could it have been done better? It might also be good to compare it to other stories with a multiverse plot (ex. Everything Everywhere All at Once, Bioshock: Infinite, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, or Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse if you want an all Marvel article). Explore the pros and cons of a multiverse plot and how these stories fit into it.

(My Opinion): I believe that Dr. Strange and Spider-Man used the multiverse mainly for nostalgia, to varying degrees of success, and the stories ignore the other strengths of the plot (especially Multiverse of Madness). I think these stories are flawed but enjoyable. Feel free to disagree with me, agree with me, or bring up more talking points!

Analyse the advent of "fast media" that has become so popular in recent years – especially in fast moving societies like South Korea. I live in South Korea, and one thing I have noticed is when I get on the subway people are scrolling EXTREMELY fast as they engage in a media called "Webtoon (웹툰)". This media is like a comic book that has been specifically designed for fast digestion and optimised for access on a mobile phone. You could write an article that explores why people are interested in this kind of media (Webtoons, Youtube Shorts, TikTok etc). How does this type of media differ from longer and "slower" forms of media? (E.g. Books, traditional ways of engaging in media like with a TV or at home). You could even briefly discuss the effect this "fast" media has on the brain or mental health (stress, instant gratification and high dopamine). It doesn’t have to be only on South Korea, I’m just emersed in the unique culture and think there is enough for a case study (Think about high work hours, education system – Hagwons, generally a fast-paced society etc).

Many games are built upon several different moment-to-moment events, be it levels, cutscenes, or individual actions the player takes. But sometimes a game becomes defined by a single event, or a single moment that then becomes known as "the moment." Some examples of "moments" would be the nuke scene in Call of Duty 4 (or the ‘No Russian’ mission in Modern Warfare 2), the Scarecrow sections in the Batman: Arkham series, the "Would You Kindly?" twist in BioShock, and Lee’s death in Telltale’s The Walking Dead. They’re moments that shock, surprise, or stun players and become one of the game’s highlights.

This article would discuss questions such as: how certain games (either the ones mentioned above or others) create these "moments" and what impact they have on players. Does a game automatically become "better" if it has one of these "moments?" Does a game necessarily need a "moment" to be memorable? Does the "moment" succeed in creating the intended impact on the player, and what even is the intended impact? The article could also discuss if these moments become something of a "selling point" for the game, or just how much power they hold for getting new players into the game or get veteran players back.

The Dark Knight is widely regarded as one of the best movies of its kind. It is officially a sequel to Batman Begins, but unlike most sequels, audiences don’t really need to watch the first movie to understand or enjoy the plot of the second. The only major plotline that continues between the two (apart from Bruce Wayne Being Batman, of course) is Bruce and Rachel’s relationship ("If there is ever a time when Gotham doesn’t need Batman, we can be together.")
Does the stand-alone nature of this movie make it a better sequel? Or a worse one? What metrics do you use to measure the quality of a sequel? We don’t determine the quality of a horror movie by how much it makes us laugh, for example. Do we determine the quality of a sequel by how much it depends on the story of the first movie?
Compare to Terminator 2, Rocky 2, John Wick 2, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, and other movies considered some of the best sequels of all time.

It sometimes happens in TV shows, particularly comedies, that a childish character will show an inordinate interest in food. For instance, both Michael Scott from "The Office" and Liz Lemon from "30 Rock" are childish main characters who are obsessed with food, and many compilations of them eating exist on YouTube. Ernie, a character from the German comedy "Stromberg," is also obsessed with food and notably more childish than his English-speaking counterparts Gareth and Dwight (who show less interest in food but are instead obsessed with sex). The fact that childishness and food obsession show up together so often suggests that an interest in eating itself is meant to highlight the character’s childishness in some way. Why do you think this is? What are some other examples of shows that connect childishness with a love of eating?

Throughout the years following the publication of the novel, the character of Carmilla has influenced popular culture in a way that it’s been used a lot of times. Some writers have even written a sequel to the original novel, whilst others have included the iconic character in other forms of media; films, television, video games, comics.

Carmilla’s character seems iconic in the way that she seems to represent a symbol of Gothic literature and the Gothic genre in general, on the same level as Dracula. She is depicted differently in other forms of media, so much that her lore seems to evolve from one author to another. Even her personality varies, depending on how she’s meant to fit in the media that wishes to see her in another way. For example, the 2000 Japanese movie "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" has depicted Carmilla as a noble vampire that was known for her vain and gluttonous tyranny by bathing herself in the blood of virgins. She’d even been named the "Bloody Countess" as a result. Her acts had disgusted Dracula so much that he’d destroyed her himself.

It’s quite a far cry from Carmilla’s original depiction. But somehow, she fits the tone wanted by the author.

Why would other artists choose to depict Carmilla as differently as possible? Examine the reasons why her character has such a great influence in popular culture to the point that she needs to be modified to fit in the tone of another story.

James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new leadership at DC Films, recently announced a slate of ten new projects that will start a new era of DC Films. The team is moving on from much of the properties and actors associated with DC’s past films (for example, Henry Cavill will not return as Superman). The author would analyze the slate of releases announced by Gunn and Safran, as will as discuss the viability of their approach to developing a new connected television and film universe. The author could also touch on their handling of outside universe projects like Joker 2 and The Batman Part II.