The new HBO series 'West World' is a striking example of a deeply philosophical reflection of the world we live in. It poses questions regarding the existence of God, who or what is he? Are people able to 'play' God? Is there another world, one which is invisible for us? Or maybe countless dimensions? Are our everyday lives just a meaningless form of existence or is there a deeper meaning to everything? The series suggests that everything happens for a reason and people can, after all, control their own destiny.
Such an interesting topic! The TV series Westworld has gone much further than simply being a remake of the 1973 movie. In the series, we follow human characters but, most of all, we follow the robots and we sympathize with them. We mainly see their perspectives and, sometimes, we even identify with them. The consequences of such a directorial choice are complex. Robots are not presented as others anymore. They have feelings, memories, and back-stories. They are continuously updated in order to satisfy the clients better, in a way that reminds us of the way in which we continuously need to adapt ourselves to the ever-changing external world. Even though these robots are depicted in such a ‘human’ way to us, we also see them treated as objects, as goods by the clients and by their creators. Still, even within their oppressed and objectified position, these robots manage to control their own storylines. In this way, the old motif of the struggle between creator and creature –which recalls Shelley’s Frankenstein– is explore in a new, existential way. Can individuals escape determinism? Can we rewrite a story that has already been written? If not, is there a meaning in our lives?
– CostanzaCasati8 years ago
Every time I watch a TV series, there are always comments from people saying that two characters should become a couple, even though they are portrayed as just friends. I personally don't have a problem with romance, but it seems like that's all everyone talks about when it comes to television. There are even characters that are searching for romance.
In real life, love is not something you feel just because you want to, and while it is fun to ship people once in a while, I find that there are very few who understand the idea of friendship.
What is it about romance that makes such good entertainment? Why can't two people just be friends and be happy with that?
It may also be a good idea to talk about the best way to execute a romance, and what the circumstances should be. – enizzari8 years ago
Difficult to engender narrative energy from just a friendship. Maybe because the power dynamics are too steady, too symmetrical. Generally, dramatic intensity comes from romantic/erotic love/lust, as well as more vertical relationships, ie parent-child, mentor-protege, master-servant. Any number of psychological/psychoanalytic reasons that might be, if you want to go into that. – TKing8 years ago
Considering how much emphasis is put on romantic love in Western society, making characters have a romantic relationship rather than a platonic one raises the stakes of any obstacles that might jeopardize that relationship. Romantic love is often positioned as the ultimate goal of life, so people will go to further extremes to achieve and maintain it. – chrischan8 years ago
I think the purpose is to create sexual tension. In the past once the onscreen couple did get together, it ended the show because there was no longer any interest on the part of the audience. This as called the Moonlighting Effect named after the show Moonlighting, a show that was cancelled after the two protagonists got together. The Moonlighting Effect also had an impact on Superman: The Adventures of Lois and Clark. With Friends the writers were worried about Chandler and Monica getting together and how it would affect ratings. I think a way to develop this topic would be to examine how the idea of friendship and love has changed. Shows don't end anymore once a couple gets together. I think Friends broke the Moonlighting curse. – Munjeera8 years ago
Of Confucius' five relationships, four - ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, elder to younger - are based on the tension between inequality and difficulty in severing the bond, while the other relationship - friendship - is based on equality and a more easily dissolved bond. The unknottable blood ties of family, it seems, might make the best heavy dramas, while friendships, requiring a more positive, public face might best lend themselves to lighter dramas and comedies. – Tigey8 years ago
Honestly, I think it's totally possible for two people to be just friends without it developing into a relationship. Take Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, for example. They were incredible friends, leaned on each other through thick and thin, and neither of them ever thought of the other as anything more than a best friend. I just think we've become accustomed to stories having at least a little bit to do with some kind of romantic relationship. And since that's engrained in people's brains, that's what they write about. – Jenae8 years ago
When reviewing the popular television show, American Horror Story, it becomes apparent that the female characters play stronger roles than women in typical horror films. Rather than playing the "damsel in distress" who falls victim to the villain, women in American Horror Story act as the strong heroin-or bloodthirsty killer. Explore the roles of female actoresses throughout the seasons of American Horror Story and compare them to female roles of horror films. Analyze the ways that American Horror Story challenges gendered social norms. It is also important to observe the role of transwomen in American Horror Story: Hotel. Select a specific season of American Horror Story and discuss the differing viewpoints of women and transwomen compared to what a male viewpoint might have been.
I believe you meant "actresses" in the third sentence, right? Make sure you fix that if possible. – Diego Santoyo8 years ago
Yes, "actresses" is correct. Thank you so much, I must have looked over that typo. Do you happen to know how I can edit the topic and fix the mistake? – Pyper Brown8 years ago
4th sentence - you mean "heroine," right? The strong heroine..... – pfurnish8 years ago
I think this would be a neat topic to explore. Lady Gaga's character in the last two seasons would be a very interesting road to go down, just because of her extreme blood thirst in both season 5 and 6. – Charlee Ownby8 years ago
In analyzing Breaking Bad I noticed some themes starting to develop throughout. Walter White is anti-welfare, anti-immigrant, and anti-government in nature. I understand that Vince Gilligan has claimed he aimed not to make a political statement with Breaking Bad, but given today's context we can extrapolate our own meaning out of Walter's actions. Tell us what you think of Walter White. Is he a far right extremist?
Rod Serling's classic anthology series can still be recognized by many people over 50 years later. This series about the strange, supernatural, and the macabre had a huge impact on the way we create television shows and how to tell them. With anthology series making a come back I think its important to look back at the creation of the show, its many setbacks and revivals, and what the future is for Twilight Zones and shows it inspired.
A couple of similar shows to consider would be The Outer Limits and Black Mirror. The Outer Limits being a show that premiered shortly after the Twilight Zone and Black Mirror being a contemporary show on Netflix having just recently released its third season exemplify the huge reach and influence The Twilight Zone has had over the years. It would be really interesting to see just how many Twilight Zone-inspired shows there have been over the past 50+ years and when they were most prevalent. – JustinBakie8 years ago
This has become a popular trope in television. Shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are in many ways based on the suspension created by killing off starring characters on a regular basis. Why has this become so common, and why does it appeal to audiences? Is this a positive or negative thing?
It may also be intriguing to investigate this from a show-runner's perspective. Are there advantages when writing stories to killing off characters? I'm thinking of things like story cohesion and budget concerns, but I'm sure that there are more reasons than just those. – Matt Sautman8 years ago
The killing of beloved or popular characters is a trope that has developed in recent years as a response to years of "invincible" characters typical of shonens or a lot of Western television or movies. It seems that there is little in the way of struggle, because it always seems evident that the main characters will triumph in the plot. Even so-called failures in these mediums are boring because the character will always regain confidence. Deaths of characters are far more permanent and damage the characters far more, leaving interesting shifts in tone, characterization, and plot far more open-ended. – shadedfall658 years ago
I don't really think it is necessarily a trope, in fact its strength when charcters don't have plot armor. In a show like Game of Thrones, which is still largely based on books Martin started writing 25+ years ago. It's also fair to point out that the worlds of TWD or GoT are very dangerous and crazy universes and it would be silly if characters didn't die often. – ivanly8 years ago
I think it is also interesting to look at when characters are killed off. Are they killed in the middle of the season? Are they killed in a cliffhanger at the end? Are they killed to create suspense for next year? To hook readers into a new season? The timing of deaths in T.V. is very important to the effect it will have on the audience. – SeanGadus8 years ago
It's interesting that one show in particular, Orphan Black, has been hesitant to do this (major spoilers ahead). On the one hand, the fact that Tatiana Maslany plays almost every major character on the show makes this sensible--Orphan Black simply doesn't have to deal with turnover of actors like other shows do. On the other hand, though, it would be easy to kill one of the clones, because Maslany would still have a job and all of the other ones would survive. In some ways, the fact that no major clone on Orphan Black has died yet could be a strike against the show, because the stakes are arguably lower than they are on a show that makes a habit of killing off characters--even when Sarah or Cosima or whoever seems to be in trouble, viewers can assume that they'll make it through fine because there's no precedent for a clone dying. Then again, the first time that a clone does die (should that happen), it will likely be even more shocking and devastating because it was put off for so long. – mrgawlik8 years ago
I believe that what made The Walking Dead so powerful it's first 3 Seasons was the grounded human element of the show. It was a show about mere mortals in a crazy world. Character deaths on The Walking Dead used to be a regular occurrence, and weren't dwelled on for too long because of the fact that in a world with so much death going on, the characters would have to learn to deal with such heartbreak quickly. I feel as though recently it's become every other show out there. They've made a big deal about random characters we barely even know dying. They've made marketing campaigns out of deaths. It's annoying how loud and obnoxious the show has become. I remember when the dialog sounded unrehearsed, and natural. I remember when characters died, a small funeral happened, and they moved on. I remember when I could name the amount of characters alive on the show. They need to scale the show down in my opinion. Make it simple again. – FamousWolf8 years ago
This is one of my favorite topics because there's so much going on around the world and television has been such a great entertainment for individuals and families for so many years. From reality shows to scripted no matter how busy I am I love the fact that I'm able to DVR my favorites and go back and enjoy them alone and with my family. – PrettyBigDeal38 years ago
A show like Walking Dead shows how unpredictable the apocalypse can be, so obviously people are going to die sooner or later. One of the most important aspects of a character death is the aftermath; what are the repercussions? How does it affect the other characters going forward? This is a rather significant part of Walking Dead, especially after that Season 7 premiere. If you have your audience outraged and heartbroken over the death of a fictional character, then that means you've done something right. Death, when done the right way, can be a positive thing for TV shows that call for it. – joegonzo9138 years ago
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?
Most of the time, Asians are portrayed as one of the four: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Korean. This leads to inevitably neglecting other Asian nationalities as those from Southeast Asia (i.e. people from Thailand, Malaysia, and/or Philippines look very different from the first four nationalities cited, and are somehow unrepresented/do not have enough representation)
Yes! This is an important topic. I think Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Korean are the main four because of popular culture (e.g. Bollywood, anime, kpop). Other Asians should also be represented equally. You could possibly talk about how beauty standards of the four main Asian nationalities differ compared to other Asian nationalities. For example, from personal experience some Koreans taunt Filipinos because they tend to have darker skin (there's colorism within Korean beauty standards). – seouljustice8 years ago
Put this under the TV section because I think there are more TV show examples that can be used. One specific show that came to mind is The 100, which is a dystopian show that supposedly features all nations that survived the end of times as one group - the people of 'The Ark'. But you can only ever find Chinese people as representatives of Asians. There are quite a lot of shows that can be used. Basically, just pick a show that has an Asian character and more likely they will be any of the most common four I've mentioned. – Ruth8 years ago
This is an important topic! I agree with Ruth, I would put it in the TV sections. There are so many examples of misrepresentation of Asians in western culture in television.
-Lindsey – lindseyjane8 years ago
If you intend to look at writing/literature, especially Shakespeare, it would be worth exploring Jerry Brotton's book: This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and The Islamic World (Milton Keynes: Penguin Random House, 2016) Concerning the representation of the East in Shakespeare's work. May spur some interesting thoughts for you?! – AngelicaHill8 years ago
Thank you, AngelicaHill! Should be really helpful. – Ruth8 years ago
It's also worth noting that Emily Kuroda and Keiko Agena, who played Mrs. Kim and Lane Kim (respectively) on "Gilmore Girls," are both Japanese, yet they were cast to play Koreans, and their Korean-ness was emphasized repeatedly throughout the series. Why, then, would you cast Japanese women (as great as Emily and Keiko both are)? Something to think about. – KKillian8 years ago
Yes! That is a very good point. Thank you, KKillian. – Ruth8 years ago
