To fill in the blanks:
I am exploring manga, anime and cartoons and their roles in Japanese and American culture because I am trying to find out how/why those mediums are more commonly accepted in Japan vs. American cultures, and what specifically goes into the creations of each in order to help my reader understand how each came to be what it is, why it is accepted for what it is, and what its future looks to be.
I am producing a project aimed for the layman/casual/uninformed reader.
And to put it another way, in a more casual style:
Originally I was hoping to do something cinematic, with heavy use of the arts, possibly as a video game. But that was before I had decided on a topic, or rough topic, to work with. Now that I have a better understanding of what it is I'd like to work on/study, I have a better idea of what I would like my project to be.
Thanks to a lack of an extensive background in the arts, it would be nearly impossible for me to create an anime to cover a topic like this. However, I believe with enough work and the right tools, an interactive manga or comic might prove more capable and applicable. What elements I would use to make it interactive would be rather tricky, though. If I were to create a comic, I could easily fall into the rut of a narrative structure, and as appealing as that is, it might not necessarily work for what I'm trying to achieve. Then again, if it were to be a narrated pseudo-documentary, then I believe an interactive comic/manga would fit perfectly for my topic.
One of the nice things about the medium would be that I could easily contrast the different styles of each (anime, manga, comic), as well as break down each to determine what it is exactly that each consists of and makes it what it is (is it the artwork? the text? the voices?). I know one of the things I would definitely be interested in would be, and this would show why the project would need to be multimedia, to take a scene and dissect according to each medium, starting from only having text, to adding basic artwork, then possibly voices, and finally a completely animated scene. But my problem with this would be the time it would take to create something of this magnitude what with 1. my limited artistic skills (granted they aren't entirely unqualified, more so unexperienced, but it doesn't take long for me to get into a groove, so I'm not really too concerned so long as my other problem can be surpassed, which is...), 2. a lack of proper tools to create this type of project. But then again, I already know that I would like to make this project through a computer, and so I already have an idea of what tools I could/would need/use: Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator, among others.
And that is currently where I'm at. I am still without an instructor, but I have one in mind, granted he is under a different school (Akira Mizuta Lippit of the School of Cinematic Arts -however, I believe I'm taking a class with his wife, Miya Mizuta Lippit, so I don't think it would be too much of a problem to work with him).
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Alexis' Thesis Ideas
So here is how my development has been going...
My first idea was to create a project about film scores...but this was kaboshed when I couldn't think of anything tied to critical studies.
Next, I wanted to create a tool for potential filmmakers to use in order to aid critical thinking in storytelling. However, this was deemed too creative and unacademic a topic for critical stuides. (although it is still my first preference)
Then I thought that maybe I could do something that would study the effectiveness of all the recent African genocide films. This idea, however, touched too closey on sociology and was not dynamic enough.
So now I am considering "exploring the mysterious US failure of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer because I am trying to find out why US movie-goers hated a film that was received glowingly throughout the rest of the world in order to help my reader understand the variances in cultural desires/needs/expectations of motion pictures in different countries." I am producing an interactive educational website aimed for the film academic reader.
The problem with what I have right now is that it could be written...by no means would it be as compelling, but it *could* be written. So do I need to think of something else?
My first idea was to create a project about film scores...but this was kaboshed when I couldn't think of anything tied to critical studies.
Next, I wanted to create a tool for potential filmmakers to use in order to aid critical thinking in storytelling. However, this was deemed too creative and unacademic a topic for critical stuides. (although it is still my first preference)
Then I thought that maybe I could do something that would study the effectiveness of all the recent African genocide films. This idea, however, touched too closey on sociology and was not dynamic enough.
So now I am considering "exploring the mysterious US failure of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer because I am trying to find out why US movie-goers hated a film that was received glowingly throughout the rest of the world in order to help my reader understand the variances in cultural desires/needs/expectations of motion pictures in different countries." I am producing an interactive educational website aimed for the film academic reader.
The problem with what I have right now is that it could be written...by no means would it be as compelling, but it *could* be written. So do I need to think of something else?
Well, here's goes...
Ok, so I am at a complete loss here, because I could study almost any science topic and it qualifies as Biophysics. So here are a few different ideas...
1) I am studying visual methods of scientific education because I am trying to find out how to make science more interesting in order to help high school students understand the importance of science as a study.
2) I am studying the arguments for and against string theory because I am trying to find out whether or not it is a plausible theory in order to demonstrate the duality of scientific research.
3)I am studying the development of microbial fuel cells because I am trying to find out whether they are more efficient than gas in order to help my reader understand a new possibility in alterative energy sources.
These ar three different subject ideas that I have kind of been batting around for a while, but I haven't chosen one or the other, mainly because I need to decide which professors in my department can help me with this or not, and how much information I can realistically collect/digest on each subject.
I'm also not sure how to put this project together media-wise because I really don't want it to be a boring science piece...I want to make it funny, like a play or role-playing or something. In high school I wrote a short skits for my bio class to show biological processes...something like that would be fun to do. I suppose I really just have to do more research...
1) I am studying visual methods of scientific education because I am trying to find out how to make science more interesting in order to help high school students understand the importance of science as a study.
2) I am studying the arguments for and against string theory because I am trying to find out whether or not it is a plausible theory in order to demonstrate the duality of scientific research.
3)I am studying the development of microbial fuel cells because I am trying to find out whether they are more efficient than gas in order to help my reader understand a new possibility in alterative energy sources.
These ar three different subject ideas that I have kind of been batting around for a while, but I haven't chosen one or the other, mainly because I need to decide which professors in my department can help me with this or not, and how much information I can realistically collect/digest on each subject.
I'm also not sure how to put this project together media-wise because I really don't want it to be a boring science piece...I want to make it funny, like a play or role-playing or something. In high school I wrote a short skits for my bio class to show biological processes...something like that would be fun to do. I suppose I really just have to do more research...
Friday, February 9, 2007
I could probably be more broad.....
So, in lieu of a brilliant project, I have this sentence…for now.
I am exploring the multidimensional perspectives on the music industry because I am trying to discover how things really are and where they could go in order to demonstrate misconceptions about the industry.
That’s pretty broad, so I’m working on cutting it down. One possible interface idea I had was a multilayered set of information that reader could navigate through as deep as they feel comfortable, learning as much or little as possible via multiple forms of creative information presentation. The top layer and main interface could be a short film about the subject matter. This is all tentative though.
I am exploring the multidimensional perspectives on the music industry because I am trying to discover how things really are and where they could go in order to demonstrate misconceptions about the industry.
That’s pretty broad, so I’m working on cutting it down. One possible interface idea I had was a multilayered set of information that reader could navigate through as deep as they feel comfortable, learning as much or little as possible via multiple forms of creative information presentation. The top layer and main interface could be a short film about the subject matter. This is all tentative though.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Second Stab
So, you end up with a couple of sentences now:
I am exploring alternate points of view in characters of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" because I am trying to find out how the similarities between plays of this era and modern gamer culture can be applied in order to help my reader understand how seemingly archaic concepts are still relevant and interesting.
I am producing a game aimed for the preteen/teen reader.
I am exploring alternate points of view in characters of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" because I am trying to find out how the similarities between plays of this era and modern gamer culture can be applied in order to help my reader understand how seemingly archaic concepts are still relevant and interesting.
I am producing a game aimed for the preteen/teen reader.
Week 5 (and Week 4!) Assignments
Assignment for Week 4 -
Only 5 of you posted your assignment on the blog - that leaves 11 of you with no credit for even having taken a stab at articulating a framework for your project.
Yes, I am pressuring you. If you are wildly flailing, you are running out of time - I suggest
a) go back over the chapters I handed out, especially the sections on identifying interests, defining topics and forming these sentences.
b) if you are really lost, take two hours and do the brainstorming exercise I described earlier.
c) talk to your friends, roommates and teachers (right away, tomorrow, early next week!!) to help you define a topic
Post something by Friday night for credit for this week, because you're going to have to do it again for WEEK 5's assignment (below).
Assignment for Week 5
1) Rework your sentences from last week unless you are satisfied with your statement - it's important to keep working on these. If you have more than one idea, try to articulate each one of them. I know it's hard. If you want to see grad students struggling with (almost the same) assignment, see our class blog at
2) Take your statement and add another sentence defining your reader and genre:
So, you end up with a couple of sentences now:
I am exploring _______
because I am trying to find out how/whether________
in order to help my reader understand how_________.
I am producing an aimed for the________reader.
POST YOUR SENTENCES
Only 5 of you posted your assignment on the blog - that leaves 11 of you with no credit for even having taken a stab at articulating a framework for your project.
Yes, I am pressuring you. If you are wildly flailing, you are running out of time - I suggest
a) go back over the chapters I handed out, especially the sections on identifying interests, defining topics and forming these sentences.
b) if you are really lost, take two hours and do the brainstorming exercise I described earlier.
c) talk to your friends, roommates and teachers (right away, tomorrow, early next week!!) to help you define a topic
Post something by Friday night for credit for this week, because you're going to have to do it again for WEEK 5's assignment (below).
Assignment for Week 5
1) Rework your sentences from last week unless you are satisfied with your statement - it's important to keep working on these. If you have more than one idea, try to articulate each one of them. I know it's hard. If you want to see grad students struggling with (almost the same) assignment, see our class blog at
2) Take your statement and add another sentence defining your reader and genre:
So, you end up with a couple of sentences now:
I am exploring _______
because I am trying to find out how/whether________
in order to help my reader understand how_________.
I am producing an
POST YOUR SENTENCES
Illusion vs Reality: The nature of Theatre
I am exploring characterization and alternate points of view in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" because I am trying to discover what similarities there are between Renaissance theatre/culture and modern gamer culture. I do this in order to show how past literature/culture can be relevantly applied in the modern day towards teaching others about still relevant concepts.
In theatre, the written word is the barest fragment of a performance. The interactions of actors, actor/audience, audience/environment, actor/environment, all these together create the story. It is one of the few forms that portrays a human story using human canvases.
It is at once experiential, game like, and multi-layered, with a plot driven by explorations, involving a similar mechanism of suspension of disbelief. Thus, I propose to do a video game adaptation of this well known play in order to sell Shakespeare to a larger audience, particularly that of the pre-teen/teen, who is just being introduced to what concepts are "hip", "cool" and other such.
Within "The Tempest", there are a myriad of possibilities for adaptation. The storyline is one of the few within Shakespeare that follow the three unities (Time, Space, Action), and has a built in magic system, with powerful characters, and themes that continue to be relevant in the modern day. Revenge, Justice, the discovery of the self, feminism, the idea of the 'Clash of Civilizations', etc...all these are embedded within it, in the minds and points of view of individual characters.
Can Illusion influence and be applied to reality? I think so, and so have those since the very beginnings of theatre in Greece long ago. Plato himself referred to it as being experiential, that one needed to immerse oneself within it in order to fully understand it, which is not being done in schools today. Instead of using a strategy for immersion, students today are just being made to read and analyze the text, which, while important, is but one of the elements of drama (the one that Aristotle would later argue to be the primary point of theatre).
Theatrical tradition is continually being created, as it has from the beginning, by individuals stepping out of accepted tradition in order to create it anew. That is what Thespis, the "first actor" did in stepping out of the chorus, which at that time was the only accepted form of theatre, to engage in a dialogue with them. This is in essence what I am trying to accomplish, stepping out of traditional theatrical interpretations and performance history in order to take a step back to the greater interactivity of the past, which I feel to have greater potential for teaching.
In theatre, the written word is the barest fragment of a performance. The interactions of actors, actor/audience, audience/environment, actor/environment, all these together create the story. It is one of the few forms that portrays a human story using human canvases.
It is at once experiential, game like, and multi-layered, with a plot driven by explorations, involving a similar mechanism of suspension of disbelief. Thus, I propose to do a video game adaptation of this well known play in order to sell Shakespeare to a larger audience, particularly that of the pre-teen/teen, who is just being introduced to what concepts are "hip", "cool" and other such.
Within "The Tempest", there are a myriad of possibilities for adaptation. The storyline is one of the few within Shakespeare that follow the three unities (Time, Space, Action), and has a built in magic system, with powerful characters, and themes that continue to be relevant in the modern day. Revenge, Justice, the discovery of the self, feminism, the idea of the 'Clash of Civilizations', etc...all these are embedded within it, in the minds and points of view of individual characters.
Can Illusion influence and be applied to reality? I think so, and so have those since the very beginnings of theatre in Greece long ago. Plato himself referred to it as being experiential, that one needed to immerse oneself within it in order to fully understand it, which is not being done in schools today. Instead of using a strategy for immersion, students today are just being made to read and analyze the text, which, while important, is but one of the elements of drama (the one that Aristotle would later argue to be the primary point of theatre).
Theatrical tradition is continually being created, as it has from the beginning, by individuals stepping out of accepted tradition in order to create it anew. That is what Thespis, the "first actor" did in stepping out of the chorus, which at that time was the only accepted form of theatre, to engage in a dialogue with them. This is in essence what I am trying to accomplish, stepping out of traditional theatrical interpretations and performance history in order to take a step back to the greater interactivity of the past, which I feel to have greater potential for teaching.
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