Essay Feedback - going forward

• put titles in italics, reference the year published/said
• remember to either put a space between paragraphs or indent
• use of quotes to start paragraphs is effective, find some that sum up the paragraph and start with them and then break them down
• explore the psychology of audience mentality more - why do people require a sense of safety (its probably Freudian)
• Introduce scholars don't just put their name, could be anyone
• work harder to integrate the quotes into the body of the text - like a pie - everything is mixed in, cant just plonk all the cherries on top can you?
• ITALICS FOR MOVIE TITLES TOO
• reference specific comic books, dont assume the reader knows (they aren't a nerd loser like you)
• link case studies more directly to themes and context, direct connections to provide synergy throughout the essay
• try to stay away from opinions, form counter arguments more often to display an impartial evaluation
• make the case studies flow into each other in some way so the chapter feels cohesive, not just one after another
• link case studies together in accordance with how they link to the themes present in chapter 2
• delve into the psychology more, storytelling as a human preoccupation, why?
• The Hero's Journey - Joseph Campbell
• assess changing media, how people respond to films - youtube reviews, rotten tomatoes, news sites dedicated to pop culture, hard to escape and form your own opinions

Inferno Squad & digital tests

Looking into character in Star Wars has been enjoyable as this module progresses because it's something I’ve been building into the fabric of my brain since I could walk. The universe is something I’m familiar with on a level that reaches a brand of stupid, why does anyone need to know every pilot appearing in every shot of a New Hope?
Nobody, but it has been helpful for once.
These aren't really meant for anything but I wanted to see how to visually communicate a villain as a protagonist, as in the game Battlefront 2, you play as agents of the devilish Galactic Empire, rather than the usual brave rebel heroes. I think this is a really interesting and different idea narratively, and as my project is about the emergence of different and interesting narrative ideas, I’m fully into it.

I won’t actually play the game because who has time for THAT in third year BUT I have taken time to read some of the supporting materials (books, comics) to get a grip on these reverse heroes. Again i really enjoyed combining the hand drawn with the block digital for these, even if they are just sort of tests.

Hellboy(s and girls)

I’ve been trying to conjoin the two disparate aspects of my work for a long time now, but I feel with this module I’m starting to understand how. I do a lot of analogue character work but they always feel unfinished to me. And last year I started doing digital work based around shape, colour and text, but again I always feel like they’re missing something.
SO
I spent the summer trying to understand the direction I want to be going in with these two methods seperately, so I could mash them up together with a better effect. And I’m happy!

Block colour is something I enjoy interpreting, more so than tone and texture as I find myself overcomplicating things. So experimenting with these shape based illustrations that also have a hand drawn element has been exciting to finally realise. I achieved a thing that I said i would!

Into the Woods with Joseph Campbell

Into the Woods by John Yorke is a book I first found during 504 last year, thanks to Teresa lending me a copy for research into my Shakespeare ‘about the author’ project (thank you!). It focuses on how stories work and why we feel the need to tell them. The basis of my ideas for Shakespeare last year was centred around how at the time, his plays were written for the common folk who couldn’t read or afford education, so went to the theatre for entertainment, much as common people flock to the cinema today. This explains why they are full to bursting with sex and violence, like the blockbusters of today, they were made to connect with the masses. But in the context of modern academia, they are viewed on a heightened pedestal as if they are reserved only for the highly educated, and can't be understood by common people. (I’m not saying Shakespeare isn't genius because it is, but I think it's genius lies in how it can speak to the human soul in everyone who reads it, rather than as some elitist high concept outsider’s assessment of the human race)

Anyway, these ideas started feeling relevant again as I’m looking at cinema and the reasons for which films are made today.
Also, Joseph Campbell is mentioned throughout books on story structure and narrative themes, so I went to the source and started reading The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The main idea is to connect these theories and examples to the current examples I have started looking at, in the superhero movie, star wars franchise etc. I find it really interesting that although Campbell’s writing predates literally all of the examples I’m using, his critiques still apply directly to characters and plots that he never even would have heard of. It’s a good indicator that story is universal, not only cross cultural but without regard to the constraints of time, either.

Neil Gaiman's recent Norse Mythology book has also been helpful in understanding the legacy of a story and how it can last across generations.