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[angel-is-not-creative]

Assassination Classroom

alright I have to start this by being sentimental first. This is the last post we're all gonna be making you guys :( personally I'm sad as this has been like my favorite class ever. It has been so amazing getting to hear from all of you and I've been exposed to so many beautiful pieces of media. This class is forever something I will bring up in any conversation and has made an actual impact on me. I know it is unlikely we will run into each other in the future considering the amount of you that are computer science or engineering majors but I hope my Hetalia blog post made a lasting enough impact in your brain that you may remember me, thanks for putting up with my takes and just being a really fun group of people ❤ (I won't be taking the exam with y'all so Wednesday will be the last time I see you all and I will be sad about it because I'm emotional)

okay now on to the actual show!

I have seen bits and pieces of this show but I've never sat down and watched the whole thing, and I still haven't cause I only had enough time to watch the assigned episodes.

This show has a lot of the same themes of shows that we watched previously. A few that I noticed are Psycho-Pass and Eden of the East. This show and Psycho-pass share the similar theme of "if you tell someone they are something they are bound to become it". Within this show, these kids have been seemingly abandoned by the education system. Every person at this school seems to hate class-E for no apparent reason. They are viewed as violent, dumb, and worthless by every other class and even the educators. They are being set up to fail, and their fate has been set for them at 14.

In regards to Eden of the East, this show also shares the similarity of kinda pinning the responsibility of saving the world on other people (also many of the shows we watch rely on children to save the world like Sailor Moon, Gundam, Evangelion). Despite literally having no faith in Class-E to do anything successfully, they put the fate of the entire planet in their hands. If these kids cannot kill their teacher every single person will die, and yet people still don't seem to be rooting for them.

They also have to work considerably harder to do satisfactorily on exams, as their education in the past has been lacking since no teacher ever gave them a real chance. With everyone against them, they still managed to rank themselves at the same level as Class-A, proving their ability despite what others may believe they are capable of.

Overall I think this was a pretty good watch and I will likely get around to finishing it.

[jpt1311-blog]

I really liked your analysis of the show, I think that what class E needed was a teacher that was genuinely trying to help them to their fullest potential. I also liked your connection to the other shows, you really helped bring past shows into my mind for this final exam lol. Overall great post!!

[jpt1311-blog]

Assassination Classroom

I really enjoyed watching the assigned episodes for this show and think that I could see myself watching the rest of it at some point. The topic of class discrimination is really prevalent in the show because of the obvious topic of the children in the education system that was set in front of them. The kids in the show are really trying to beat the system by proving that they are better than the A class. Part of the shtick is that they also have to kill their teacher by the end of the year in order to save the world. Now I don’t really know what theme that might be, so I am going to stick with the theme of education. I really think that it is present in this show the divide of both social and intellectual class as the class goes from A being the smartest (and potentially richest) to E being the dumbest (and potentially poorest). The good thing about the way our education is situated is that there is so much divide as it is mostly divided based on how old you are, now if you think about private versus public education then you can start the see the idea of the divide. The people that are able to afford private education are seen as the upper class or more intellectual as it usually means better teachers thus resulting in smarter people. Public education is usually seen as less than because it is free until we get to collegiate level education where you have the divide of community college added into the mix. This really plays into the idea of the social and intellectual divide as most collegiate-level students see the community-level students as not as smart or even poorer as they are not able to afford the “real college” or not able to get into the “real colleges”. Overall I think this anime was a good watch and would definitely recommend and will be watching it in its entirety!

[jjraderftw]

Cyberpunk Edgerunners

I freaking love Cyberpunk Edgerunners. I watched this bad boy on release and felt high on life for the first 5 episodes and extremely depressed for the latter 5. The anime is a rollercoaster of emotion with an insane soundtrack and awesome visuals, kudos to Trigger. The show tells an interesting story littered with critiques on modern society such as: class difference, capitalism’s takeover, and the unforgiving nature of life. The power system is really fun and enticing, making you want to play the game the anime serves as a prequel for (the trap, as some would say). Regardless, the show is fire and finishes off with probably one the biggest L’s any main character takes in a show, with hardly anything to show for at the end of the series, including the loss of his own life.

The idea of the large class division is super prominent in Cyberpunk. The difference between Arasaka employees and average Joe’s like David and his mom is drastic. Someone who works manual labor, long hours, and busts their butt every day is rewarded with minimal pay and starving mouths. There is no option nor legal route for escape from the lower class rabbit hole people like David are born into. No one has a say in the matter of where they are born. If you’re lucky, you are born into a rich and noble family, but others aren’t so lucky and have to result to long methods of labor to make do and still live in poverty. Furthermore, the lifestyles depicted in cyberpunk often critique the idea of who gets paid more in our world. Someone who simply manages a few things and can afford to lounge around all day (like Arasaka officials) make millions while first responders and medical specialists who physically work all day around the clock in a field that also requires intellectual prowess get nothing in comparison. This is similar to how many jobs in our world, like influencers, make almost double or even triple the amount something like an average engineer or even doctor would make, despite the latter professions requiring a bit more physical and mental work than the former.

Cyberpunk also critiques capitalism. The very idea that every person is linked up to some network and has cybernetic enhancements comments on the idea that we are all integrating with technology and having it become an essential part of our lives. The internet of things, smart devices, and our phones are all ways we are constantly connected to the internet. We can no longer fathom a world without it because it's our main form of communication, knowledge, and entertainment. Think of it. Teachers, professors, and other instructors provide class material, books and work that all require you to have some form of digital device to work, without it you’d fail. Video games and shows/movies run the entertainment world and what used to be physically present material (like books) are being slowly replaced with ebooks, audiobooks, and digital versions of the source material. We rely on phone calls and messages to communicate with people at all times (even those right next door). We are living in a world that is highly connected. This is not to say technological innovation is bad (trust me I’m all for it), it’s just that we cannot forget our humanity and let tech become more of the human identity than social/soft skills. In addition, Cyberpunks' focus on tech and social class also provides a commentary on the idea of consumerism. Everything is a commodity in Night City, even using your own laundry. This resembles how capitalism can make a product of anything in our world, and how it is hard to escape. Similar to A Place Further than the University, Lucy tries to escape the capitalistic world and go to the Moon. But just like Antarctica (which was believed to be the exterior of the world of consumerism), the Moon became a commodity and was already integrated into the world of capitalism, implying how we cannot escape it just yet.

The final point I want to make is that anime explains how life isn’t fair nor perfect. The real world is filled with challenges and difficulties. No one is the epic anime hero that will live a perfect life and always “get the girl” in the end. Sometimes, life takes a sudden turn no one sees coming and can result in some tough stuff. Though there is no recipe for success as some online gurus would say, the show does comment on the subject by saying to keep your head high. Don’t let the sacrifices of those you are close to be in vain. Carry your torch and use the tools at your disposal well to achieve the best life you can make for yourself.

[jpt1311-blog]

I really liked how detailed your post was, it was really nice to read with the good connections you made. I also liked how you wrapped it up about using all the tools at your disposal in order to the live best life you can, because you could not be more right. Overall great post!

[jpt1311-blog]

Cyberpunk Edgerunners (1,2,6,10)

I was a little bit weary to watch this anime just because I know from the game side of things it wasn't really well received however after watching it I was able to see just how similar it could be compared to a lot of societies aspects today. Now one of the main things that I'll talk about is it's critiques on capitalism and disconnect between different social classes. As this was one of the class voted I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to be looking for because there wasn't necessarily any reading associated with it so it was kind of all up to my own interpretation, but it became very clear that the idea of money was what was the guiding force of the main character David. As somebody who grew up all around a lot of upper class and upper middle class people it was hard to really make that disconnect between what money should be used for and what money can be used for and how money really moves everything in somebody's life. The idea that in order to even get a higher education one must pay enormous amounts to get a piece of paper so that they can go into the workforce to make money and repeat the cycle for their children is kind of evident in itself that money really is the end all be all when it comes to how people end up going about living their lives. Seeing how not only in this show money was ultimately what pushed the main character David to pursue being a cyberpunk but how money impacts people’s lives in the real world by the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the things they do, etc., really makes the idea of capitalism such a focal point in the way people are raised and how future generations are raised. Overall I like the anime and think that it was very easily relatable to today!

[twenty-eight-stabwounds]

Perfect Blue

Wow, that movie was definitely interesting to say the least. It covered a lot of disturbing and unsettling themes such as psychopathy, paranoia, and sexual assault. Despite this, it definitely told an encapsulating story of a young ex-idol girl who just wanted to pursue a different career path. Mima went through SO much because of societal stigma from her leaving her J-pop idol group. People kept labeling her as a different "Mima" or not the "real Mima" which led to her developing paranoia and seeing hallucinations. In order to pursue her acting career, she takes on some intense roles that definitely cause detrimental effects on her mental health. These affect her even more so than the societal stigma that she faces upon career change. She has to act out as the victim of a rape in a scene and to finish the film she discovers that her character kills her sister and takes her identity due to dissociative identity disorder. This parallels future events in the movie where Mima's obsessive fan "Me-Mania" attempts to rape and kill Mima after being instructed to do so by the "real" Mima. Mima eventually finds out that her manager Rumi was the one behind most of Mima's mental suffering. This is due, in part, to Rumi assuming a second personality: the "real" Mima. Rumi then tries to kill Mima before eventually hallucinating some truck's lights as stage lights. Rumi is almost killed before Mima saves her, causing Mima's hallucinations to disappear, oddly enough. I think this parallels Mima finally coming to terms with the fact that she is real, despite what everyone else says about her public image being different from what she was in the past. Overall, it was a peculiar movie, but I don't think I would personally recommend it to others lol.

[jpt1311-blog]

I definitely agree that Mima was going through a lot of mental hula-hoops, especially with the whole Rumi situation. I also think that her being able to come to terms with herself is because after she saved Rumi she was able to really tell herself that if she wasn't the real Mima then she wouldn't have been able to do that. Overall great post, I wouldn't personally recommend it to others but still a good watch!

[jpt1311-blog]

Perfect Blue

What in the world was that movie... I have never had an animated movie confuse me but also hold my attention as much as this one has recently. I am really questioning as to how this movie plays into being appropriate for the class setting, but then again, I get reminded that we’ve watched many wars related and some kind of twisted shows. This movie was a trip because at one point I wasn't sure if what I was watching was really happening or if it was a part of a scene that was being shot or if it was a dream that one of the characters was having it.  It wasn't until the end of the movie when we found out that Rumi had dissociative identity disorder and was truly the one that was responsible for so many of the things that Mima had to go through, from experiencing the murders and even talking to the weird Me-Mania dude. As somebody who has battled with mental health and understands how dangerous it can be for somebody to go through life not really knowing what they have or being misidentified as to what they have, I felt for Rumi because it's almost as if there wasn't any kind of real support or understanding into what They were going through until the end of the movie. I think that if Rumi might have had a different kind of support and people that they were able to lean on that they would maybe not have done some of these terrible things and would have potentially been able to live in a much more fulfilling way. Overall, the movie was pretty intriguing. I personally wouldn't watch it again or recommend it to other people but it was something that I can say I have seen now lol.

[shyuch]

Sensōron

It is amazing how delusional people can be when you have the right mindset. I might not have the evidence with me on hand, but I believe that if I set out to disprove this guy's statements, with enough research, I thoroughly believe i could.

His research is flawed inherently because he does not view it from even a remotely objective stance. He is nitpicking the exact pieces of evidence that would grant him the most value in his argument in a sea where information is endless.

We could try and grant him that the evidence he does put out is true, and his arguments backing it are solid. But truthfully, the stance itself is just too skewed, and it looks at too little regarding the other sides. I mean, you could go on any singular website and it would say something different about the atrocities committed. This man is simply screaming into a void where nobody will listen.

Also, this seems like an attempt to revive the Japanese fascism of the war; it feels as if that they are trying to restore the people to a way of thinking where the Japanese are the destined rulers of the world because our Emperor Jimmu is a descendant of a god or something.

However, this reading is not without its values in my opinion. It let me see the other side of this conflict. All my life I've been seeing it from the Chinese/American standpoint, and it was very (refreshing? jolting?) to hear the extreme, far-right, fascist way of thinking about it.

Also, Kobayashi, if you're reading this, MacArthur made Japan his bee ai tee see aich for 10 years, stop crying about it like you cried about other people crying about testimonies and just accept what happened.

Overall, no.

0/10

[jpt1311-blog]

I agree with your analysis, I would probably also rate it 0/10. You did a good job talking about how it seems like a revive to fascism for Japan. Overall great post!

[jpt1311-blog]

Sensoron

Now I really enjoy watching anime, however I find that reading manga is another way to enjoy the same type of content, this goes to say that I have read a lot of manga. This manga, while in advance I did know that it was about war and the justification that countries and people associate with going to war, however, had I not known this going into it, or had I not known the history behind the war in the manga it might be a little confusing as to whether or not Japan was in the right. Throughout the entire manga, we see the creator or creators attempting to convince their readers that while Japan was involved in the war, their reasoning for doing so makes them on the right side. I think that this type of misinformation can be kind of detrimental to oblivious readers as not all readers of manga are of the population that are in or surpassed higher education it is a lot of times geared towards younger audiences, and as such feeding younger children incorrect information and tainting how they view certain topics causes history to repeat itself. Sensoron, I think also plays into the idea of nationalism and how the creators wanted to show their support for their country by writing something like this, however I think that there are other ways to go about doing such a thing. In many of the panels, we see different characters in different situations justifying questionable and borderline hurtful things simply because they feel it's just. I think these play into the idea that they are trying to justify certain actions that their country took. Now the manga that I typically read is full color so it's kind of jarring to read the manga in black and white however I don't think that it necessarily took away from the reading aspect and understanding aspect as much as I thought it would, It comes down to the artwork that can either captivate or push away an audience and I think this specific art style wouldn't necessarily captivate my attention.

[lunacyn24]

Your Name

Wow… I love this movie. Your Name has been on my watch list for a while and I’ve heard a lot about it, and I can see why people admire it so much. It tells a beautiful story of a boy and a girl living separate lives and timelines, yet they still remain bound and connected to one another. Not to mention that the movie is a visual work of art that enhances the progression of the plot. My favorite part, visually speaking, is when Taki went to the mountain shrine and envisioned the memories of Mitsuha. This movie definitely took me on an emotional roller coaster because at first, I thought they were two people living in the same time period, but they lived different lives in the city and in the rural environment. Then, I’m confused and shocked when it seems as though Mitsuha died 3 years ago, yet Taki is still alive in the present. There was just a lot of back and forth and intertwining of lives that both confused and intrigued me. Overall, this movie definitely compares and contrasts traditionalism and modernity. 

Traditionalism is definitely something that I noticed in the movie when we look back at the life of Mitsuha. Mitsuha lives in a small and intimate community where they lack a lot that is typically present in a more modern city. We hear Mitsuha and her friend, Sayaka, complain about there being no bookstores, no jobs, no cafe, and no one dateable. Although these are the gripes of teenage girls living in a rural community, it still shows how different their lives are. Moreover, we see with Mitsuha and her family that family hierarchy and spiritual identity are very important to them, at least to her Grandma. Mitusha’s grandma represents traditionalism because a strong family structure and continuation of traditions are important to her, especially when taking care of the shrine. This traditionalism is further seen in the representation of the red ribbon when Mitsuha and Taki first met, and in the ritual, Mitusha performed with her sister. But, this traditional way of life was not something Mitsuha’s father partook in. We even see Mitsuha’s grandma outright kick out Mitsuha and her sister’s dad because he turned to politics after his wife died, and their grandma severely disapproved of it. Don’t even get me started on how Mitsuha’s father treats her, very stern, cold, and clinical. 

Modernity is portrayed in the life of Taki who’s living the life of a city person that Mitsuha only dreamed about. (See what I did there? ;) because they both thought they were dreaming about each other’s lives…?) Moving on…Taki could go to the cafe, go to the bookstore, work at a job, and didn’t have to wait over 2 hours for the train to come. Taki was able to have a lot of freedom that gave a whole new perspective to the traditionalist environment Mitsuha was used to. Traditionalism got to know about Modernity, and seemed to really enjoy her time there, while still holding on to her roots and what was important to her. However, both blended into each other whenever they crossed lives, and depending on the day, this either turned out to be for better or worse.

[jpt1311-blog]

I really like how you talked about both sides, and explained that Taki was living the exact life that Mitsuha wanted. I agree this movie has been on my watch list for a little while now. Overall great post, good explanation of the themes!

[jpt1311-blog]

Your name

Your name, has to be one of the most visually pleasing animes I've seen as far as slice of life goes. I typically don't like slice of life animes or movies, however in this regard I think that because it was a slice of life and because of the visuals and animation and storytelling it really made the movie appealing to watch and also hard to pause. I didn't really understand it at first but after really thinking about it it had a lot of underlying tones of the effects of modernization and how tradition really impacts the way that certain people live their lives. Mitsuha is the character in this movie that is stuck in tradition and is longing for that modern lifestyle, and we can see that as she is in the town of Itomori and how the festival upholds the traditions every year. We also see her grandmother talking to her about how traditions are being handed down and in order to preserve the past and the stories told by those before them these traditions are supposed to be upheld. Then we go on to Taki who lives in the modernized world, and he has all of what Mitsuha wants. He goes to a large school, works in a restaurant, lives in a big city, and this is something that Mitsuha wants even going as far to what to live as a boy in Tokyo. This kind of sat with me because as somebody who is raised on traditions while also being a part of the modernized world I had a little bit of both and I can definitely see where Mitsuha came from in the sense that she wanted to explore the modern world and experience the modernization going on around her but also maintaining those traditions was such a core part of growing up that I think without them the future would present itself in such a different way.

[shyuch]

Hetalia: Axis Powers

I have a lot of criticisms about this.

Loss of the Grand Narrative:

First and foremost, the loss of the grand narrative. It's to the point where it doesn't make sense anymore. While the grand narrative had its flaws, such as the legitimation of power, this taking random stuff from a data base and throwing it onto the screen just simply doesn't make any sense whatsoever. For example, the nation's soul being condensed into a character with an authorially ascribed personality? I mean, maybe I'm reading in too much into this, but who is one person to represent an entire nation's history through a personality that they seem the best fit for it? Additionally, what is the relationship between these characters and their famous historical figures associated with it. For example, with France, it also depicts Napoleon as having some role in the equation. Does this mean that Napoleon exists in some weird supporting bubble just to have the story make the minimal amount of sense?

I really don't understand.

Bastardization:

This has got to be the most prominent example.

While I get the notion that all of these countries are condensed in a way that pokes fun at them all equally, I just can't help but feel that some of them are more bastardized than others.

Take: Italy.

I was expecting some extreme supervillain transformation for the WWII segment, right? Nope. They kept him as a hedonistic, pleasure-seeking, pasta-loving sheep. Which, in my opinion, gives no justice to Italy whatsoever. Because while Italy was as weak as they depicted it in the war within the anime, by no means should Italy have been that weak from the very beginning.

I mean, Mussolini quite literally started the whole right-wing fascism movement that diffused to Germany later on, so I feel as though there should be some respect given to the situation given the consequences of the events that happened afterwards.

To make things fair, though, I would like to restate that all of them are bastardized to an extent.

America: always eating hamburgers, wanting to be the hero

France: super showy, romantic, always reminiscing about how great they were before the great war

These are just some examples.

Overall, I might be missing the point here, that's okay, I'm still human. But, besides turning off my history brain and trying to enjoy this as a dumb slice of life, I can't really find myself to enjoy this simply because of how much they try to condense hundreds of years worth of information into a single person, whilst adding perhaps Moe elements as an attempt to make it more appealing.

Also, can't help but sense that this is an attempt by an author to redirect history's attention, to maybe redirect that the Tripartite, instead of being a pact between three fascist countries trying to take over the world, was just three dudes hanging around a campfire rambling about sausages, pasta, and a "we'll think about it."

And absolutely no war crimes were committed, right?

3/10.

[jpt1311-blog]

I honestly agree with your rating of 3/10 lol. I didn't think about it in the view point of bastardization but the way that you explained it made sense. I kind of glossed over how it was stereotyping the countries but they really did Italy dirty, I was reading another post where they talked about how the name of the show translates to useless italy. Overall great post!

[jpt1311-blog]

Hetalia: Axis Powers (1-19)

Hetalia axis powers was for lack of a better word something. It quite literally follows exactly as the title suggests which is a good thing, however it was very misleading from the cover photo of the anime because it seemed like it was going to be some happy cutesy anime but no it was about World War One and two. This anime centered around the axis powers and the allied powers and kind of approached talking about the different countries within each power in a satirical type of view. The main themes that I took from this anime was the idea of stereotypes across countries, as the episodes assigned to us and even the rest of them as they were kinda short so I watched them, were making these overgeneralized views of the countries during the times of the war. For example it showed the United states as some stuck up wanna be superhero that skates by and doesn't really put in an effort to get to the end goal. Another example is it portraying Germany as a determined and hardworking and positive person when in reality Germany was quite literally the worst place to be as the entirety of the country and the government were antisemitic and racist, on top of that the Holocaust was happening in the time frame of this anime. It really kind of annoyed me how it was portraying Germany in the show because one of the main causing factors of World War Two was Germany and the Nazi regime and everything that they were doing, and to portray America as some happy go lucky wannabe superhero just didn't sit right with me. It makes complete sense that there would be controversy surrounding this show from many of the countries populations that were described as things they weren't because for a show that is accessible to a large majority of the population it doesn't portray countries in the correct light.

[jjraderftw]

Xenoblade 2 cutscenes

Xenoblade is an insanely good franchise that I’m currently playing through right now. I’m still on the original game (Xenoblade Chronicles) and have about 40 hours on it right now and doubt I’m even halfway done with the game, it’s just that fun. Though the second game’s story is mostly self-contained, the big focus on social topics and deep stories are a shared facet of the Xenoblade games. Issues talked about in this game include posing the question about what it means to think for yourself and how nature is at the mercy of humanity.

Rex goes through the hero’s journey through the game. Though he isn’t scared and too naive at the start of the game, he learns throughout the story to respect the will of others and to take sacrifices for the sake of a greater good. His stubbornness to continue fighting after the deaths of his comrades showed his rash nature and unwillingness to stop after a threshold. This caused a devastating fight and put others in harm. Though it awakened Mythra who was integral to the story, it showed how early Rex was stubborn. His separation from Pyra and Mythra at the end of the game and his acceptance of their own decisions (which were different from his) showed how he had grown as a person through his quest. This shows how people should be determined but not hard headed. There should be a good mix between doing what is best for you and best for those around you.

Rex isn’t the only critique on human nature. The very idea of drivers and swords bring up the idea of what it means to be human. Is it human that we die and forget our memories? Is forgetting a bad thing in every circumstance? Do we really think for ourselves? Swords are born from crystals and can be reincarnated several times before becoming titans (rumbling?…..who said that). They are awakened by a driver who uses the power of the sword for combat and other activities. The bond between driver and sword is similar to a friendship but with a catch: the sword takes on the ideas and motives of the driver. This means that swords hardly think for themselves initially. Though they look and sound human, they don’t have an independent mind per say, and their ways of being are partially shaped by the driver. Furthermore, their life and existence also depends on the driver. If a driver dies, the sword is remade into a crystal and their memories are reset. Though swords look and act like drivers, why are they always subject to the wills of drivers? What makes them less human than us? They were unwillingly born into the world as swords and have no choice but to be what they are, yet they are subjects to the wills of others who look just like them. Though some relations are good, some sword-driver relations teeter on mere tools. This frustration can cause a chain reaction of oppression and malice like we saw with Malos which can bring about an ugly future for everyone.

A final message I noticed in my watch of Xenoblade 2 was the critique on humanity’s relationship with nature. Humans in our world have been slowly degrading the natural world. Resource extraction, industrialization and expansion, and the burning of fuels all contribute to a declining state of nature that will inevitably lead to natures destruction. Though our actions are hurting nature, are human activities considered natural, or are we separate from nature? The idea of Xenoblade 2’s world having a shrinking amount of land resembles the idea of increasing sea levels on Earth. Our land masses are shrinking as oceans increase due to the bad habits humans have had on global warming. Similarly, the large scale death of titans and small inhabitable land were caused by human interactions. The character of Klaus also resembles human intervention. He wanted to play God and create new worlds because the fighting in his world had gotten out of hand. The planet was in shambles and he saw no other alternative. This shows how human interaction, if left unchecked, could cause nature a lot of turmoil. Klaus’ creation of organisms in the new world, however, shows how humans aren’t far removed from nature. Just like any other animals in nature itself, we come from the same source and location. Just like a beaver’s nature is to build a dam, human nature involves creating culture and societies like the ones we live in today.

[jpt1311-blog]

I really like how you talked about Rex in relation to how he represents a side of human nature. I also liked how you talked about the relation between humanity and nature. You made a really good point when "a beaver’s nature is to build a dam, human nature involves creating culture and societies like the ones we live in today". Overall great post!!

[jpt1311-blog]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

As I am presenting on this set of videos for the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I won’t give away too much of the information being talked about tomorrow. I will be talking about one of the themes which is the delusions of grandeur. In the 24th video of the playlist, we start off with seeing a room of scientists and analysts attempting to regain balance from the war waging outside the station. It then cuts to the professor who is experimenting on the Conduit talking about how creating a new universe and new life is something only a god could do but now he will be able to achieve the same. This seemingly is pushing his human agenda of wanting to have the ultimate power and wanting to play the role of god. Towards the end we see however that this professor regrets doing what he did as it caused suffering for all his people and it brought to light just the vastness of the universes and how even by creating what he did there was no way to escape the overwhelming power of who or whatever is out there in the great beyond. We can see this coming into play in the real world all to often with many powerhouse countries and wealthy people feeling as though they have the ultimate power and decision over life and death of the vast majority of people. Without getting political we can see countries building nukes and waging war in order to fulfill the idea that they deserve to be in control of everyone when in reality they are just someone filling a spot in the grand timeline of the world’s lifespan. Overall we have seen world leaders attempt to play the role of god and we know that with humanity being built the way it was, no one person should hold all the power as no single person has the best intentions for everyone. In the reading when talking about alchemy and the role it can play we read “It shows how alchemy in its many forms was just as empirical in its orientation as the mechanical or materialist forms of science that eventually triumphed. The main difference was that practitioners of alchemy believed that the secrets of nature represented an underlying divine unity that was manifest in the material world. Mechanical science was equally theological, but it posited that God was distant from nature, denying that nature itself might hold meaning." Overall now I want to play the game....

[lunacyn24]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

This was an interesting watch. I had never heard of the movie, to be honest, but I saw that it was directed by Miyazaki, so I figured it had to be good and I wasn’t wrong. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind tells the story of a Princess named Nausicaa who is admired and cherished by everyone in her village. Everyone in this film lives in a world of toxicity. The people live in a constant state of fear because of the poisonous air that pollutes the air and the rage of the Ohm’s. But, Nausicaa knows how to read them and interpret them. She holds and symbolizes a lot of qualities cherished by the people, in which she is brave, kind, resourceful, and determined. This is further shown in Nausicaa's interaction with the villagers, they listen to her without a second's thought because of the love and trust they hold for her. We can tell throughout the course of the movie that Nausicaa cares for her people and her valley. She is truly one with the valley because of how attuned to the Ohm’s, the jungle, and the wind she is. When Nausicaa believes in something, her actions will further back up her words. In the film, I noticed that Nausicaa has both masculine and feminine characteristics. Some masculine characteristics and societal expectations that Nausicaa had would be the ability to fight, to “hunt” for the sake of the village, and the quickness to lead. Some stereotypical feminine characteristics she exudes would be the ability to soothe, to care, and look after. Nausicaa knows the insects and communication between them like the back of her hand and she constantly uses that knowledge to soothe, aid, and/or dissuade the insects of the valley from their rage. Nausicaa understands the severity of the Ohm’s and the other insects and constantly works to live in harmony with them because she understands that they only want to protect themselves and their home, just like she is. Humanity was also being called into question as we see these 3 nations, the Pejite, Tolmekia, and the Valley of the Wind, fight to survive. Fighting either amongst themselves, or in general, as they navigate their world of Ohm’s and the toxic jungle. The 3 nations represent either the culmination of society’s humanity.

[jpt1311-blog]

I really agree, I had never heard of this movie before except in passing to find Howl's Moving Castle. I ended up really liking the movie and the premise that the people are living in fear of the poison in the air. I think that he had something in this movie because of the way that today we still are having problems with the climate and environment. Overall great post!

[jpt1311-blog]

Swampcon <3

Pardon my French but damn I enjoyed swampcon. I have always been meaning to go every time that I heard it was coming about and even before I came to UF I kind of had some type of idea that it happened but I didn't expect it to be to the level that it was. I volunteered for registration and I'm really glad that I did because just being able to see everybody excited in line and everybody in their cosplay with there's shirts their outfits, they're homemade weapons and everything just was really really cool to see. I couldn't spend too much time in the vendor hall otherwise I probably would have been out a few $100 however it was really cool to see a bunch of different businesses centered around something that fairly large group of people enjoy gathered to provide these cool figurines and different cosmetic items. This on top of the artist alley where a bunch of independent artists were able to showcase their work and people were able to purchase it was just really cool solely from a business standpoint just because of how these people are very passionate about what it is they enjoy and they've turned it into something that could be a source of income for them. It was a really cool experience because there is a bunch of different panels and one of the rooms I remember going into was a kpop dance room where they had constant K pop dances and songs playing and the people that knew the song or knew the dance were able to get up and dance and it was just a really cool environment because the coming together of people like this isn't necessarily as readily available as one might expect it to be in a college campus. Even though I didn't need a reason to go I'm really glad that this class really made it an effort for us all to go experience it because I hadn't been able to get to it in the past and now I know that I will most definitely be going to it in the future.

[jpt1311-blog]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

After watching this movie I can confidently say that there is not a Studio Ghibli movie that I haven't enjoyed which is really cool to say seeing as it takes a lot for a movie to hold my attention for long periods of time so kudos to you Miyazaki. The main theme that I saw from this movie was the threats to the environment and the overall idea of the environmental crisis which can even be related to today as we see all of this stuff in the news about global warming and climate change and I think it pairs really well into some of our current issues. Now the main character Nausicaa, really puts on the front of somebody like Greta Thunberg, someone that just truly cares for life and the environment and stabilizing what we as humans are going to be living with and through for many years to come. We can see this character really putting forth an apparent effort to try and reconnect her fellow humans with nature the way that things once were instead of overusing things like fossil fuels and polluting the waters and just leading the planet into a direction in which there isn't any kind of correction. Going into how this kind of relates to today's society we can see the ideas of environmentalism especially apparent in the younger generations as we've kind of realized that in order for us to have a place in the future for our families and future generations we have to put forth an effort to preserve and protect what we have available to us now. The idea that we are just burning through what's essentially a limited resource as a planet like earth is not something that just shows up. Something else to know is the common themes that Miyazaki liked to present in his films as this movie yet again talks about the consequences of war and the pollution and damages to the environment that these types of conflicts can cause. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed the movie and quite like Studio Ghibli films.