tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44524615690965151282024-02-07T19:14:01.937-08:00The Mind of MKGEvery product marketed to you each day, from bread at your local grocer, to the movies we watch, or even your own government, have been specifically created that way for a reason.
What is that reason?
Why do we find appeal in the things we do?
Let's find out together. Welcome to the show.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452461569096515128.post-28066368851221663582016-02-01T01:12:00.004-08:002016-02-01T01:17:05.610-08:00Life Lessons from the Codex: Astartes<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">CODEX ASTARTES: </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Self Image</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AnXZU6Itui9VZa4mKPl4IPlULdDV9wOsQgF1J2zmJ3t_Lt_GfRiIHo8PHbOwUgrXJIJ4C3YHAmGQZpkpmtD71Rjh8UwWEFDN-pHVwhYTqltBYrtjYETzd4JRRvuM9e1mAVjDLOdQXew/s1600/Space-Marine-For-Art1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AnXZU6Itui9VZa4mKPl4IPlULdDV9wOsQgF1J2zmJ3t_Lt_GfRiIHo8PHbOwUgrXJIJ4C3YHAmGQZpkpmtD71Rjh8UwWEFDN-pHVwhYTqltBYrtjYETzd4JRRvuM9e1mAVjDLOdQXew/s640/Space-Marine-For-Art1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">picture courtesy of unrememberedlegion.com</span></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;">Life is hard. But life in the Grim, Dark Future of the 41st Millennium, is a little harder. So let us lend our ears and listen in on the wisdom of the Space Marines.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Read in your best<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT03d6vrfSo&list=PL3FD71F0ACAF3A4F7&index=5"> Capt. Titus</a> impression)</span></div>
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<b style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u style="background-color: white;">{Transmission Incoming.}</u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>[The Brother-Librarian regarding Terran looks. Preparing His Emperor's Chapter for invasion of Ulsar IV - 0172545.M40]</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>"Brothers! We stand here at the threshold of yet another chance at glory! Beyond the portal of this gunship lies another enemy of Mankind, and therefore an enemy of <i>OURS</i>!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Look upon your superiors, Brother-Initiates! The scars they carry are from the hells of a thousand battle fields upon a thousand worlds. But do they hang their heads in shame? No. For the marks they carry endow them with the experience of those failures, so they may serve the Emperor even finer!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Look upon the oldest of us, young Battle-Brothers, and see the deep lines drawn into their features. Do they pine for their lost youth? No. For the weight of their wisdom burdens those features so, and wisdom is the greatest power of all. And power is with what we serve Him.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>In the world of humanity, our flesh is our blessing and yet our curse! It is most coveted and yet most abundant. It's injury is our greatest weakness. Constant perfection of the flesh taints the minds of the weak with illusion of self-aggrandizement. But the Marine is not led astray by such trivialities, for His word is our action.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My Brothers, I order you to look upon your humanity not just as shape, but as symbol! A symbol which binds us together against the common foe: </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The Mutant. </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[*Brother Marines begin to growl under their breaths.*]</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The Alien.</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The <i>Heretic.</i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>THE DEMON.</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-weight: bold;">[*A seething silence of hate*]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-weight: bold;">So the next time you gaze into that mirror, Brothers, look upon the scars which line your image with pride. For we are better for our failures!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-weight: bold;">The next time you consider that which you have lost, remember that which you have gained. Your lost youth is but the toll paid for the ever expanding power of our wisdom. Celebrate what remains of your flesh through service to Him!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-weight: bold;">And whether we face our mortality on this or in a thousand-thousand sols, we shall face it with the Word of the Emperor on our lips and Pride in our hearts!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-weight: bold;">For are we not SPACE MARINES?! AND ARE WE NOT HIS <i>FINEST</i>!?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-weight: bold;">[*Marines erupt into a battle-cry. Landing Zone Reached*]</span></div>
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<b style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; text-align: center;"><u style="background-color: white;">{Transmission Out.}</u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A fan written Codex entry by me. If you like my writing style let me know!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">- MKG</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Space Marines, Codex: Astartes, and Warhammer 40K all </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "droidserifregular" , serif;">© Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2016</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.games-workshop.com/"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "droidserifregular" , serif;">www.</span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , "droidserifregular" , serif;">games-workshop.com</span></span></a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452461569096515128.post-26144944819051673132016-01-15T17:05:00.000-08:002016-01-17T01:36:31.717-08:00A Thoughtful Analysis on Media Narrative: Roger Rabbit<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.76923; margin-bottom: 13pt; margin-top: 13pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Yo-Ho, internet!</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">As recompense for my non-existent blog for the last, uh, forever, I wanted to post TWO things in one day. Yes I know, it more than makes up for everything.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently took a mass media class at my local college. Kind of a snoozer. You'd think they'd be able to make an interesting curriculum out of ideas in t.v., movies, comic books, etc, right?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">So could I do better? </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luckily, my teacher set out to make me look good by giving us this assignment. The instructions were to create an assignment that could be used in the class. Ingenious use of indentured labor, I must say.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I took a stab at not only creating the assignment, but completing an example paper that might result from it. I posted it up for you to consider. I figured this sort of relates to what we do here. Ya know, figuring out why we do stuff n junk and how it's like, sweet. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Real answer: sitting as an empty blog ><)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Enjoy!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">- MKG Out.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">PS- Bonus points to anyone who replies with the assignment! </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or you know, reads it.... </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Create & complete your own mass media assignment.</span></h3>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-206a4bff-47b1-5afa-a14e-cf8628fbf415" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My assignment is entitled, “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Message Effects Embedded in Narrative Media</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” Students are to select one piece of mass media which is narrative driven or tells a story. After watching, reading, or maybe even playing it, the student then has to conduct an analysis of the piece of media. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I received the inspiration for this assignment from the content in chapter 2 of the textbook, “Mass Communications Effects: How Society and Media Interact.” Specifically the section of message effects. I find the psychological influence of media on the masses very interesting. Especially cognitive and attitudinal effects that alter the behavior of the audience. My assignment challenges students to put several ideas from the chapter to the test. Students will be required to analyze the plot, identifying the themes and ideas of the story and how they might affect a receptive audience. Afterwards, student should have a stronger sense of media literacy and be able to identify messages inside of popular narrative.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This would be an example of the instructions to the class:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Message Effects Embedded in Narrative Media</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Select a piece of your favorite narrative media. Your selection should tell a complete story. Remember a story can be told in many ways, feel free to select an episode of your favorite tv show, a segment of an interesting video game or movie, even a comic book. View your selected media to completion and afterwards answer the following questions. Try to dedicate about 2-3 paragraphs to each idea, your plot synopsis will probably need to be longer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questions to answer:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summarize the plot of your selected media.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What happened? Who are the main characters? Who are we, as the audience, supposed to identify with?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Themes and Ideas</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We learned in Chapter 2 that a message can often carry an agenda, like in the case of propaganda. Is there an underlying theme to the narrative of this media? If there was a message attached to this story, what do you think it was? What are we as the audience supposed to walk away with, if not?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Social Context</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you think the message of your story carries any ideas of sexism, racism, nationalism, etc.? Does the narrative attempt to address a social issue in a new or symbolic way?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Public Effect</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine someone was to take the message of your selected media literally. Perhaps they equate Russian soldiers being the villains in a movie as Russia the country being bad in the real world? Think of how your selected work might affect the worldview of a person like this. Describe why your selected story would be positive or negative to this effect.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use this opportunity to expand your awareness of media’s affect on you. Has your selected media contained ideas that you never stopped to consider? Refer to the text whenever you have made a relative link to ideas discussed in chapter 2. Your answers should be about 2 - 4 pages in length.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your answers should be arranged as one comprehensive idea. This could be an essay, if you wish, or arranged in a question/answer format. Either way, have your answers talk back into each other, maybe some social context enriched the theme for you that much more?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Examples would follow for the student’s clarity and submission instructions.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Message Effects Embedded in Narrative Media</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movie (1988)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For my assignment I selected the film, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who Framed Roger Rabbit? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The movie is a murder mystery comedy which pays homage to classic film noir like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chinatown (1974). </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Summary:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">The film stars Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant, a down on his luck private eye that becomes embroiled in a larger plot after he is hired by the owner of a cartoon studio, R.K. Maroon. Maroon. is upset that his picture is behind schedule because his literal cartoon-star, Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer), has been worried if his wife, cartoon bombshell Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner), is being faithful to him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eddie delivers some revealing pictures of Jessica playing “patty cakes” with the owner of ToonTown and owner of the Acme gag company, Marvin Acme. When Acme is later found dead, Roger becomes the prime suspect. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZq1rCKb1o0_vWP818gmPkYWJ6BMRAZtZgFZNVqEPSFpamSwgskkm85-cEbhvg8BqMcw4LhgiVhe5w39EInhqDJ5yAZjI0P0smg4mbwUOH3aPPDp_1sjWA5dl2TTHzyrtaA0Bbqlpt5Rk/s1600/RRabbit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZq1rCKb1o0_vWP818gmPkYWJ6BMRAZtZgFZNVqEPSFpamSwgskkm85-cEbhvg8BqMcw4LhgiVhe5w39EInhqDJ5yAZjI0P0smg4mbwUOH3aPPDp_1sjWA5dl2TTHzyrtaA0Bbqlpt5Rk/s640/RRabbit1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don't Google "Jessica Patty Cakes"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eddie investigates the crime scene, where Acme has been murdered by having a safe dropped on his head. Here he meets Judge Doom (played by Christopher Lloyd), an overzealous lawman with jurisdiction over ToonTown and his gang of cartoon weasels. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doom shows he has no respect for cartoon life or due process by demonstrating the use of a substance he has discovered, the Dip. In reality, it is just powerful paint thinner. Doom summarily executes a cartoon shoe that he finds nearby, exclaiming the Dip is, “the only thing that can kill a toon!” </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2DC6ucHVlQmFIG7bntWLtJraATIjJzc_eIvSPPBihrwgJWbtWEDCObTtUnc4IEjeAzFcpuJbYsGKLIH_pZYKtVnKjKe2QHcVgKnOVVM5_FCBctM6Zacf1NvXvXC1gRCzu7RadBCe3Vg/s1600/33rrdip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2DC6ucHVlQmFIG7bntWLtJraATIjJzc_eIvSPPBihrwgJWbtWEDCObTtUnc4IEjeAzFcpuJbYsGKLIH_pZYKtVnKjKe2QHcVgKnOVVM5_FCBctM6Zacf1NvXvXC1gRCzu7RadBCe3Vg/s640/33rrdip.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Look at its, "I'm getting murdered" eyes.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Returning to his office, Eddie is met by another cartoon, Baby Herman. Herman tells Eddie he believes Roger is being set up. Acme owned ToonTown and promised to leave it in his will to the cartoons if something happened to him, although no one has ever seen it. Entering his office, Eddie finds Roger has been hiding there. He begs Eddie for his help. Eddie helps Roger hide by keeping him in a secret room at the restaurant of a friend. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eddie puts himself at risk many times for Roger, constantly narrowly avoiding Doom and his obviously murderous henchmen. This contrasts with Eddie’s general attitude toward Roger, and cartoons in general, who he treats with disregard. We come to learn Eddie’s brother had also been murdered by a cartoon during a job in ToonTown years ago. Eddie has been an alcoholic ever since. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UqGfHaQ0j3SoPzFN6wBy-qhxy4Qg8-6HdEADtyr36zlxqdlZFo-MXpDYN__l8xoHEj1_rtWBjMp7PYt3CL5jPPjdDuGCPO9848i35tWg1nht44YYEpRr62UMjJZezvz9Kw_cX4Gz5Dw/s1600/Theodore_Valiant%2527s_Desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UqGfHaQ0j3SoPzFN6wBy-qhxy4Qg8-6HdEADtyr36zlxqdlZFo-MXpDYN__l8xoHEj1_rtWBjMp7PYt3CL5jPPjdDuGCPO9848i35tWg1nht44YYEpRr62UMjJZezvz9Kw_cX4Gz5Dw/s640/Theodore_Valiant%2527s_Desk.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eddie keeps his brother's desk just as he left it. This shot sums up Eddie's pain and is what makes movies special.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see that Eddie talking to Roger helps him process this grief. Eventually, Eddie believes he has found a connection between the murder and the cartoon studio. A large public transportation (Cloverleaf) company bought the property for the failing studio, but needed the property to ToonTown, as well. Eddie forces a meeting with Maroon, lying that he has Acme’s will. Maroon admits to Eddie that Acme was murdered. Before Eddie can discover by who, Maroon is shot by an unknown gunman. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking out a nearby window and seeing Jessica running, Eddie chases her to her car, where she escapes into ToonTown. Eddie follows her through the crazy town, eventually cornering her in an alley where she draws a gun on him. Firing, Jessica hits the unknown gunman who had shot Maroon before he can kill Eddie. We find out that it was Judge Doom. As Eddie and Jessica try to give chase, Doom and his weasels ambush and capture them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doom ties up Eddie and Jessica, and reveals the truth. He had killed Marvin Acme after he refused to sell his property in ToonTown to the Cloverleaf Company with R.K. Maroon. Cloverleaf was planning on building a new superhighway through the area and add many expensive tolls to it. Doom prepares to kill them while using a custom vehicle that would fire thousands of gallons of pressurized Dip to destroy ToonTown.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some quick thinking by Eddie and a last minute arrival by Roger manage to thwart Judge Doom. We find out in the end that he was in reality a cartoon himself all along, and he had been the one who kill Eddie’s brother. The will to ToonTown is discovered and everyone lives happily ever after.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwb3kfOgXX74ClMVvHY6fPE2gsA_v3PJCaC1trI27g8z6H7jR7ENBCpeJltthFO1d5fQ2gz9J9FJzu59hQGyOeCDDHdxy_Khvya2EIDPU6g6I7tey5lFufVETkrFTALlj3WDL8AspuwU/s1600/screenshot-165.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwb3kfOgXX74ClMVvHY6fPE2gsA_v3PJCaC1trI27g8z6H7jR7ENBCpeJltthFO1d5fQ2gz9J9FJzu59hQGyOeCDDHdxy_Khvya2EIDPU6g6I7tey5lFufVETkrFTALlj3WDL8AspuwU/s640/screenshot-165.png" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I imagine the universe of <i>Super Smash Brothers</i> probably started this way too...</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eddie Valiant is the protagonist of the story and the one the audience discovers the plot through. As he discovers things about ToonTown, the audience does with him. In the beginning of the story, we find out that humans are very oppressive towards the cartoon population,or “toons”, as they’re called. Eddie seems to share this attitude as well, but we also see him interact with many toons like old friends. For example, there is an early scene where Eddie exchanges friendly words with Betty Boop. He seems to know her from the past and speaks highly of her. At first, this makes us have mixed feelings for our hero. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This second class treatment of the toons is a common theme of the movies. Cartoons are always treated like second class members of society in every location we are shown in the world of the movie. They are consistently employed as entertainers, servants, or menial laborers. Their own cultural center (Toon Town) isn’t even owned by a toon, but rather a rich human businessman.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1JIlDb8r299O8fRNojqqc_BVwECsURfkPF7CYgqByhg3nwUMV7Z_5PeAZPpDCrR-ulUlBF53A0b1ZWSQDTx6TQsJBOTQlQ67pvtVv9ow11wCLWvLv9U0sKfMuyXG6f8DxzTDwNldyvc/s1600/32rrwall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1JIlDb8r299O8fRNojqqc_BVwECsURfkPF7CYgqByhg3nwUMV7Z_5PeAZPpDCrR-ulUlBF53A0b1ZWSQDTx6TQsJBOTQlQ67pvtVv9ow11wCLWvLv9U0sKfMuyXG6f8DxzTDwNldyvc/s640/32rrwall.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though being a part of human society, ToonTown (the toon cultural center) is walled away in a low income section of the city.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later, we are given a poignant look into Eddie’s past as we learn he and his brother were once good friends to the toon community. Eddie’s brother unfortunately was murdered one day by a toon in ToonTown, who dropped a piano on him. Eddie obviously still holds onto a lot of hate from the event. For the toons who seemed to have betrayed he and his brother who were just trying to help them, and for himself for being unable to save his brother. As a result, all of the characters around Eddie recognize that he has fallen apart due to drinking. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This grief carried by Eddie Valiant is what forms the heart of the movie. A common shot in the movie is Eddie reaching for a bottle or flask, then unscrewing the lid for a drink. As Eddie interacts more and more with Roger, we often see this same shot, but Eddie will be distracted and not finish unscrewing the lid. These are subtle visual hints of the cathartic effect of Roger’s presence for Eddie. As a traumatized person, he has begun to heal.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eddie is tempted for the last time. Character arcs are fun.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is also the theme of corruption in business which forms the motivation of our villains. This refers once again to Gans media value of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">responsible capitalism. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Cloverleaf company is never formally introduced or represented in this movie, yet their bid for the land of ToonTown causes the murders or deaths of at least two humans and close to 10 cartoons. The true villains are actually the greedy industrialists who have hired Doom to do their dirty work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The wonderful thing about this film is how all of these social topics are well explored, but also kept light to keep the movie as a comedy. The most important issue of the movie is the treatment of the cartoons. As I explained before, the toons are the lowest societal class. It is socially acceptable to treat toons with general disregard and hostility, no one even bats an eyelash as Judge Doom kills one of the smaller ones. Even Eddie only looks on in disgust. While this serves to cast the toons in a sympathetic light for our audience, it was also intended for we the audience to draw a parallel to actual racism. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Examples of Class Disparity:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0DEyYaJooTzKlVnB_iqjgkYedSBxp9OocxhjxmVLdwnsqR8SI2ovH9VdPjGLgtPnvrv_j4vkCk6AgF91pCNakyo6NVh1zlQYLSXJbAGSbd-41bGpxuG-UE-BTguyd2k5tKUIXrX3fRU/s1600/1364097592_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0DEyYaJooTzKlVnB_iqjgkYedSBxp9OocxhjxmVLdwnsqR8SI2ovH9VdPjGLgtPnvrv_j4vkCk6AgF91pCNakyo6NVh1zlQYLSXJbAGSbd-41bGpxuG-UE-BTguyd2k5tKUIXrX3fRU/s400/1364097592_8.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVneDcyA5zPOI47PHEOf2enIbz0FHNdcJd67vl01Ogaqm8arhesJoIoq4g9RdvAiXf6hUZetHljbUrIo-ssvv4bmQXwvREP1jQa8WXl15kKxf0or6bbFbyUevanCGfES6oRqDm3z0l_8/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVneDcyA5zPOI47PHEOf2enIbz0FHNdcJd67vl01Ogaqm8arhesJoIoq4g9RdvAiXf6hUZetHljbUrIo-ssvv4bmQXwvREP1jQa8WXl15kKxf0or6bbFbyUevanCGfES6oRqDm3z0l_8/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BpzIqhrktuipByULOIjsZphvnLxbj_k7bneT6bEaPw-yujE589M_VKh2pFstknsr_-wcraLfgq_PbnxjU-mSwZYAIiCJua4hY9TVSvY_zIRglojALseBamQPZB6S09Ckil39dXIgFz4/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BpzIqhrktuipByULOIjsZphvnLxbj_k7bneT6bEaPw-yujE589M_VKh2pFstknsr_-wcraLfgq_PbnxjU-mSwZYAIiCJua4hY9TVSvY_zIRglojALseBamQPZB6S09Ckil39dXIgFz4/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Toons are always seen in a subservient light when compared to humans.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The toons in this context are most certainly referring to African American populations. The movie takes places in the year 1947 at the height of post war America. This was a time during which the black population became more and more dissatisfied with being marginalized in society in the years leading up to the civil rights movement. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The general regard in which toons are treated mirrors this perfectly. Cartoons are not treated as real people. This is funny, as they literally are “not real,” but also reflects how a rejected caste of society might be viewed. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The nature of the jobs they commonly work and even being confined to one culturally distinct, low income section of the city (Toon Town) reflects the behavior of a disenfranchised ethnic group in modern day America. While the plight of the toons is not the central theme to the movie, Eddie is made to be seen more “valiant” by overcoming his own inherent bigotry, even though it might be warranted. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The movie obviously takes a stand on the injustice of this fact, but also facilitates justice by a human saving the toon population. I find this interesting as the toons for the most part take not much part in their own salvation. This is a common complaint against racist thinking that stems from a colonial mindset. The idea was that the imperialistic European countries somehow “knew better” than their colonized natives. This idea that the white majority still needs to somehow “guide” the minority is reflected here.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The power in the cartoon entertainment industry clearly lies with the humans. Cartoons are required to act as mere stereotypes of themselves.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, I think the overall message of the movie is positive. If someone were to watch this and be affected by its messages, they would not be much worse for it. Eddie is a likeable protagonist who learns to accept loss through means of a friendship. Roger and Jessica form a stronger union as a result of their adventures. The murderer of the film (Doom) dies in a fairly horrific way. The idea of helping the disenfranchised, even if they are irritating, is a healthy one. The violence of the movie is very “indirect” and always framed negatively. I also really like Roger’s opinions on the importance of laughter and how sometimes your sense of humor can save your life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Verdict:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who Framed Roger Rabbit </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a clever mystery and funny comedy. I really enjoyed watching the friendship between Eddie and Roger grow. What I find most impressive about the themes of the movie is that they only really serve to enrich its universe. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The social plight of the toons is never resolved, nor is the Cloverleaf company even dissolved as a result of the events of the movie. They are merely placed here and given context so we the audience can decide as to how we feel about them. I believe the only risk here is that we as an audience were not paying enough attention to consider them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- <span style="font-size: large;">MKG ^_^<i>-b</i></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452461569096515128.post-22808145065977318382016-01-15T15:47:00.001-08:002016-01-17T01:52:31.530-08:00Why We Play: Focus<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/15/2016</span><br />
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Happy New Year all!</span><br />
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Anyone else think it's funny that the piece entitled "Focus" comes out like 2 years later? Just me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These past 5 months, much like all my time since getting out of the military, has been a long series of chances, changes, and challenges. I switch jobs often to make room for my school schedule, and it has been quite the waltz transitioning back and forth between that and working full time. </span></div>
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But I have now circled the wagons for a time and will continue working on all the crap I like to make which means more posts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So if nothing else, it gave everyone ample time to digest the previous articles! :D </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So worry not, dear readers! (reader? ...anyone?) The show, it must goes on!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- MKG</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anywho, let me introduce our topic for this discussion: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Focus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Alexander Graham Bell once said, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">"<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Concentrate all your thoughts upon the </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 20px;">work at hand. The sun's rays do not </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 20px;">burn until brought to a focus."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I couldn't think of a more appropriate metaphor for human focus, or consciousness really, than rays of light. As your consciousness shines its attention on an object, you shed light on its nature. As you sharpen your attention on an idea, you penetrate it, finding what was below the surface and ultimately greater truth. </span><br />
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I could compare the process to trying to look at a <i>Magic Eye </i>poster, which requires you to stare "through" (basically changing your eye focus) an image of a static array of colors and patterns to see a hidden image. At first, the image is just nonsense, but after an short examination we can see its purpose. I think most ideas, activities, techniques, etc. are approached in a similar manner. Finding the things that you love is important, if for no other reason, to impart this discipline upon you. If you can't bring your entire attention to bear on a project, it will often never see completion or it will feel inconsistent in its quality.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHHRFfrVxNlNxZAEenlz-id05was9xwy7SK2Wm4uhsawHvKm9AiFI632ILrAbIiBlU-V_uYFPfOMplPj31MyLnHKmDgb5tYtU05w3BI5PGHa1fNVJH5hbBXVdaFsOeM5_jzSh-C6QTZ0/s1600/weirdmagiceye+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHHRFfrVxNlNxZAEenlz-id05was9xwy7SK2Wm4uhsawHvKm9AiFI632ILrAbIiBlU-V_uYFPfOMplPj31MyLnHKmDgb5tYtU05w3BI5PGHa1fNVJH5hbBXVdaFsOeM5_jzSh-C6QTZ0/s640/weirdmagiceye+copy.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An example of a <i>Magic Eye</i>. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first thing I can recall ever truly giving all my focus to was my grandparents' old <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_f3uIzEIxo" target="_blank">Commodore 64</a>. At around 6 or 7 years old (around 1991-'92) the hardware itself didn't do anything to particularly excite me. However, they happened to own a few random games that could run on its insanely over-sized disk drive , and I was gonna play them! The concept of playing with "electronic toys" was a novel one for me back then.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.429bauhaus.no-ip.com/Images/C64.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The CPU portion was ALSO contained in the key board! That thing on the left is JUST the disk drive!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, if you have ever had the pleasure of using one of these beasts, you'll know this is no easy feat without proper instruction. Unfortunately for young MKG, my grandparents had no idea how to use it. I don't even know why they owned the thing. The problem was, the C64 was way before the time of the <i>Windows</i> operating system. This means I couldn't just turn on the computer and click on conveniently labeled images with a mouse, I had to enter specific command lines. These basically told the computer what I wanted it to do at that moment. The first few times I attempted to use it, I would just uselessly type various requests into it, hoping the machine-spirit would take pity on a poor child:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">****COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2****</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">64K RAM SYSTEM 38911 BASIC BYTES FREE</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">READY.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Play</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">?SYNTAX ERROR</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">READY.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Run?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">FILE NOT FOUND ERROR</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">READY.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Go</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">NO</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">READY.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Game Me</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">GTFO, SCRUB</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">READY.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You get the idea...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For whatever reason, this didn't deter me. I spent time going through the instruction manuals for the computer and the various games that still had boxes I could find. Soon, I had figured out at least how to make the games go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm sure if you used a Commodore at some point, you remember the command line,</span><br />
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<i>Load "*", 8, 1</i>. </span><br />
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The moment I read through this golden piece of information, I was finally able to access these hidden gems that had eluded my knowledge for so long...</span><br />
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...and most of them kinda <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXLP_U8wnEY" target="_blank">sucked</a>. :/</span><br />
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Well, <i>sucked</i> wouldn't be fair, as most of these games were developed in the early 80's. Technology was limited and there weren't really all that many examples of what a video game even <i>was, </i>let alone how to make a better one.</span><br />
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Here are a few classics from my memory:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>The Trivia Monster: </i>Commodore 64<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">This game used to scare the shit out of me. You are invited to create an avatar to compete on a game-show. I guess "avatar" would be a loose description with customization options like; "boy or girl?", "legs crossed?", and "blue". So what </span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">fabulous prizes await our contestant? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><b>Their <i>survival</i>. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">In <i>Trivia Monster, </i>your character sits oblivious in front of this sinister-ass door while being drilled about obscure facts. But the door slowly breaks as you get questions wrong (and you WILL get them wrong), eventually revealing a hideous claw that reaches for you hungrily... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">What is on the other side? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">What happens to the <i>loser</i>??</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">Why do they force us to engage in bar trivia??? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">The host repays your inquiries only with their damning silence... and, e</span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">ventually, the nightmare spawn that is the </span><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;">TRIVIA MONSTER </i><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">emerges from the center of the screen, emitting waves of pure hate. His head, which I faintly recall resembling Satan's taint, slowly swivels back and forth in glorious 4 bit animation, spurring your little legs carry you from the room in terror.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"> No? Just me?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>Super Huey: </i>Commodore 64<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Super Huey </i>is a helicopter <strike>flying</strike> crashing simulator. There is no tutorial, no map. Just a cockpit full of numbers and readings that you had better figure out if you value your fucking life. This game made me so excited to fly the helicopter, even just a few hundred feet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Mostly, because you had to be an </span><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5LYAzojcog" target="_blank">actual trained pilot</a> </i><span style="font-size: small; text-align: right;">to play it right. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td><img src="http://www.untoldentertainment.com/blog/img/2011_05_06/questProbeSpiderman.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
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<i>The Amazing Spider Man: </i>Commodore 64</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">That about sums it up.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.wayoftherodent.com/wilbur/clip_image004_0014.jpg" height="479" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>Ghostbusters: </i>Commodore 64<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now this game I really liked. You actually started the game as the Ghostbusters going into business. It even gives you the option of buying a different car instead of the iconic hearse. See the <i>VW Bug</i> in the picture? Broke-ass 'Busters. It was an interesting idea. Plus, you could mash the space bar at the title screen to hear the announcer scream a garbled, "Ghoshbushers!" over and over.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so what's the point?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I said above, focus requires concentration. The problem is that we, as human beings, have very complex minds. Depending on your age and your current state of being, your conscious brain requires anywhere from 40% - 70% (or more) of your metabolic energy at any giving time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">(<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/36/13010.abstract">www.pnas.org/content/111/36/13010.abstract</a>)</span></div>
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<b>Translation: Just the mere complexity of your thinking requires you to eat almost twice to three times as much as if your brain had a less developed thought center.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So because of this, your brain often needs to be entertained. It's much like if you bought a <i>Ferrari. </i>A car like this is meant to be driven consistently at speeds of well over 60 MPH. You wouldn't use it as a commuting car. The engine is not tuned for this and it would ruin the transmission after a time. </span><br />
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The same is true for your mind. That feeling of dread you get at the prospect of prolonged periods of boredom? That's the principle in action. Your thoughtful mind is so complex that it needs to entertain itself if not engaged in an active decision making process of some kind.</span><br />
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You see this in animals of higher intelligence, as well. Dolphins have been studied for years to test their cognitive abilities as some of the smartest mammals. Bonobo apes are able to be taught a vast vocabulary of symbols and signs to communicate complex ideas.</span><br />
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The reason the dolphins, the apes, and we the humans all can be taught these types of things is because our brains have a sincere desire to learn them. Evolutionary-wise, we have invested so much energy and development into our brains that it is simply inefficient not to. Using our brainpower, we are able to easily adapt to our respective environments and cooperate better as social creatures.</span><br />
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Now humans are not monkeys or dumb fish things, so we must entertain our brains in a way that is similarly as complex as our minds. This is why most human games involve some kind of obscure rule set that must be adhered to, even if just 3 rules long like in the cases of "tag" or "hide and seek." I believe it reflects the social "rule sets" of our sub-consciouses, which makes our games very relatable to the way our minds work, very "human."</span><br />
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Speaking of complexity, video games are no different. There is a consistent universe that has a rule set. Its own rules should make sense in the context of its universe and be consistent. What attracts the mind here I believe is the <i><b>perceived hidden content</b> </i>of the experience. </span><br />
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For example, someone says, "pull my finger." The entire premise of the joke is that your brain has been tempted by some sort of end result, some cool surprise, that will come from this action. This surprise you want to discover everyone can relate to. If you have ever desired to read, play, watch, find, travel, eat, etc. something new, then you understand this desire very well. Novelty is very attractive to our minds. As your thoughts are racing in preparation as to what is about to happen, the resultant and concise fart leaves you in a state of bewilderment. Thus, comedy.</span><br />
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(In today's age where this is common knowledge, the joke has become a bait and switch. Basically you catch your own reflexes before you can be fooled. #ScienceOfHumor)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And it was this same perception, that somehow these games contained some wonderful esoteric knowledge, that gave these dusty relics in my grandparent's computer room the ability to make me desire to <b>learn</b>. To be focused enough to see the game through to its conclusion. And that all began with simply figuring out how to play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">An interesting thing about these old games is that they conveyed your goals and possible actions <i>extremely </i>poorly. In <i>The Amazing Spider Man, </i>for example,<i> </i>the way the player interacts with the game is by entering basic verb/noun combinations to 'request' actions of Spider-Man, such as, "Spider-Man go west." What is supposed to then happen is that Spider-Man will then 'perform' the action you requested. What instead happens is that he is a fucking idiot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, if you ask Spider-Man to punch the Lizard (a giant man crocodile) before he eats your liver, he replies, "Spider-Man does not resort to violence!" Oh, is that a fact, Spidey? You seem to have no problem with it while you're beating every one's faces in. I seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWCi9Bxu1pk" target="_blank">dem movies</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you request Spider-Man to fire his web at an enemy, Spider-Man will famously reply, "How do I shoot web?" What kind of response is this from a video game? It's like if I had to enter, "Lift with your legs, Mario!" Or else he slips a disk throwing a turtle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What the resulting game becomes is actually a long and round about series of actions you are supposed to piece together in order to complete the presented goal. Of <i>course </i> you can't pick up the anti-matter egg, you haven't found <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Web" target="_blank">Madam Web</a></i>! Of course you can't use Spidey's web, you have to <i>make it in the lab</i>. Wish I was making that up.</span><br />
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This type of experience was rather new to young MKG. The desire to interact with the content of this game, to see where the hell they were going with this, encouraged me to be patient. This constituted trial and error, experimentation, I had to pay attention and learn to adapt.</span><br />
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The very process of simply accessing the games required me to learn a tangential skill, even in a limited capacity. I learned how to use a computer. I learned that they needed to 'access' information stored on disks. I learned the most basic principles of data storage and computing. I could see how these might be things one would not even care to understand as an adult, let alone a spastic little boy. But there I was, pouring over technical manuals just to watch <a href="http://youtubepoop.wikia.com/wiki/File:Spiderman.jpg">the most horribly drawn Spider Man ever</a> die trying to gently lift an egg.</span><br />
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Maybe that might be the trick to it? No, not a horribly drawn Spider Man, but to make learning more of a game.</span><br />
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This past summer, I had the opportunity to work for a youth technology summer camp. Many of the classes offered work primarily with the game <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94HcXdpcJlI">Minecraft</a>(2009). </i>If you know absolutely nothing of the game, think of it as digital <i>Legos</i>. Now imagine if you could, on the fly, change the color and texture of your blocks to create almost anything you want. On top of that, then imagine if you could take some of your blocks and give them simple instructions, like becoming a switch, and combine them to make machinery. You could see how there are quite a few possibilities for creation. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bpwaPfTNSSXJtLRwqmmMyPs5BXma_R7Gjwiq5jC7iUIHFxh4G6L7rNoYxafLgj9KbbKfdE0MlNl-ZJ6aMsat_aw2MHmzCErcoNVEZu6EVrjJVDYNcUdL4QSYgBejXKyl2mQ5i7eNv64/s1600/Minecraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bpwaPfTNSSXJtLRwqmmMyPs5BXma_R7Gjwiq5jC7iUIHFxh4G6L7rNoYxafLgj9KbbKfdE0MlNl-ZJ6aMsat_aw2MHmzCErcoNVEZu6EVrjJVDYNcUdL4QSYgBejXKyl2mQ5i7eNv64/s640/Minecraft.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Minecraft</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.8px;">"Just enough skeletons." 10/10 - IGN</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I watched the kids play, their dexterous little fingers whizzing over the keyboard as they stare transfixed, I couldn't help but think of my own early experiences with gaming and the old C64. They were creating dungeons full of traps, huge carnivals with blocky roller coasters, one TA even had an almost completed replica of Hogwarts made with references to the architecture from the books. Here, they too were learning the basics of modern computing, art editing, coding, and most of all they <i>wanted </i>to do it<i>.</i> I couldn't help but at times wonder where these things would take them, as they're now taking me places myself. To watch the kids so transfixed and having a good time was very cathartic, like seeing something come full circle, in a way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I encourage you, find what you love and let it focus your concentration into something amazing. Only then will your mind truly be satisfied</span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>It's</b> <i><b>Why We Play. </b></i></span></div>
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Thanks for reading! </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- <span style="font-size: large;">MKG</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">^_^-b</span></span></i></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452461569096515128.post-50477004735266316952015-06-18T00:23:00.001-07:002016-01-17T01:34:34.212-08:00San Andreas<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's no better way to rot your brain for 30 minutes than a good Donek...</span><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/vgdunkey" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">#videoJohnson</span></a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PUBnqS1qcvk" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452461569096515128.post-91406161969134039892015-06-17T05:13:00.003-07:002016-01-15T15:47:38.560-08:00Why We Play: Intro<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Why We Play</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-A series on the value of play in healthy development.-</span></b></div>
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Ahoy ahoy Internet, MKG here. I just got back from California, I had a long job training with <a href="https://www.digitalmediaacademy.org/locations/" target="_blank"><b>Digital Media Academy</b></a>, a technology camp for kids based all over nationwide. I'm not blowing smoke when I say it's one of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">most positive environments I've ever been in professionally. I highly recommend them.</span></div>
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Anywho, all that training getting to know kids made me start thinking of a good topic for today's post. I thought a good place to start would be at, well, the beginning.</div>
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Why do we, as human beings, do <i>anything?</i> The answer? Because something motivates us to. Now, this is a very different subjective experience for every human that has ever been, but essentially, we all have the same basic needs. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow" target="_blank"><b>Abraham Maslow</b></a>, <span style="font-family: inherit;">an American psychologist, created this chart to illustrate the point:</span></div>
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While transcendental ideas; like finding your calling, answering destiny, etc, are complex notions and different for all people across all possible lives and modes of existence, simple needs like food, warmth and sleep can be easily understood by all people. All living creatures, really. If you've ever watched a movie and witnessed someone starve to death, or burn, or drown, you didn't need to be explained <i>why </i>that was bad. Your instinct and knowledge of these states of being inform you of this, thus filling the scene with tension of your own creation.</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">"Why do we, as human beings, do <i>anything?</i> The answer? Because something motivates us to."</span></b></blockquote>
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This is illustrated in the pyramid by the use of layers. The very foundations of your entire sense of identity lies in your ability to feel <i>safe. </i>This is why children raised in environments where they cannot, (for whatever reason) feel safe, display extreme developmental disorders. This is also why people, when afraid, do awful things like trample each other. Their sense of identity has been compromised, and their bodies will fight to preserve themselves. The after effects of this type of psychological "injury," for lack of a better word, can be witnessed in the effects of PTSD :</div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event</span></b></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)</span></b></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Upsetting dreams about the traumatic event</span></b></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the event</span></b></li>
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<b style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">(courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b>www.mayoclinic.org</b></a><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">)</span></span></b></b></div>
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I would call these feelings a type of "wound" to the psyche. The pain will fade, but the memory will never, much like a scar on an old injury. </div>
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So this, naturally, leads us to but one conclusion:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What the fuck does this have to do with video games?</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, everything. The reality of the situation is life is very difficult. We aren't all born with the exact same potentials, the same access to resources, not even the same destinies. This makes what we could call, the "game" of life, a very subjective game. It would be like if every time you played a game <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpvM9uwOcUc" target="_blank"><b>Skyrim</b></a>, your hero could only access a random set and number of abilities, instead of being able to put experience into anything they wish.<b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DPWCakSuuU" target="_blank">Sometimes, the Dovahkiin is gonna blow.</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To alleviate this, as we have evolved and developed civilization to keep our safety a little more "guaranteed," we have seen to the development of </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">games</b><span style="font-family: inherit;">. In a game, the goals are clear. In most, every player has the same advantages, to cheat is to violate the unspoken contract of the game, and, most importantly, </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URU7L1M8sso" target="_blank">goals come quickly and feel good to accomplish.</a> </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this way, a game can sometimes become (</span>psychologically<span style="font-family: inherit;">) almost "better" than life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, to understand what a "game" can really be described as, we need to think of a definition of what it means to 'play.' There are <i>many</i> people who have taken <i>many</i> stabs at defining what "play" is, or even what it means to animals, in general. For our intents and purposes here, let's create a working definition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>In my opinion, to "<i>play</i>" is to engage in structured (or unstructured) activity for the purpose of satisfaction, fulfillment, or, well, <i>fun. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This makes things a little muddy, as <i>fun </i>is different to everyone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I personally enjoy long drawn out military board games like </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.axisandallies.org/" target="_blank">Axis and Allies</a></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, but when I played it with my girlfriend, she got termites, she was so bored. So does that mean she doesn't understand fun? Of course not, her neural pathways are simply different, meaning she finds pleasure through </span>different<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">forms</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> of play.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.axisandallies.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/axis-allies-1914-3688.jpg" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">"This is what I imagine the Earth looks like in Heaven."<br />
<span style="background-color: #e0e0e0; color: #444444; font-family: Ubuntu, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Copyright © 2015 Livid Labs, LLC. All Rights Reserved</span></span></td></tr>
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People naturally want to play. Babies and children best exemplify this. A babies natural state is to be playing, making a mess, hurting itself. These simple notions we now take for granted are the organism's first attempts at interacting with, or <i>controlling</i>, the world they are able to perceive.</div>
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Think of when you were a child, everything was <b>very</b> fun. Not because of the inherent way you interacted with the activity, but because it was among your<i> first </i>attempts at doing so. We experience this memory most powerfully during moments of <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2LVOYQNrxc" target="_blank">nostalgia</a>.</b></div>
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This is why "play" has evolved into games. A game is that same unstructured (or structured) activity, but now influenced by a presence of <b>rules </b>and <b>goals</b>. Adults, having more complex minds, want a more complex experience. All games have a point, if they don't, you will probably think to yourself at some point while playing, "this isn't a very good game." These types of games, like say, hoola-hooping, usually are done for the satisfaction of simply performing the action. The goal of how many rotations you can make is an enjoyable one, but it is such a shallow goal, it is almost never adhered to for very long, other than to boast mastery of the activity, that is, <b>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt0tVwP6MA4" target="_blank">Eh, yous guys watch hows longs I can dos da thing.</a>"</b></div>
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To rectify this, games have become increasingly complex over the millennium, mostly driven by available technology and the basic concerns of present society. One of the earliest board games existed in ancient Egypt. It was called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikfRHqw46jE" target="_blank">Senet</a>, a game similar to Backgammon, the premise being the player is passing souls through the netherworld. This narrative aspect (the pieces of the game representing something greater) is almost always central to help create <i>meaning </i>in the experience.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">A Senet set, the dice would have not existed in the ancient world, instead being replaced with "throwing sticks," an archaic way to create chanced rolls.</span></b></blockquote>
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During Sony's last E3 presentation, they announced a game called <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l815oOdR0oc" target="_blank">No Man's Sky</a> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(24:20),</span> </b>a game where an entire galaxy is created for the players to explore, from the deepest seas to the farthest stars. The developers lamented that there are places in the game where no player will likely ever go.</div>
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How far we've come...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>Gamepro</i> walk through for No Man's Sky, level 1</td></tr>
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Now rules and goals are all fine and dandy, but how can they make something fun? No one like rules, right? Well, yes and no. The reason we are ultimately playing the game is because the goals you can achieve during that short time of playing can mimic, and sometimes even surpass, achieving similar, tangible goals during actual, practical life. This means that landing that clutch final hit on a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gN_WBbLTF4" target="_blank"><b>tough boss</b></a>, or <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UKRUoCVVjk" target="_blank">escaping the base at the last second</a> </b>are <i>every bit</i> as fulfilling, psychologically<i>, </i>as say, climbing a tree, getting a job, or even eating a sandwich (when you are not starving). </div>
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To your brain, a challenge has simply been met and accomplished, a desire fulfilled, and you are now better for it.</div>
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But with playing, as any educator will tell you, comes <i>learning. </i>In the act of goofing off in a tree, children learn hand/eye coordination, build upper body strength and balance, and have a blast. In a biological sense, this also increases their ability to climb, in general. This means food that needs to be gathered from trees are now accessible to you. Your brain encourages these advantages by giving you the feeling of satisfaction when you learn something new and exercise mastery of the activity.</div>
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The same learning occurs in a game. Anyone who has played a particular game for long enough will report moments where they can observe similar patterns in real life because of the deep immersion in the experience. </div>
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For example, anyone who has ever played <i>Tetris, </i>a simple block stacking game, for extended periods of time will likely report a feeling of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hwR4WLqAsM" target="_blank"><b>looking for</b></a> the natural ways for shapes to "fit" together. People still often refer to stacking groups of objects most efficiently as "Tetris-ing" them, thus demonstrating the principle and the effectiveness of the game play.</div>
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People who play a great deal of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AG-pWBrUgE" target="_blank"><b>Guitar Hero</b></a> note how they will often look at music in new ways, often listening for the patterns that were once invisible to them through the nebulous nature of a song. </div>
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People who play a great deal of <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUz9nUaZf9M" target="_blank">Portal</a> </b>are excellent in spatial reasoning, that is the awareness of what is around you in physical space and how you mentally 'map' your traversal through it.</div>
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Every game engages us in a different way, every activity motivates us through a different type of learning. Nothing exists in a vacuum. </div>
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<b>During the course of this blog</b>, I hope to highlight some specific titles throughout the course of gaming history that are near and dear to my heart. </div>
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I want to dissect them. </div>
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I want to not only gush over my satisfaction with them, but <i>why </i>I derive such joy from such a seemingly trivial activity. </div>
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I hope to open your eyes and challenge you to evaluate the experiences we enjoy for more than what they appear to be at face value and display in further detail, </div>
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<i><b>Why We Play. </b></i></div>
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Thanks for reading.</div>
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- MKG</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7LCbTE391I" target="_blank">(Ending Credits Music)</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452461569096515128.post-83126695229897533942015-06-02T01:50:00.001-07:002018-02-08T19:13:53.117-08:00Welcome to the Show...<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's hard writing an opening statement. I mean, it's the first thing the audience is going to hear (or read, I guess) and in many ways, it's going to determine if they tune in or tune out. Hopefully me explaining the obvious to you was sufficient enough to invite the former. :p</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This blog will be devoted to my own personal examinations of the world around me, through the context of the mediums I consume. I may choose to relate cultural biases with video game narratives, I could review release schedules of movies in line with propaganda for foreign policy, but mostly I just want to get a good chuckle and a "hmmm" from you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of my posts will be various series of articles, if I get any readers they will always have first say of which series should continue, die, change, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If I may, allow me to present my first article and planned series:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">*Drumroll*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">*Kazoo*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Why We Play: A Look Into the Mechanics of Mechanics.</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>WWP</b> will be an ongoing series in which I take a popular video game, play it, then attempt to explain the true engagements of the experience. From a gamer's perspective, why is it fun? What do we see in the bleeps and boops other see as so trivial?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Very often games are falsely attributed as being appealing solely due to gratuitous depictions of violence or over sexualization of characters. This is a stigma I wish to clarify as to when this is absolutely true...:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Warning, extreme depictions of sex & violence, duh)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HzfJcOCplQ" target="_blank">Dead or Alive</a> (Strangely, not the violent one)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV3PhvCf_Jg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hatred</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and when <b><a href="https://gomakemeasandwich.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/bayonetta-and-the-male-gaze/" target="_blank">knee-jerk reaction </a></b>has rendered people unable see anything different:</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mceFmnAJLL4" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bayonetta</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These will start out as mainly text posts with links to relevant video, but I hope to eventually graduate to making full videos. Well I think that explains everything nicely for now. First installment of WWP should be up in a few days. Enjoy the ride.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">-<span style="font-size: large;"> MKG</span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13934314365543778560noreply@blogger.com0