dear digital archive #1: IDK what i'm doing
So for these logs, I've decided to do them the good ol' fashion way: with my words. I'll try to find a way to make this page easy to navigate, but for now, I'll just share the status of my research.
Due to recent events in my life, specifically the experiences that I have seen my friends encounter, I’ve been inspired to reflect on the idea of healing.Traumatic events leave long-lasting scars in the minds of many, while guilt eats up the hearts of those who are human and make mistakes as humans do. Ideally, I’d do research about how people heal. Based on my own observations, to heal means to physically enact solutions or to mentally find a state of “inner peace” and accept what has happened. What piqued my interest the most is the strenuous process of chasing that resolution, which is why I have decided on the show Fleabag, specifically its first season.
So during the peak of lockdown, somewhere in the summer of 2020, I got bored and decided to watch Fleabag. The show was a lot to take in at first, with a seemingly deluded and crude narrator as our guide to a heart-wrenching, hilarious, and complex story. Her facade of confidence crumbles as we learn more about her messing relationships, her life's mistakes, and her immense guilt. While these parts of her life impede on her relationships and personal well-being, the narrator also learns, grows, and eventually ends up in a better spot by the second season.
I am currently in the process of rewatching the show and taking notes (thank you to the Library Research thing for examples on how to appraoch this) and I'll try to pinpoint 2-3 episodes that contribute to the ideas of healing. I chose Fleabag specifically because the story is told in a way in which the fourth wall is broken many times, as the narrator constantly turns to the screen to confide in and interact with the audience. With this additional detail, what would have been internal dialogue from a book that would never be seen in its movie counterpart now acts as a key worldbuilding component from the show. Her approach to healing is more complex, but at the same time a little clearer, because of this odd set up. I honestly have no clue if this is actually related to worldbuilding, or if this is a total stretch. Hoping for the best here. Until next week, my dear log!
your's truly, a clueless gal.
dear digital archive #2: i'm thinking thoughts!
UHHH, here is my progress: I am stuck between Fleabag and The Wind Rises, leaning more towards the latter. I will say, the Preliminary Research Activity helped a LOT. That thing sent me down a rabbit hole of documentaries, video analyses, newspaper articles, and interviews about both works, giving me deeper insight on both. And while I walked out of this smarter and better prepared, I learned so much about both that I am slightly heartbroken at the fact that I must choose. But, I have been telling myself that I will be happy and well-prepared despite which I choose, which is a little reassuring.
As for using outside resources, I read some of the past HumCore papers that were provided. They definitely gave me a better understanding of how this should be executed, and I will continue to keep them in mind when I start writing my own paper. I might reach out to the librarians if I go down the path of The Wind Rises because I’m not very savvy with the wars, and might have to do extensive research on WWII, specifically Japan’s perspective. I want to research the involvement of the military-industrial complex at the time, as well as the impact it had on its citizens.
So yea, that’s all I have for now. I’d say that I’m on a pretty good path, I just need to sort out my topics, create a niche and buildable argument, and find sources to back it up. Not so difficult…right?
your's truly, an excited gal.
dear digital archive #3: the wind!! it rises!!!!
I have decided to talk about the topic of ethics in technology, tying it back to the difficulties of pursuing one’s passion in a capitalistic society. And of course, the artifact of choice will be: The Wind Rises, by Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki. I plan on asking how “goodness” is defined in engineering, do engineers have the foresight to see what wrongs their inventions can be used for, and most importantly if that foresight is necessary at the expense of innovation.
I am planning to touch on the controvesies of the movie, surrounding the lack of condemnation of Japan during WWII, and compare it to tje values of the director Miyazaki himself. His family has history in the engineering realm, and he has his own views on the ethics of the movie as a creator and active participant of Japan's history.
your's truly, a confident gal.
dear digital archive #4: so we have a thesis-ish
HELLO RESEARCH LOOOGGGGG
We have made some good progress with this paper, it’s riveting stuff y’all. First of all, I have settled on a good realm of what the idea of my thesis is. I’m not fully confident that it’s IT it, but I feel pretty good about what I have. I was pretty overwhelmed with the structure of my paper, like what I would say, what order I’ll give information to make my coherent point, all that jazz. But I think after being forced to make a mini-draft, and then doing the Thesis Workshop and Prospectus, I’m finally latching onto SOMETHING. I think the more I just talk about it, the more ideas I get, and the more that my brain gets to make the ingredients of ideas into DELICIOUS INTELLECTUAL STEW!!!!
Right now, I think I am going to just record a video of myself for the Multi-Modal Progress thingie. I think it would be the best and most expressive way to show my positive outlook (that I will want to capture and enjoy while I have it) so I will record that in the near future. Probably a bunch of timelapses of me working on the paper to show how much effort and reading this has been, not that I’m the only one doing this. I’ll be sure to keep my setting familiar, like at Langson or the Student Center. That’s all I really have for how I’m gonna do the Multi-Modal thing, since I haven’t really had time to think about what I’d do for it, but hopefully ideas will strike me soon.
That’s all I have for this log. Talk to you later!!!
your's truly, a serene gal.
dear digital archive #5: we have arrived
Hello, my dear log!
My paper has gone through many changes, and it took much reading and studying to get where I am now. In my extensive research, I learned about the ways in which my artifact had some sort of cultural influence, and what the cultural response meant about the world we live in today. To be able to recognize that my artifact was participating in worldbuilding of some form, in real life, was rewarding. It was a reflection of the understanding of worldbuilding that I have gained in the past three quarters, and most importantly, I felt how much it had enriched my life. With worldbuilding in my toolbelt, I feel like I have better insight as a writer, I’m more inquisitive as a researcher, and I am a more diverse and open-minded thinker overall. I definitely don’t feel smarter, but I do feel like something has changed for the better. This truly has been such an enjoyable experience, I loved learning about worldbuilding and allowing it to expand my horizons. With thar said, I am actually not very done with the paper HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH it's a problem, I know, I'm working on it. But I firmly believed I will finish it and it'll all be FINE (I am also delusional).
As for the students of the future…I would say to take things slow, one step at a time, and trust yourself. I was initally scared of how little I knew about the ins and outs of my artifact, and was scared that there wouldn’t be enough content for me to write about. But what I did know was that I was drawn to the artifact and its meaning in the international space. All it took was lots of reading, which only made me more interested and was just as exciting. What I’m trying to say is, choosing something interesting and falling more in love with it in the process is the best way to go about this paper. I already was fond of the movie I chose, but as I learned more about its history, the people that made it, and the impact it had, I found myself becoming more invested and loving the artifact more than I ever had.
your's truly, a happy gal.