- Research Log 2: Selection -
Decision time!
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What is your definitive topic selection, what are your provisional research questions, and how have you arrived at your decision? What insights did you glean from past successful HumCore student writers about the process? What have you learned from Prof. Fan and Prof. Ruberg this quarter about their own journeys as researchers?
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Picking a Topic!
Picking a Topic!
Well, perhaps to no one's surprise, my final primary source is...
Who cheered!? I did!!!!
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I've been thinking a lot about the different approaches I could take in this paper, so here are some key words💥
technocultural
theory
androcentrism
queer
theory visual
analysis
gender in SF
Research Questions!!
Research Questions!!
Overarching argument: Transformers as a concept and franchise is very much queer-coded.
1) How do the character designs of Transformers characters reinforce the gender binary?
in science fiction, non-human characters are often given explicitly gendered features as a way to "ground" the story in reality ➜ what's the implication here about the gender binary being the norm?
does Nightshade’s design subvert this norm? ➜ character design of non-binary characters and androgyny
2) How does Nightshade's experience of othering and self-discovery function as a trans allegory in EarthSpark?
choosing an alt mode = self-discovery is the most queer-coded thing ever ➜ transformers as transforming robots is a queer concept
the experience of navigating a hostile environment
3) Did Transformers become more queer due to the interaction between Hasbro and its consumer base?
examining queer fandom culture and its influence in the production of media (comics and shows in this case)
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a quick word on sf* and worldbuilding
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sf as a genre has always been a playground for exploring the structures of cultural norms, including the subversion of gender norms. It offers a critique of the present world, and, to me, Transformers is no exception. Transformers characters are ultimately vehicles of storytelling and their construction says something about our real world. I'd like to examine the idea of sf as an avenue for queer worldmaking :)
* I noticed in a lot of research articles I've read, writers use 'sf' as a shorthand for science fiction. Like, the uncapitalized sf and not SF. I thought it was pretty odd when this came up in fall quarter during Professor Alexander's lectures, but I didn't think it would be a common thing! Anyway, just a random observation.
Learning from Others
Learning from Others
Research Symposium
Research Symposium
word vomit is always good - getting your thoughts down on paper; the more you write before drafting the better it is
DON'T PROCRASTINATE. Give yourself enough time.
lucky for me, the two projects I got to hear about during the symposium were somewhat related to my topic and gave me lots of new ideas to think about!
Circe
repetition and cycle are linked with femininity ➜ look into non-traditional associations with masculinity and femininity
how androgyny is defined: is it a mix of masculine and feminine traits, neither, or something else entirely?
Steven Universe
EarthSpark is lowkey similar to Steven Universe in some regards
SU exemplifies queer utopia and its creation ➜ is Earth a queer heterotopia in ES?
fusion as an allegory for queer love and intimacy ➜ concepts like this in Transformers maybe? (Combiners? Conjunx Endurae? Spark bonding?)
I had these two posed next to my computer as I wrote this page hehe
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owl🦉
Lectures from Professor Fan and Professor Ruberg
Lectures from Professor Fan and Professor Ruberg
A common theme I noticed between Professor Fan and Professor Ruberg's lecture is that their chosen topic of lecture/research comes from a deeply personal place—topics that reflect some aspect of their identity. This is me with EarthSpark. Although this means I might have some personal insights into the matter and is emotionally invested and thus motivated, it also means I'm incredibly biased. Professor Fan and Ruberg avoids this personal bias by first analyzing the function or form of the subject of analysis, then offering their own interpretation; I shall follow their footsteps in this regard.
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Although How to Live Safely is devoid of avoids explicit racial markers, Professor Fan argues that the story itself cannot be separated from the external sociopolitical context that is the C-Story of post-65 Asian immigration. It's present in the novel's thematic and stylistic choice.
When it comes to video games, virtual world do not offer complete freedom: their structures are rooted in reality.
I think all of this reinforces the idea that:
Art does not exist in a vacuum.
The fictional worlds we imagine cannot be divorced from the social and political context of our reality. Is Transformers a B-Story about giant robots that transform but is actually an allegory for the A-Story of what it means to be human? We'll see ;)
What's Next & Challenges
What's Next & Challenges
I've gathered a good list of secondary sources so far. My task now is to read through them all and take notes along the way. I imagine that after reading through everything, I'll have a better idea of the kind of arguments I can make (thesis! sublclaims!). I'm currently lacking in the Character Design department, though I imagine it will come naturally as I start writing/analyzing specific characters, then I will know what kind of secondary sources to look for.
My ideas have already shifted a lot, and honestly that makes me a little nervous ^^; Oh well, I guess I just gotta embrace it. My biggest worry is actually connecting everything I want to talk about back to Worldbuilding. I think I just gotta be a little more confident that, yes, the construction of characters and story narratives are indeed worldbuilding and writing about the queerness of sf robots is very much humanistic :}
References / Image Credits
References / Image Credits
Sources:
N/A
Header Image:
"Decoy." Transformers: EarthSpark, season 1, episode 8, Entertainment One, 2022. GIF taken from here.
Other Images:
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