Throughout the course of three months, I learned and reflected on more than 10 topics and it is an eyeopener to find out how media engaged and influenced me as much as I actively or passively consume certain contents. It really makes me question a lot of things like ethical usage, philosophical views, and loopholes in certain aspects. 

There are three topics that appeal to me the most; film, game and remix culture. When I was younger, my only media was television which only had limited channels as we don’t have Astro or any other channels. It was the cartoons that attracted me the most and I fell in love with the visual design of the animation as I have never seen any art style like that before (I didn't have a phone or Internet at that time). 

From there, I was hooked on anime of any fantasy and action genre along with Tokusatsu films. I remember I am obsessed with Natsume Yuujinchou which is about how a teen navigates his way in the Youkai world due to his grandmother's legacy. Other anime that I often rewatch at that time are Aikatsu Stars, Princess Princess and Touken Ranbu. Then in Form 3, I got exposed to video games and was attracted to the visual design of Genshin Impact at that time. I couldn't play the game until a year later because my phone couldn't handle the game. So once I get the chance to play the game, I begin to explore other video games like EnStars, Cookie Run Kingdom, and  Twisted Wonderland. My choices in watching anime and playing games are always influenced by pleasant visual art and the genre. 

These immersive experiences from film and game prompt me to be involved in remix culture, particularly fanfiction of my favorite fandoms. It is because sometimes the original canon is unsatisfying and feels repetitive to other storyline so non-canon or divergence narrative brings a fresh experience of what could be the canon. Most of the time, my fanfiction lists focused on my favorite characters in the fandom rather than only the storyline but the downside of it is there’s barely any fanfiction if the work is not notable. Recently I read a fan-written work based on a Chinese novel, The News Tenants of the Monster Residence, and there is only a few of its fanfiction which was really disheartening, especially since the same author has her last update in 2022. 

(The funniest thing is that I watch both Persona 3 and EnStars anime before realising they have games and then I spend more than a week reading their fanfictions in AO3 and Fanfiction.net.)

The topic that I find the most boring one would be mass news even though my post truth entry is the shortest. As I mentioned in my mass news entry, I really find news uninteresting especially when it comes to politics. News that caters toward entertainment such as games and anime is still fine to me like updates, and upcoming releases. The news coverage always seems to cater to one side with its wording and exaggeration which seem no longer relevant or neutral in my perspective, it becomes like citizen journalism for transparency but also for fame. 

After learning these three modules, I have started to rethink my interactions with the media, whether I have control over my own behaviour or the media have a stronger hold in influencing me. Despite having passive consumption of most of my media platforms, I become active subconsciously when it comes to my preferred topics. Now, I feel I should think more critically and be aware when I engage with the media because it is subtly influencing my personality, thoughts and behaviour by taking my attention with algorithms, convenience features and captivating contents. 

Fragments of Fanatic's Library

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