Possible Thesis Topic
I was thinking of exploring the alternate universes/dimensions by comparing the "upside down" in Stranger Things and the "Oasis" in Ready Player One.
My Interests
I'm really interested in mental health stigma and the ways mental health is trivialized and minimized by pop culture. I specifically want to talk about the OCD subset of anxiety. I'm thinking of using Turtles All the Way Down by John Green and comparing it to the TV show "Monk," but I'd love to have other options because these are basically just the only things I've found that even mention OCD.
I really like both of those films and I think this could definitely work. You could also probably connect it to a dystopian future book.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen or read Ready Player One but I have watched Stranger Things. Do you have any ideas about what you want to analyze about the upside down? It could be cool to look at any symbolism there might be, or maybe analyze the effect its presence has on the characters.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting idea. Have you ever seen Interstellar? That movie has a lot to do with alternate universes/dimensions.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection between these two texts, but I worry that you won't find any secondary criticism. I think we may have to find a more traditional text to connect in so you can gather enough criticism. Here's a really helpful Wikipedia page on Parallel Universes that has references to other texts that might work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_universes_in_fiction. You could always explore a Greek myth like Eurydice, in which Orpheus goes to the Underworld to retrieve his love, Eurydice. Just make sure that one of your texts has some secondary criticism.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we did talk about Bandersnatch earlier. If you're interested in writing about that, there's a cool story by Jorge Louis Borges called "The Garden of Forking Paths" that you could connect in interesting ways: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Forking_Paths
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