To me, the seminar topics for the 1st semester have been surprising interesting. Topics like “Space Opera”, “Fiction & Fantasy” show how similar the real world & story worlds are like, despite the differences in genre, sciences as well as imagination. Topics like “The current state of horror” & “Hero Archetypes” focus a lot on human psychology. How imagination & ideas can change the way we see & understand things. Basically every seminar topic challenges & reveals new forms of thinking; new ways of seeing something. One topic in particular that I felt was the best in challenging the way we think & understand is the topic on “Fringe Science”. A question posted during this seminar was, ‘Are there other dimensions in existence? What happens to us in those dimensions?’ This ‘enlightened’ my curiosity.
The seminar on Alchemy made a lot of sense to me. It touched on a particular point; which was that alchemy was the understanding of trying to change base metals into gold. This part made me remember a topic I was introduced to last year, which titled “Plato”. Plato had a philosophical belief of letting go of one’s body to be with the gods, meaning that by gaining knowledge, enlightenment could be achieved. I felt that Plato’s philosophy & the understanding of alchemy were similar at this point. This show how knowledge is linked in ways!
Top 5 things I learnt!
1) We think we know something! But that is not entirely true!
The most amazing thing about this module is that you think you already know what to expect, but in fact it’s not what you expected! For most of the seminar topics, there was always a point where I would be caught by surprise. An example would be how horror is more psychological than supernatural.
2) People scare themselves!
The thing about horror genres is that it is very unique in using people’s minds against themselves. Horror uses the basis of imagination to scare a person. It is not witnessing a horrific event that really scares you; it is after that experience when you cannot stop thinking about what you saw that is truly horrifying.
When we are left alone, we unconsciously begin to think of things. The thoughts we think create circumstances where we do not understand, & substitute what we think it is. For example, we see something moving in the dark, we assume it’s a ghost, & hence scaring ourselves, when that something could have just been a curtain being blown by the wind.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it is our mind that ultimately scares us...
3) Hero’s are human too!!!
I guess the only thing to say about this is that no matter how ‘super’ a hero is, he/she still has emotions, people they care for & of course, flaws. No one is perfect, not even heroes, & that’s what makes them human like us.
4) Fantasy: Creating imaginary worlds
Fantasy is something that doesn’t exist in reality. It is a world that we imagine & bring to life through our ideals, imagination & ideas that involve magic & sorcery...
5) Eye Candy!!!
Eye Candy, also known as, exaggeration, is commonly used by the media to show off something straightforward like casting a spell & make it seem special.
For example: If you watch “Power Rangers”...everytime they change into their costumes, they go through a sequence that exaggerates their transformation...do you really think take that long to change during a crisis!!!
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