Study Lounge

[Twitch]

Sept 12, 2014 19:15:38 GMT -5 Erika said:

Sept 12, 2014 10:36:34 GMT -5 Twitch said:

So I'm about ready to start work on my Capstone project.
Will the professors be looking for a wide discussion or a narrow thesis statement? I was considering revisiting the use of lethal force by supers or presenting my personal system to quantify levels of villainy (using classic Disney badies.)

Narrow theseis, definitely. the closer you can make it to an actual collgte-type essay, the better.

Thanks that takes the project off the table and means I'll be working on the lethal force paper.

[Twitch]

Here's the tentative outline of my paper on lethal force.

Thesis: When an Independent super-hero uses lethal force, the fallout, publicly and emotionally, often mean the end of his/her life as a hero. 

• Thesis Statement and introduction of main points

• Public Fallout and Independent Status
  
  
  • Independent Heroes lack the checks and balances police and military have to regulate lethal force in crisis situations.
    
  • Without the protection of an organization, an independent hero could be held liable for obstruction of justice or murder. 
    
  • If the hero is a public figure, his/her example could inspire civilians to vigilante behavior.  
    
  
  
• Emotional Fallout and the Justification Process
• Failure to justify actions to self will lead to madness.
• Heroes who justify lethal force with philosophies like utilitarianism are at greater risk of anti-hero and vigilante behavior.
• Independent Heroes often lack the support group to work through the personal trauma of killing, making the justification process harder.

[/ul]

• Summary and Closing Remarks.

IMPORTANT NEWS! I will not be writing this paper. Although the rough drafts are long done, I'm scrapping it to change topics completely. I have several good reasons for this change. First, timing. Lethal force is too prominent in RL media. I'm afraid that no matter how I write that I'll get involved in the Ferguson debate. I'm chickening out and will probably retreat back into a more humorous mode.

The second reason is related to the core reason I signed up for MCCC. I was looking for a fun outlet, not another source of frustration. This paper, RL aside, is now too much frustration for the fun. It reads like a forensic text-book (yes, I've read a few.) While I'm sure it would get a passing grade, it's not something I'd be proud of. 

Thirdly, it looks like I'm going to be the first to post a paper. I'm afraid that a lethal force paper will set too serious a tone for other students. (Hopefully, this not a real issue and is just my paranoia/ego acting up again.)

I haven't decided what to write now, but I plan to have it done before Christmas. Sorry for procrastinating instead of changing sooner.

[Twitch]

New Paper: The Downfall

For various reasons, I'm switch thesis topics. My premise is that there are three basic elements (poor planning, chaos and human nature) that thwart villainy. Using the super-villain as micro and a world domination scheme as macro examples, I'll compare and contrast these elements.
While I want heroes to use my work to better their counter-schemes, I know that both heroes and villains will read this paper. Clever villains may try to use it as a check list; however smart villains will hopefully get a feeling for the odds against them. 

[Erika]

Good luck on your new topic. While I don't personally feel that reason three is a deal-breaker, I understand the thought behind it. The reality is that we want people to consider the whole range of silly-but-well-thought-out to serious-could-be-real-academia as fair game. The other two, definitely legit concerns. Of course if it isn't fun it isn't fun. And while some very good papers would cover potentially contentious issues. I do agree that the current IRL implications would be better off in the controversy section.

[Kashiro]

I know I haven't done much in a while (and I still have a few assignments to turn in...) but now that I've finished high school (yay!) I can start concentrating on stuff like this again. I want to a) dissect and analyse the different types of superhero/villain teams, groups, rogues, anarchists etc. or b) (this might be a bit too meta) examine the balance between a good story and 'logical' turn of events - a good example of the latter is the "How It Should Have Ended" series on Youtube.

[Erika]

I actually think the second idea is awesome, so if you like it better, go for it. For one, it's a very genre-aware sort of thing, which is very SG, and for another, it's about the pitfalls of storytelling, which is very appropriate.

[Kashiro]

Perfect. I was just afraid it would be too meta. This is gonna be fun

[Twitch]

I finished the capstone paper. Some peer review would be nice

[kincade]

Meanders into the room, whistling and swinging a rubber chicken by it's neck. "Seems kinda dead. Guess I'll just have to amuse myself."