It's an interesting and fun depiction of archetypes, but it's not, technically speaking, about the Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey, as explained by Campbell and then re-imagined by screenwriter Christopher Vogler in The Writer's Journey, contains twelve or so stages: The Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure, the…

The professor states that he could not determine whether the accent was on the first or third note, and so he could not tell whether it was iambic or trochaic. Whether the accent is on the first OR third it's trochaic; if the accent falls on the second note it would be iambic. (a trochee is a foot marked by an…

It's a clever use of data to show how people perceive the two words, though (as the discussions indicate) its difficult to draw conclusions about what they mean when they use the words. Also, there's no way to determine whether the data sets are skewed geographically or in terms of gender, age, socioeconomic status,…

I use this film a lot in my English classes because it's such a wonderful depiction of the Hero's Journey AND because it's a great way to introduce the recurrence of symbols. I also challenge my students to be creative with their projects at the conclusion of the film, and a few of my more innovative students put…

In 1903, the Wright Brothers achieved the first controlled powered flight. In 1969—less than the span of one lifetime removed from 1903—humans landed on the moon. The technology of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s might seem quaint by comparison to today's smartphones and tablets, but they are in many ways just a natural…

That's similar to the way I'd do it, too, though I'm not convinced it has to be a period piece. I think it can be contemporary and still work. There is also a tremendous opportunity for humor—not at her expense, but ours—as Wonder Woman encounters a world of men.

Wait, are you saying there's no 7-Zark-7 in the movie? What a disappointment! Seriously, though American studios did an even worse job with this than Space Battleship Yamato, it's important to consider that for people in the over-forty crowd, with limited resources as kids, shows like these were still beautiful,…

In honor of its centennial, Rice University commissioned UrbanScreen to create this presentation, which was projected on Lovett Hall and surrounding buildings. It tells the story of the school from its inception to the present day.

The idea of Superman as a Christ figure is understandable—I own a book called "The Gospel According to Superman," for example, and the idea of someone sent by his (or His) father to another world to save it is the fundamental principal of Christianity. But Seigel and Shuster were a couple of Jewish kids from…

Tatooine, and Tatooine, and Tatooine creeps in its petty pace from day to day...

A friend of mine from college suffered from this disease. Despite having his spine fused so that he couldn't turn his head and having his body bent into a question mark, he still rode a bike, drove a car, and did all the other things necessary for self-sufficiency. He also regularly kicked my butt in foosball. Hats…

There are many, many problems with The Little Mermaid as a model for young girls, but for me, one of the biggest problems is the structural one: she is the hero, but she must be rescued. If you're going to change the source material, at least give her the agency to defeat Ursula in the end. Dramatically, she should…

Somewhat obscure, but I laughed. Great scene.

I'm glad someone remembered this one. It has one of my favorite last panels ever. Giordano is often underrated, but here he's at the top of his game.

Based just on the clip, it lacks a lot of the subtlety of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Watching EMH, I had that same feeling that I had (well, close to it, anyway) when I watched Timm's Justice League—it was like they'd done everything RIGHT. Captain America seemed like the time-tossed natural leader I'd always seen…

The premise of intergalactic super-cops with semi-omnipotent directors is not inherently flawed. But the Green Lanterns have suffered from two paradoxical problems: Orthodoxy and Innovation. Trying to make things stick together and make sense in a continuum ("continuity") is really cool—but it can stifle creativity…

My guess is Shaggy Man.

I was going to say these guys—but I suppose a Frank Miller-esque renaissance could be just around the corner. Maybe something to do with GMOs...

Agreed. Copyright laws don't prevent information sharing, they regulate it. Making a tongue-in-cheek religion out of piracy doesn't make it ethically just.

I've always loved the detail on this map.