Log 1_
For my spring research project, I have a couple of ideas built off of the common themes and ideas we've been exploring throughout HumCore.
First:
I want to explore emo music and its worldbuilding---a subculture shaped by its bands and fans that has grown beyond so much more than its roots. What immediately jumps out at me as possible primary sources are the albums Home Like NoPlace is There by The Hotelier, which is considered to be the peak of the emo revival which occurred from around the early to mid 2000s to the early to mid 2010s. The album is surrounded by years of history of the emo community and its fans, especially by the history of the Massachusetts music scene. I found different sources that capture the spirit of that time, with mentions of punk houses---spaces where artists would typically live together to pay little rent in order to free up their time for their creative pursuits---and different venues that illustrate how strong the communities that supported these artists were. I think exploring those spaces and covering their histories, leading into contemporary examples like communities on the internet would be very interesting.
Second:
Another primary source I was thinking of was the movie Donnie Darko as a way to explore the experimental narrative format that the film uses. On looking for secondary sources surrounding the film I found one that discusses its use of multi-linear narratives to communicate a complex story revolving around a time travel loop---similar to the one we are currently reading about in How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. Additionally, I found another article titled, "Becoming-democratic: Donnie Darko and other Recent Suburban Utopias" that connects the film to the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari, analyzing the anti-utopian themes found in the satire of suburbia that the film presents. Both of these topics are very interesting to me and pose ideas that I think would make a great in-depth research paper.
Log 2_
For my final research topic, I've decided to explore the themes and ideas present in the film Donnie Darko (2001). I want to highlight the philosophies present in the movie, as well as the psychology of the film. Due to the complexity of the text, I want to focus on the themes present in the movie of delusion and maybe focus it further on delusion and belief in the film. I'd like to also explore the significance of time travel in the film, the characters' relation to it, and what it all represents in a meaningful way. My primary research is aiming to answer the following questions:
- What does the film's imagery represent?
- What is the film's complex narrative communicating?
- What connections does Donnie Darko make with philosophy and social conditions?
- How does Donnie's suburban environment reflect the family and its function?
- What does Frank represent and how does his presence affect Donnie Darko's narrative?
- What does the film have to say about suburbia and what they symbolize?
I think using these questions to guide my spring research project will allow me to analyze the film deeper and engage in the research process for the film in an interesting way.
Looking at some of the projects of previous years, it seems what has worked best for spring research project topics has been to focus on a specific aspect of a certain topic and branch out to examples within the text in order to increase understanding of the text. Research has been a challenge for me in some ways in terms of discovering aspects of the text that would produce meaningful analysis. Using my guiding questions, I will be able to let them lead me to the different branches of the text I can research further.
Log 3_
For my research project I've decided on Donnie Darko, and I'd like to focus on approaching Donnie Darko as a queer deconstruction of heteronormative spaces like the suburbs that the movie takes place in. Within the narrative context of the film, the characters around Donnie are all affected by the rules laid out in the film's set of rules in the form of the book Donnie reads: The Philosophy of Time Travel. The characters' actions are working systematically, almost scripted, as they move in a way that sends Donnie inevitably to his death at the beginning of the time loop. I want to connect some of the ideas from this quarter, specifically the idea of the queer apocalypse, to the themes of Donnie Darko. While the film isn't explicitly queer, there are a lot of moments in the film where the subtext of the film critically examines masculinity through the constant attention paid to the characters' masculinity---Frank, the omniscient being in the film, asks Donnie, "why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" I want to focus on the film by addressing different aspects of it:
I: The text:
its modes, genre, etc. What is literally happening in the story and how it is presented; addressing all the characters motivations and what is literally going on in the film. How the theatrical cut, director's cut, and website all connect to create the full experience of the movie and what story it is telling. The mechanics of time travel in the movie that are explained in the in-universe book, The Philosophy of Time Travel, which details why the events in the movie happen the way they do, according to the rules laid out in the book in the film.
II: Context
I want to explore the references and time period of the movie, as well as the social, political, economic, and historical context that surrounds it. I think understanding the context of the film is the first step in the research of the film as it allows you to view the text from a fuller perspective.
III: Metatext
Finally, I want to synthesize my secondary sources and create an analysis of the film that covers the different themes in the film of masculinity, delusion, and beliefs from a queer lens. There's lots of interpretations that are introduced by my secondary sources that I want to address and further synthesize to create my own analysis of the film and its themes.
Log 4_
Reflecting on my research journey that I've embarked on over this quarter, I think one of my biggest takeaways from the research I've done is the amount of effort that goes into looking for scholarly sources that support my thesis, as well as how to connect those sources to my thesis to support my claims. This project presented me with the opportunity to engage in research in a meaningful way and if I had to pass on advice to future students of HumCore, I would let them know that in searching for sources, you can find evidence to support your claims and analysis in places that may seem to be completely unrelated to your topic at first. This quarter's lectures inspired my research in connecting different scholarly sources to my topic through the different ways lecturers connected their research to a variety of sources. I think this year's theme of worldbuilding was also a helpful foundation for me to think about my research from a holistic point of view, where certain sources contain broad implications and feature different methodological approaches, ultimately leading to a more refined final product that is specific in its findings by virtue of its foundational texts/sources. I think I've evolved as a writer and researcher through my understanding of the research project as an involved holistic approach to texts and their content. I've become more able to hone down a specific topic and stick with it in order to present my original findings in an understandable and concise format.