Category: Junior Literary

(This posts starts with talking about Stranger Things, but it is used as an example for lack of media literacy. I tried to exclude as many spoilers as possible. Please stay and enjoy!!)

Taking a quick pause to the ghosting(hehehehe get it?) because OHHH MY GOD season five of stranger things. When I tell you this is on track to being one of my favorite seasons I MEAN IT!! All I’ve seen negatively about it are social media posts while the season(or one of the episodes, I can’t remember) has a rating of 9.8 out of 10!! What??? I will not be spoiling much if any of the plot of season five or any of the big events, because if you haven’t seen it yet you definitely should. There are a lot of call backs to season two(the best season) and it’s just found itself back to its more humble roots which is amazing.

As the season has released, there have been a lot of realizations from the GA(General Audience). Such as the fact that Will, “in fairyland with all the other faries, all happy and gay,” Byers is gay. Such as the fact that Will, “survivor of the upside down,” Byers is strong. Such as the fact that the show about losers has losers that act like losers in it. Such as the fact that when people are traumatized their personalities change up a little.

What cannot be pictured at this moment is me looking around for cameras. Because what do you mean you didn’t realize the premise of the show? There is a character brought back from an earlier season that many people didn’t know, even though she was very important to one of the character’s arcs. Someone recently posted that their mom, who had watched the entire series, didn’t know what the Upside Down was. Y’know, the main bad place that the story REVOLVES around. All of this has led me to realize a real issue, people aren’t enjoying shows anymore. They’re just watching them. 

Nick, what do you mean by “just watching them”? Well, have you ever just left a podcast on while doing something? Has a documentary been put on during your class that you didn’t particularly care about, so you just zoned out while it played? Have you watched a show like Big Bang Theory or Rick and Morty so many times that you know what happens so it can be background noise? Well, the GA is treating new shows like those things stated previously even though their new shows linear and have a heavy important plot. They aren’t getting excited about shows and their stories, they’re just consuming them to say they’ve watched them.

There are some shows that you literally can’t watch without absorbing them and fan theories.Creating a fandom or community space where you can make friends is kind of the POINT of some of these shows. My favorite examples are Lost and From, which are two series created by the same people that relied on fans interacting and making theories. Even Stranger Things needs a fandom to survive. I mean, why include A Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy love triangle if the fans aren’t suppose to choose sides? I mean, they did this back in the day with Twilight, those team Jacob and Team Edward shirts weren’t ironic. 

The only way a series will survive is not just by viewer ship, but by fans. The Walking Dead, while not coming from the main series anymore, is still continuing because they have fans talking amongst themselves!  Most members of the GA will stop at the main series and go “Yeah I like the walking dead.” An actual fan will watch the like eight spinoffs and go “Oh I love TWD!” They’ll contribute by following the actors’ other works, going to conventions, buying merch. They’ll make friends because they’re a fan.

But now, people need things spelled out to them. Audiences don’t think, they just observe. I think what’s to blame is AI and the constant usage and assurance needed from things like Chat GPT, but maybe I’m just too woke. I mean, this one person thought a character introduced in season 4 was Will’s dad………… as if we don’t know Lonnie Byers abused him and the rest of their family, like this was stated in the FIRST EPISODE OF STRANGER THINGS. If you’re having AI do EVERYTHING for you, then you WILL lose your media literacy and your writing WILL suffer. 

AI today is used for EVERYTHING, and I really hope that my fellow writers aren’t the type to rely on it. Your average Joe not having basic media literacy is already bad enough, but the people here not having media literacy? That would be HORRIBLE. Please please PLEASE my fellow literaries, do not rely on AI, especially not when it comes to your writing. Read a book, watch a show, watch a movie, listen to some music, then discuss those things with your peers! Get opinions, have conversation, don’t just sit idly while taking in media and actually do something with your brains!!! Don’t fall in with the crowd that can’t enjoy something without the joke being explained. USE YOUR BRAIN SOMETIMES. IT’S OKAY. 

YIKES. I yapped a lot this week. I’m just very passionate about participation and media literacy….. clearly. I’ll get back to my ghosting next week, PLEASE interact with those y’all, even if it’s telling me to shut up (crying emoji). Okay, ByeBye!!!!

It’s almost time for another season. I am so excited for the new and final season of this show. 

Stranger things is a show written by the Duffer Brothers. Stanger Things encapsulates D&D, fantasy, and 80’s in one show. It is highly thought-out, and each detail has a reason and a planned-out storyline and it’s just an incredibly made show. 

The show currently has 4 seasons and each season took about a year to film. The new season took about a year to film, making it the longest to film. The episodes of the new season are rumored to be at least an hour long each. This makes me super excited to see how they end the show. The first season was released in 2016 when most of the main cast was 10 or 11, now they are all roughly in their 20s. This has been a huge production and the new season had a huge budget, roughly $480 million. This makes it one of the most expensive TV series to ever be produced. 

They are releasing the first four episodes of the new season on the 26th and the runtime for those four episodes alone is roughly 4hrs and 30mins. this is an insane start to the finale of the show.   

I have many, many theories and thoughts about how they could end the show and wrap up the whole thing but I won’t go into all of them. One of them though i would like to talk about for a second is my theory about the character Mike Wheeler.

———–Might be spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen the show———-

I have been rewatching the series in preparation for the new season and noticed that Mike seems to be the middle of a lot of storylines, action, and conflict. He also seems to be wanted for some reason. Will before he was abducted by Vecna was best friends with mike, what if Vecna saw this and was trying to get closer to mike to get what he wanted. I also noticed that they seem to be setting up a storyline for his mother where maybe she is Vecna’s sister. I also think this theory about mike could be pretty accurate due to how fast him and El clicked. I think maybe he could be wanted due to him being the dungeon master for their party or maybe he is wanted due to him being a sort of power source. Like a regenerator for the powers both Vecna and El have. I haven’t really heard anyone else talk about this theory, so I am curious to see if it is somewhat accurate. 

Anyways this was my mini rant about stranger things due to the new season being released next week. I will be blogging about the new season once I have seen it. Anyways until next time. 

Hey Yall, welcome back! Today we are going to write about a movie I saw recently in theaters! It took me for a roller coaster for sure when watching the way, the actors played their roles was phenomenal. This movie was outstanding and I’m going to take you for a ride through the movie. While many of how familiar this title sounds that’s because it is so familiar it was a book turned into a movie!

Regretting You! A well know title and greatly written movie. Do I personally think the book was better? Well yes, but if you ask me nine times out of ten, I’m going to choose the book over a movie any day of the week. Though the movie has so much emotion, drama, charter devilment, and overall, it was a great movie. A book though you can just get more background knowledge than you get out of a movie. So, if I was you, I would totally recommend reading the book than watching the movie!

Now let’s get to know are charters and what’s going on. It’s very family oriented. Morgan Grant (Mother) Clara Grant (Morgans daughter) Chris Grant (Morgans husband) Jenny Davidson (Morgans sister) Jonah Sullivan (Jennys Husband) and Miller Adams (Claras love interest). Okay now we know are charters and who they are to each other so we can look back on this if we get a little lost through out.     

Getting straight to the movie, Morgans birthday has come by, and her daughter Clara is running late coming home. On her way home she drives by a guy from her school that she knows, Miller. She decides on driving back to give him a ride, but he asks her to help him move a street sign. Very hesitant Clara gets out of the car in her little flip-flops and helps her shoe breaks he said he will pay for them, then he asks for that ride. Dropping him off she calls her Aunt Jenny to rant about this cute boy she dropped off and how he added her on Instagram, but how he had a girlfriend, and she told Clara to not mess with a guy with a girlfriend. 

Claras feelings for him were not going away, texting her aunt her aunt says, “don’t be the other girl.” Texting her aunt then then while she they were texting she was left on sent. Morgan ran to the hospital to find out her husband Chris was in a car accident, but she also ran into Jonah trying to figure out why he was there little did they know Chris and Jenny were in a car accident. 

So, what is going on? Well, I guess you will have to watch and find out I’m going to leave off right there for this blog, so I don’t spoil the next three forth of the movie, but I do highly recommend watching it if you’re looking for some drama, suspense, and romance. That’s all for today! See y’all next time for my next adventure. 

I was looking for advice on how to stay focused on my novelette, and many people said to write small projects about the characters. After hearing this, I’ve decided to write this week’s blog about these two very loved characters. Now as you guys know, I wrote a 10-minute play called MarcyBug, where I introduced Marcilene and Felix as main characters. Many of my peers, including non-literary students, enjoyed the dynamic that they shared so I chose to center my novelette on them as well. 

Marcy is a 17-year-old, school focused, girl who is Felix’s best friend. Felix is an 18-year-old drop out, who loves playing guitar and hanging out. The main conflict between these two is Felixs major crush on Marcy. Since they grew up together, Marcilene views him as a brother rather than a love interest. 

Physical Features:

Marcilene: Long brown hair, skinny, around 5,6. She wears basic 2010’s clothes, nothing special. She has basic black glasses. She has freckles scattered across her face. She always has on some type of jewelry as well. 

Felix: Jet black, layered hair, chubby, 5,7-ish. He wears baggy jeans, layered belts, layered shirts. (Think peak Rodrick Hefley.) He has candy bracelets on obviously, and always Converse! Basic 2010’s guy. He wears dark eyeliner and if he was a teenager in today’s time, he’d probably be performative. 

Character Traits:

Marcilene: She is very on task constantly. She is always worried about everything being perfect. She is very lover girl. She is sweet to everyone she meets and never causes trouble. She has a fair number of friends and is just a very optimistic person. She struggles with social standards, and she always tries to fit in. As she lost her mom when she was young, she still deals with doubt in her family. 

Felix: He is extremely laid back and chill. He is constantly playing guitar, and he doesn’t really care what people think about. He is very devoted to his “friendship” with Marcilene. He is very loyal to her. He is a bit ruder than Marcy, however he doesn’t go out of his way to be rude, unless he believes the person deserves it. He has minimal friends, but he loves to go out to parties and whatnot. 

I’ve found that music helps you get to know a character very well. This is would I imagine their top 5 songs would look like. 

Is love truly a battlefield, or is war a twisted reflection of love? 

We speak of fighting for one’s love, yet the very act of combat tears apart the very tenderness it defends. In this paradox, we find ourselves at a crossroad. 

Love in the brain is walking the end of a sunset 

When the son you grew starts claim a set 

There is no love without turmoil  

No turning the car around to make a U-turn for that very car is out of oil 

Once love reaches its peak it starts to decline  

Leading the heart, we cared for to flatline  

You can try to read in-between the lines 

But it’s just the blind leading the blind in a war already lost  

You can’t save a soul whose sole purpose becomes hate  

Trapped in a place where love doesn’t exist  

I could list a hundred reasons why  

It is better to have loved and lost, than to wage a war and lose us entirely.  

so many people would rather have love than war but what is love without war?

what is love without the conflict between 2 beings in love?

do wars not start when the love between 2 things has been betrayed?

like a one lover cheating on another?

like a father and son betraying each other’s trust? lucifer and Jesus?

love and war often depicted as opposites are connected in so many ways. war, which is conflict and destruction, makes the ideology of love stand out in a crowd. it’s like when things get bad people appreciate the good things way more like love and peace. in Greek stories you see this so much like the trojan war started because of love, and soldiers far from home longed for their families. I think war improves the idea of love and war shows us that love is wrathful also.  

maybe cleopatra and mark Anthony is a better example? their romance was never just a personal affair but a political romance that sparked debate amongst other threatening the stability of the roman empire. their forced combined went ahead to defeat octavin, leading to their tragic deaths and the end of the roman empire 

paradox of passion highlights the importance of balance and self-awareness. it says that while passion could be powerful, it’s important to keep it in check with reason and empathy otherwise, it could lead to unintended consequences and destructiveness 

I’m so ready to eat this food for Thanksgiving! Wait, what’s y’all favorite holiday? Mine Christmas and Thanksgiving. I feel like those two holidays are the best because it’s when families come together and have so much fun together. Like on Thanksgiving I love how us girls go help my mom and my older sister cook while listening to music. We would also just see how all the little kids just run around, laughing, jumping on the trampoline and everything. Seeing how my family gets bigger by the year is one of the best things as part of growing up.

When I was younger, I remember when I was young, I used to always go in the kitchen just to ask my mom if I could lick the spoon after she mixed the cake. She would give it to me and I’ll run up saying “I got a chocolate spoon” and after I was done with it, I gave it to my brother so he could put more chocolate on it. It used to be funny because my mom would kick him out the kitchen and he’d come to me saying I bet not ask for anything else, the answer would be no.

Okay, that’s Thanksgiving. Now Christmas is when all the fun things happen. I will be the main one in the Christmas mood first, well me and my two little sisters. Right after Thanksgiving me and my sister start playing Christmas music and asking my mom can we put the tree up. My mom would have to tell us we got to wait but me and my sisters are so ready lol. I would get my older sister to take us to stores so that we could get stuff to build for Christmas and to put in my room.

These two holidays will always be my favorite, I think. I just love how we can do the same things over with the family and it would still be fun. Sometimes I’ll be ten times better from the other times but it will be worth the wait. So I have come to the conclusion that when we go home for the break, I’m asking my mom to put the tree up. I’m re doing my room for Christmas as well and I’m telling my mom to keep it up till I come back home. I’m so ready for my family to get together!!

Well, my rewatch has been going by super fast!! I’m already on season four, guess I should be writing these in advance rather than just every week haha!! Well, I’ve gotta say that season two is a really good season, it has some bits that aren’t as good but it’s definitely a step up from the first go!!

This season starts out strong with Allison Mike deciding to open Button House as a wedding venue rather than jumping into the Bed-And-Breakfast lifestyle. Pictured above is the first episode of the season where the cast and audience learn that Fanny can be seen in photos! This was a very interesting idea and I’m  glad they expanded more, but this isn’t on any score boards. Also, we learn about Thomas’s death and it just solidifies how dramatic he is. 

The episodes that ARE on a score board have got to be “Redding Weddy” and “Perfect Day.” There’s no way of choosing what could possibly be better because they both tie in together so well!

Let’s start with “Redding Weddy.” At the beginning of the episode, Allison gets a call that a wedding planner wants to see Button House and have it be a venue; that is until the planner sees the state of the horrible garden. We get some information on Kitty’s backstory, mostly that her sister was a bad person and left her outside during hide and seek for so long that she had to eat her purse! My poor poor girl. Fanny has this side plot of being attracted to Mike, Thomas and Julian are fighting over movie picks, and Mary wants to talk about her witch trial, which she later gets scared off from doing. However, he plot that shines strongest in this episode is Captain’s worry about them digging up the garden. The opener to the episode is the Captain during his time stationed at Button House during WWII. We are introduced to The Captain’s lieutenant, Havers. We learn that he is leaving to North Africa to actually be in the fight rather than be stuck at Button House. Afterwards there is a scene of The Captain mentioning he buried somethin that “can never get out” while throwing a letter with “William” written on it into a hole in the garden. William was not in fact Haver’s name, and “project William” was a blueprint for a mine. Allison and Mike learn about the landmine in their backyard after it blows up the garden.

That was a lot whoops, I think “Perfect Day” will be shorter. It’s the day of the wedding discussed in “Redding Weddy” (Yes, they got it booked yayy). The wedding gets snowed out and it has to be at Button House! Fanny learns that lesbianism is not illegal as the people getting married are a queer couple! The Captain and Kitty throughout the wedding are very excited while Pat is struggling with the fact that the boy scout who shot him is one of the guests at the wedding. He comes to peace with it because he learns of the scout’s guilt, and Humphrey gives Fanny this talk about how both of their lives would have been much better if they could have also married who they wanted. It’s a very sweet episode and is just one of my favorites in the whole series. 

Time for Nick’s least favorite, “About Last Night.” Some of my favorite outtakes are from this episode, but that’s really it. Mike gets stuck on the roof, Allison is stuck having to clean the whole house from a rager her and Mike threw the night before. It’s just kind of boring and does nothing for the plot of the season. Not that every episode has to have plot it IS  a comedy series but it’s just boring and none of the events that happen ever come up again. 

Okay, that’s it for this week! If you’ve gotten this far into the post, let me know what you think your ghost power would be. Thank You, ByeBye!!

Due to Thanksgiving being next week and we are going to be out of school I wanted to do a blog about things I am thankful for. 

To start off with everything I am thankful for I am definitely thankful to be in this creativity filled environment and have the opportunity to go to such a great school. I am thankful for all of the friends I have made here as well. I am thankful for the things I have learned and areas I’ve grown in due to this school. 

I am thankful for all my friends back home and I miss all of them so much. I am thankful for every memory they have given me, good or bad lol. 

I am thankful for this past summer. I had the best opportunity to work at a summer camp. I loved it. It was a really great opportunity to help others and just be useful to others. It helped me to see how fun a summer can be. Normally my summers include staying at home a lot and I am thankful for this past summer because it showed me how great having an eventful but not busy summer can be. I am also thankful for this past summer due to how many great people and friends I made. They are all so great and I am grateful I have them as friends. 

I am also just thankful for everything. I think we take a lot for granted as not just Americans but as human beings. due to life and business, I think people often move too fast to even acknowledge their blessings.  I think it’s a very important thing to do though. It helps you see what a cool world we live in and how privileged we are in general. 

During this time many jump straight to thinking about Christmas and presents, but i think thanksgiving is so important to celebrate. We need to acknowledge our gifts not just want gifts. We as a society in today’s day in age seem to want something every day and get wants confused with needs. Which not saying wanting things is bad but putting a limit on how much you want is a great idea in my opinion. Acknowledging one’s blessings and how much you have already received makes it much easier to be content as well. 

So, this holiday break give thanks and not wish lists.