#it's so obviously having a metaphor about how nd people are suppressed

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Fantastic Beasts meets Star Wars

I was watching the Fantastic Beasts movies and one thing I love about those films is their use of the main character (the protagonist and Hero) being a bit different than the regular hero, and showing traits of someone with autism (he won't look other characters in the eye for long, his very specific interests of caring for animals to which he has developed specialized expertise, and his comments about how people “often don’t like him”). I, myself, love seeing heroes who aren’t your cookie cutter male alpha, punching people while making sassy remarks. I think Ben Solo/Kylo Ren kinda fits this mold too, as did Luke Skywalker. They just aren’t your usual alpha dog, they have emotions, they are real people.  

Yet, there seem to be some other trends where the writing of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the Fantastic Beasts series are concerned. 

Black and White Thinking

One is the theme of black and white thinking as being portrayed as evil. Maybe this is even more pressing today. Of course, this is coming about out of Hollywood, as Americans are experiencing more and more the pain and dangers of bipartisanship within their government. Yet on the world stage, however (as I am not American) the insidious effects of how we consume media through computer and search engine algorithms (which gather information particular to our interests and worldviews) means we rarely leave our own information bubbles or read news with which we may disagree with. This is separating us further from others more and more, forming divides and even black and white thinking (us versus them) when we are unable to tolerate or understand other people’s opinions.

In the movies, these topics are being stressed with good versus bad, us versus them and with fascist, totalitarian thinking at play. Even visually this is being represented. For instance, the main villain of Fantastic Beasts, Grindelwald, is repeatedly wearing black and white. Conversely, however, the hero Newt Scamander is shown wearing colours, blue and yellow. And this is not the first movie to make colour an important feature in expression ideas about characters:

 This is showing Grindelwalds polarized, thinking of purebloods against those who are not is black and white (read: wrong). Indeed, in the films expresses this as flawed further when it has the main protagonist, Newt, express distaste at how American wizards cut interaction with muggles out entirely and see them as lesser beings, probably commenting on racism in America and its enduring systemic ills. 

Of course, we all know that black and white is traditionally part of the Star Wars good versus bad, but even this is changing, with Rey moving into greyer garbs from her earlier whiter clothing. 

Forbidden Attachments

Also, much like Jedi were forbidden from attachments, Muggle’s can’t be with magic folk in America (its illegal even). Much like dark force users were taught to fear the dark and stay away from light jedi. There is no middle ground, just bad and good, no learning from each other or expanding, just lines which cannot be crossed. So of course, where you have a plot like this which the writers think are constrictive or wrong, you have your main characters crossing this line (in the case of Fantastic Beasts, to show its wrong and backward, and in the case of Star Wars to show its worth expanding outward and understanding the other side, forgiving and letting those who have fallen back into the fold to repent and redeem and that even they can be good nd have souls worth loving). 

In Fantastic Beasts, one of the main love stories is one between Queenie and Joseph, a witch and a muggle. Like Rey and Kylo Ren, a lightsider and darksider union (we think..but c’mon its pretty obvious they are romantic!). So both movie trilogies have 2 protagonists who are braving this divide, but finding it casts them out, or jeopardizes their union. Rey and Kylo cannot bridge there divide (nor should they with how dark kylo is right now), and in Fantastic Beasts, (***SPOILER***) the American witch Queenie, in the end of the Crimes of Grindelwald has even joined the evil cause of Grindelwald because she (misguidedly) believes they can help her relationship with the Muggle Joseph come to be allowed. 

The Evils of Repression

So above we have two themes, black and white, polarized thinking as being shown as wrong, and main characters attempting to breach these divides between two worlds/belief structures through love. 

But there is one more similarity. In the Fantastic Beasts 1st movie, there is a dark phenomenon known as an Obscurial. According to Wiki fandom, an obscurial is a young wizard or witch who developed a dark parasitical magical force, known as an obscurus, as a result of their magic being suppressed (often through abuse or fear of showing their powers). According to Dumbledore, an Obscurial can possibly be healed by replacing their feelings of alienation with a sense of belonging. 

Repression has long been seen of as something akin to evil in western film and storytelling (often you see priests in TV and movies going through this, self-flagellating, or whipping themselves for their nasty sinful thoughts – and these characters tend to be evil, think of Paul Bettany’s character in Dan Browns Da Vinci Code, or the evil guy Frollo in Hunchback of Notre Dame). 

Something Star Wars has been dealing with since the advent of the prequel trilogy is this idea of repression leading to evil. One of Anakin’s, and I argue Ben’s, troubles was with the repression of their dark natures, or even repression of just their good emotions such as love for Padme or Shmi, causing them to become unbalanced and leading them to evil. I get it, if someone told me I couldn’t love I would grow angry too, and I am pissed with the Jedi – it seems Luke was too. 

The idea that balance is necessary in the Star Wars community is pretty self-evident though, so I wont take too much time explaining this. Ben and Anakin are emotional guys, constantly told to keep it all in, only let the light out, repress your feelings and any darkness that may be felt because that’s “bad” (Yoda’s advice to Anakin when he was fearing for Padme’s death to “rejoice for her” for becoming one with the force sucked, and we are meant to be frustrated by it, because I can't believe George Lucas would expect us to agree with Yoda and believe it was OK for Padme to die and that Anakin should just move on). Indeed, to repress and deny the good and bad inside us is damaging and something we should all avoid – this is the Jungian notion of accepting and resolving yourself with your shadow self, instead of ignoring it until it explodes, much as the Obscurials do when they cant hold it in any longer and they die at a young age. 

As a side note, I was really happy to see Credence didn’t actually die at the end of the first Fantastic Beasts film, because he was obviously an abused and unloved child looking for his parents (sound familiar? Rey?). Although sadly, I’m not sure he will survive the series of films now that he has joined Grindelwald, or that the writers care enough to give this character anything more than redemption equals death scenario and not bother to give him a happy ending or find belonging and peace. 

Conclusion and how these movies should wrap up

Anyways, I guess I just thought it interesting that both films were dealing with similar themes, probably because they are issues we are dealing with in society, but they are issues society deals with all the time in one way or another at all times but perhaps we feel they are more pressing today?

The importance of these themes to these movies, however, means they should be in some way resolved at the end of each series because they aren’t going to reinforce these notions by punishing the characters who act out of the bounds of societies black and white framework. 

With Star Wars, I think there will be a better way to look at how Jedi will go about their business in dealing with the dark side (i.e. with more understanding of what it is instead of fear and rejection), and how individual Jedi will deal with the darkness inside themselves in thier own personal journies to avoid the worst. This will hopefully include some resolution on how future Jedi will deal with attachment - rather than just repressing everything and forgetting about it. I dont think this is something that is valued today in the west, because no one wants to abandon those things about human life that make it most worth living.  

On that note, I also expect the two pairs of lovers of both Star Wars and Fantastic Beasts to be reunited, in order to visually and narratively show a change and love for the other side and repair the longtime split between the groups. Its more than just a sappy ending, it’s a metaphor for how we should think about the “Other” that we are told to fear or belittle by a society that has gone too far in its black and white thinking. So, Queenie should marry Joseph even though Muggles are thought beneath wizards, and Kylo and Rey should both come towards the centre and be together and find their belonging they so desire, thereby resolving their loneliness. (However, this is a whole other question of Kylo’s redemption, etc.). But the notion that Jedis shouldn’t marry be damned! And this is the PERFECT way to show that stupid rule was dumb and resolve the very thing Anakin struggled with in some way. And, for that matter, the notion that forgiveness shouldn’t be given to those who have erred or fallen by the wayside be damned! 

No, in the end, the lesson is that black and white thinking sucks, and love and forgiveness is what matters for those who find it in their hearts, to love, and not fear the other side is what our heroes are showing us, with a multitude of colour to express the variety of people, and emotions, that life can give us. 

#Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them #Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald #Star Wars #Reylo #Queenie and Joseph #Harry Potter #Episode 9 #Episode IX #Star Wars Sequel Trilogy #Luke Skywalker

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BLOG

Blog 1

During the research process, Mr. Lan. and Mr. Marke stated that the research study should emerge as a form of storytelling. Inspired by this, I have hoped to create my work in a way that comfortably resonates with the audience members. Since language is a crucial part of our lives which can also be reflected in the field of designing process. As a student of product design, my aim is to analyze and develop the ability to successfully communicate through product language as well. The product language refers to the relation between the product and the people wherein, the language is not only playing a functional but informational role as well, with respect to the product (Bürdek, 2015). This, in turn increases the value and functionality of the design of the product. At the moment, my work is focused on the notion of “natural metaphor”. This implies that I am using naturally provided shapes in products so that it is more story-based. However, I also feel that design is not a concrete theme and hence, can have diverse relevance. Due to this, I also aim to study beyond the theme of product design and also explore other design fields in the future such as shape, material, structure and so on. This will in turn, assist me in improving my reach of shape treatment of the works. Along with this, my second major interest is in the field of psychology as well. I believe that the study of psychology will help me in developing a deeper understanding of the process of art-formation and how that is reflected in the audience’s perception towards artworks. By situating this in the field of product design, perhaps, I will be able to grasp the impact of storytelling at a better level and inculcate this my research work. I am looking forward to the research study to increase and improve my knowledge and use it in my process of product design work.

Bürdek, B.E. (2015). Design History, Theory and Practice of Product Design. 2nd Edn. Birkhäuser Basel.

Blog 2

One of the first research works that I carried out was the study of hydrophobicity. The hydrophobicity of Lotus Leaf is the aim of the present research which has been an interesting part of the project. Water is a necessity in our lives. Still, it can also cause many problems, such as on the steps after washing in preparation for a meal, or the accumulation of harmful substances from scale. Since, hydrophobicity is not conducive to the retention of water, I plan to solve the problem of water at its source. In my research, I did a hydrophobic experiment about the Lotus Leaf surface, so I have two plans in terms of creativity. First, I’m going to imitate the shape of the Papilla on the Lotus leaf surface. Second, through the appearance of hydrophobic biologic, I will combine the appearance of several biological characteristics for creation. For this purpose, I also studied an article by Barthlott, Mail and Neinhuis (2016), which focused on the principles of construction, and occurrence and evolution of the Superhydrophobic surfaces in the field of biology. The study was conducted by studying 16000 plant species, along with other animals and technical surfaces in a 220,000 scanned electron micrographs (Barthlott, Mail and Neinhuis, 2016). An intriguing part if this project is that, since Lotus stands for purity and simplicity, I want to adopt some simple line shape for the appearance. Due to this, I am also going to study the works of Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa for inspiration. Canning (2020) has documented the massive role that nature plays in the Japanese aesthetics. The Japanese aesthetics is focused on the importance of being present of mind and finding beauty in detailed and subtle form of natural artworks around us. These studies also let me find the mysterious charm of nature. I hope that the final work can give people a healthier and more convenient life.

Barthlott, W., Mail, M. & Neinhuis, C. (2016). Superhydrophobic hierarchically structured surfaces in biology: evolution, structural principles and biomimetic applications. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, 374: 20160191. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0191

Canning, D. (2020). Introduction to Japanese Aesthetics. Unique Japan. Available at https://new.uniquejapan.com/ikebana/an-introduction-to-japanese-aesthetics [Accessed 29 December 2020]

Blog 3

This time I continued my study of scale and hydrophobicity. It is an interesting finding that electrifying and vibrating may be effective in removing stubborn scale. According to De baat (1998), scale deposits can occur because of presence of impurities like calcium or magnesium, which is because of the evaporation of water, which leaves the salt in crystallized form on the wall. De baat (1998) has emphasized this study of scale in liquids in the document of his patent about “apparatus for treating liquid to prevent and/or remove scale deposits”. After I read this document, I was able to identify its existence in everyday lives.

Every time I put water in the kettle to boil, after a while, I would find that the bottom of the kettle had accumulated white scale. Sometimes I could wipe it out with my hands, but sometimes it was not easy to clean it up. Also, there would be accumulated scale on the pipe and the showerhead. This is not only unsightly, but it is also bad for people's health. Motivated by this, I plan to build a scale removal device that might have an easier and more effective way to get rid of the scale. I’ve looked at things that tend to accumulate scale. I believe that the researching methods and organisms that can remove scale from its source can make my final design beautiful and practical.

I know that there may be some chemistry involved in my research area. However, I mainly study the cause and characteristics of scale formation in general, and this is mainly through the biological characteristics of the study and design. I have realized that some of the more specific chemistry and physics problems have nothing to do with my research. Nevertheless, I am interested in how this device works and can give me some material and operational inspiration.

De Baat, D. J. P. (1991). Apparatus for treating liquid to prevent and/or remove scale deposits, 5074998

Blog 4

The notion of artistic expression is embedded in the individuality of the artwork, both for the artist and the viewer. In this view, I think art can be both a form of re-imagination and reflection. Most performance arts reveal the deeper human nature and meaning in extreme forms. The three most representative works in the work of Ashby and Johnson (2009) all reveal the relationship between love and men and women, while most of the artworks are suggestive, and let everyone have a different understanding of the work. For me, the first work is more like a desperate love for each other based on the need to trust, and perhaps, even love each other more than their own lives. Watching this made me feel that maybe love is the process of handing over your softest place to your lover, and never asking what will happen in the future, nor having any regrets at the moment. The second work is more like a love that doesn’t give each other any private space. Two people stick together and they do not give each other breathing space. This demonstrates that sometimes, love is too tight and can be suffocating or wanton squeeze. In this situation, it can lead to instances of exploitation or plundering each other until there is nothing left of the two. In the third, the two naked people bump into each other, symbolizing that even the most honest lovers rub shoulders, test each other, quarrel until both are hurt in varying degrees.

However, this is my understanding, and it is possible that different people will have different understanding. This is just like “a thousand people see a Thousand Hamlet.” The interest of art lies in the fact that most of them have deep meaning behind the story and meaning, which are interpreted diversely by different viewers.

Ashby, M. & Johnson, K. (2009). Materials and Design. 2nd edn. Elsevier Science & Technology, pp.95-100.

Blog5

I like watching movies from horror genre and even though they do evoke the emotions of fear and anxiety in me, I still watch them because I want to pursue the thrill and adrenaline rush. This became a curious topic for me and I thought to explore the reason behind wanting to watch something that was obviously making me anxious and uncomfortable. I did some research and found an article called “What is Uncanny?” by Windsor. This explored the idea of Uncanny Valley. According to Windsor (2018), things that are similar to but not similar to humans, animals and humans are more likely to cause fear in humans, such as clowns, blinking dolls, etc. However, when fear or antipathy arises, it also means that some previously suppressed emotions are aroused. The question of why would we be so scared of them is answer by the fact that it is because we know them so well. The uncanny effect is emotional state, which is signified by the state one has in response to certain kinds of phenomena, including doppelgangers or doubles, waxwork figures, corpses, dismembered limbs, automata, coincidences, presentiments and other apparently supernatural or magical phenomena, such as apparent haunting and magical powers (Windsor, 2018). But it’s also an interesting way to express and process something that’s familiar, to transform it, to reorganize it, and perhaps to make it different and more interesting. Since the objects involved in creating uncanny emotion are not dangerous to us, it is used in aesthetics and arts through the psychological effect that it exhibits. This effect can be found in movies, paintings, and sculptures to express abstract emotions.

The reason why I studied the uncanny effect was also because while product design should try to avoid making users uncomfortable, this research has inspired me to use abstraction and transfiguration. In the study of materials, the ontology is created by means of deformation and reorganization without affecting the properties.

Windsor, M. (2018). What is uncanny?

The British Journal of Aesthetics

, 59(1), 51-65

Blog 6

At present, I have done two studies, one is lotus and the other is fish scale. In this text, I may need to study fish scale and fish skin together. Fish scale is light and has high hardness that can be used to protect the surface of fragile materials and thus play a protective role. No fish scales were found to be waterproof in the study, so they could not be used directly in my work. So I came to the realization that the best way is to use them to protect the other material. It is also proposed that the scale-resistant materials can be used in flexible armor, flexible electronic equipment or aerospace, so they are mostly used for protection. Although fish live under water for a long time, I would compare the two materials if fish scales were waterproof, but there is no evidence in the text that fish scales are waterproof. The reason why I studied lotus and fish scales was so that I could improve my project. As the project deals with the need to eradicate scaling and the main purpose is to study how to achieve the water-proof effect inside the kettle so as not to produce water rust and harm health, I researched lotus lead to study the interiors of the kettle, and fish scales to form outer material of the kettle so that it is not easy to break or rust. My earlier studies in scaling from the works of Barthlott, Mail and Neinhuis, and De Baat, became the point of references as I aspired to achieve this goal. Since their works are integral to understand how scaling occurs and what can be done to not let this happen, I studied the interiors and exteriors of Kettle extensively. I did so to make sure that I covered all aspects of the formation of rust and scaling by liquid. After this, as I researched more, the idea of fish scales and lotus lead came into my mind, and I decided to explore that. The results thereof, as I have explained above.

Blog7

In the twenty-first century, designing has come to mean a lot of different things in different field. For instance, product design is not as free-form as the designs found in painting, graphic design and jewelry design. In the latter fields, a lot of attention is given to appearance, but on the other hand, product design also needs to consider the use of people. These are those people who follow the development of the times and hence, may aspire to have designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but technologically accessible and easy to use. The need therefore is to have new designs out there that can be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. In order to improve my understanding of product design, I did research and came upon the book Designing Products People Love by Scott Hurff. The need for innovation, beneficial usage of emerging technological advancements and to develop a continuous basis of development and improvement has been documented as the necessities in the field of product design in this age (Hruff, 2016). This text uses the famous example of Steve Jobs to help me better understand how to design practical products (Hruff, 2016). A lot of questions that I had were answer as I made observations on what the text said to get a better sense of how users feel when using the product. This is also a significant step in product design; doing research is not only to understand user requirements, but also to verify the design rationality (Hruff, 2016). I have no way to use either of these methods in my current work or environment, so I use an experimental approach. The approaches presented in the text are applicable to interaction design. I will do as much research as possible in the future design to improve my work by focusing on being rationale and practical about the work.

Hurff, S. (2016). Designing Products People Love. O'Reilly Media, Inc

Blog8

In life many places will produce scale easily because of seeping of water. Some are found in the kitchen, some in the bathroom so I have no way to design a specified item. This is why I planned to create a new surface so that it can be used to more places for that the book Materials and design by Ashby and Johnson (2009) suggests some idea. I have tried not to think extensively on this and rather continue my research because things will not always be so perfect. The book said that the best solution is to make on the vision defects become a part of the product character, so in the process of writing if there are some inevitable defects, I will try to make it interesting, or highlight the texture and feel the feeling, make the material more entertaining. It also allows me to learn more about new materials and how to use and create them. So far, a lot of the material has nothing to do with my current research but it has given me a lot of ideas that may have applications in the next design, and it has also given me a chance to learn more about the materials used in product design. This is because, as the different materials have provided diverse range of perceptions and ideas about not only product design but different forms of art and artists, I have been able to increase my understanding of the nature of art and its relation with functionality of the products. I believe that this will help in my future projects as well, because I will be able to focus on creating a balance between practicalities of the project with its aesthetic appeals. Through this, the product design will turn into an even more entertaining process for the users and me.

Ashby, M. & Johnson, K. (2009). Materials and Design. 2nd edn. Elsevier Science & Technology, pp.95-100

Blog 9

After the study of scales, this time I turned my attention to the aspects of colour and lighting. In order to understand this, I approached the field of painting and art to understand how artists view this. Consequetially, my interest drew towards Monet, the famour twentieth century painter from France. Monet is known for his preoccupation with light and colour in all of his paintings (Potter, 2002). As I studied the art and the artist, I have understood that the biggest advantage of 'color segmentation' is that it not only keeps the 'brightness' of light and shadow, but also allows people to feel the richness of color. This is why the Monet's paintings, like "Paris street", at first glance is pockmarked with tricolor in flying, but if you go closer, you can see that the closer look is also very messy, red, white and blue brush and in fact, has no tricolor feeling. This is because as an individual stands too close to the painting, the distance of tiny brush produces no 'visual mixture. Monet also used small brushstrokes in his paintings, which were not accepted by mainstream art at that time. The emergence of abstract art developed because of Monet’s preoccupation with using art as a way to represent what was between the subject and the artist and not merely the art itself. However, it was Monet who led the Impressionists, who then abandoned the tradition of classical painting. Potter (2002) has focused on his work Nymphéas, to showcase how audience is also the part of the image-making process as well. I think this implies that although the artwork is solely a product of the artist, how that artwork will exist in the viewer’s world will depend upon the interaction between the subject of artwork, the artist and the viewer.

Potter, P. (2002). Claude Monet (1840-1926) "Nymphéas" (Water Lilies) 1916-1919. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 8(9), 1011

Blog10

I like the minimalism of Japanese design. The most typical example is the simplicity and practicality of Muji’s products. Most Japanese designers use the concept of ‘less is more’ to make their designs more sophisticated. The article that I had studied, written by Canning (2020), focused on the geographical aspect of Japan’s emergence as a nation, because of which it now utilises nature as a part of its aesthetics. By focusing on the importance of being present of mind and find beauty in detailed and subtle form of natural artworks around us, the Japanese aesthetics is formed on the basis of importance of concentrating on the present and the notion of minimalism (Canning, 2020). Chinese gardens are all about the appropriateness of mountains and rivers. For instance, if you walk through Suzhou Gardens, you will see endless pavilions and pavilions, while the Imperial Summer Palace is a magnificent lake and pagoda. However, Japanese gardens, by contrast, are smaller and more elaborate. “Dry Landscape” is a landscape in Japanese-style gardens, although called “Landscape.” However there is no drop of water, only with white stone, sand and moss to simulate the natural mountains and rivers. It can be said to be a state of natural solidification. This is so that it has a unique cultural charm, which also makes its design aesthetics presents a special luster. Thus, such instances of minimalism in artworks at both architectural and paining level, aspire me to employ this in my artwork as well. The project that I am working upon has a use in everyday life. Due to this, I do not want to incorporate exaggerated aesthetic elements but work on both functional and beauty of it so that it’s a subtle and useful piece of product.

Canning, D. (2020). Introduction to Japanese Aesthetics. Unique Japan. Available at https://new.uniquejapan.com/ikebana/an-introduction-to-japanese-aesthetics [Accessed 29 December 2020]