My capstone was to create 3 short stories revolving around different philosophical ideas. I spent time each week learning more about the different philosophical ideas that I wanted to base my stories around, as well as coming up with the actual story ideas, so that these ideas would be integral to the stories, but at the same time make entertaining stories. I had originally planned on making one big story, but I wanted to cover a few different ideas, so I switched to 3 stories instead of 1. This allowed me to cover more ground as well as bring a few different stories to life.

Throughout this process, I learned how to plan out a story effectively and manage my time between planning, writing, and editing. Planning is sometimes difficult to do because you want to start writing and making progress, but I found it is very helpful to know generally where the story is going to go. I also learned about many different philosophical ideas which are not only interesting, but can be applied to many important areas of life such as politics and even just day to day actions.

If you want to read my stories click the link below

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mt0BVPg8jUQenUh17saX320lPAH1A_gT3oXjoalzGGg/edit?usp=sharing

The film Blade Runner utilized a variety of different cinematic elements in its production. Not only did these techniques increase the audience’s understanding of the movie, both consciously and unconsciously, they gave us unique insights into some characters that we may not have had otherwise. Director Ridley Scott had more control of the final cut that we watched, so all of the details were intentionally laid out by him. One of the key aspects of this film was the camerawork that went into establishing the setting of the cramped, polluted city. In practically every scene where Deckard is in the street (though especially during the chase scene with Zhora), Deckard is not the closest thing to the camera. The camera is either looking through windows, crowds of people, or other pieces of the set. It all makes the audience feel more cramped and trapped as we try to figure out what is going on — exactly what Deckard must feel as he is pushing his way through the street. In other similar scenes, such as the investigation of the snake scale or the noodle scene at the beginning, the shots are also similar, with very few direct shots of Deckard, almost as if he is getting lost in the confusion of the city. Scott chose these types of shots to immerse the audience into the setting and almost put ourselves into the life of this dystopian city. The lighting is another important way Scott helps the audience understand the setting. There is very little natural lighting, with most scenes being lit by colorful neon lights or different lamps indoors. It is depressing that whenever these characters walk outside they are met with this smoggy artificial light and absolutely no natural light at all. Pretty much the only time we ever see any natural light is in Dr. Tyrell’s apartement, which is fancy and luxurious. The sun shines through the massive floor to ceiling window and the whole room is lit up. This really highlights the setting, but also gives us a better understanding of the classes and rules of how the world works in a more effective way than simply telling us would. Sunlight seems like a luxury that most people cannot afford to ever see, they just live their lives in artificial light. Tyrell is one of the most wealthy people and he is the only one that can really enjoy the sunlight. This made me less sympathetic with him in a way because he seemed to be very intelligent, but extremely detached from the reality of the world and the consequences of his actions. The apartment of JF Sebastian, specifically his “toys,” the genetically engineered people are definitely a deliberate choice. The toys are all strange, having strange shapes, weird voices, and often not being able to walk correctly. These toys very much contrast with the Replicants that Deckard is hunting, who seem to share a lot more with real humans than they do with these odd little creatures. This highlights one of the main struggles of the movie: if replicants are essentially the same as humans, why are they treated differently. It is easy to think of these toys as just that, toys, which is intentional. But the seemingly human nature of the Replicants, who appear human, as well as seemingly having feelings and emotions is very different. The replicants are vastly more human than the toys which indicates it is the way you think, not whether you are made in a lab or not which makes you a person or not. Blade Runner utilizes a variety of different film and theatrical techniques to immerse the audience and make them feel like they are really in the world of the movie while also giving them a deeper understanding of the issues that are prevalent throughout this world. These make the film come to life and make the audience more emotionally invested in the film.

Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho was made in 1960, a time where how we understood psychology was changing dramatically. This is definitely reflected in the characters in Psycho and some of the themes in the movie. The character of Norman Bates starts out as seeming strange and unsettling, but we can’t really tell if there is actually anything wrong with him psychologically until later in the movie. In the earlier 1900s, behaviorism was one of the most common psychological schools of thought. This meant analyzing the “observable behaviors” of psychology patients, however it placed little, if any, emphasis on the actual minds of the patients. In the late 50s and the 60s, a new school of thought called humanistic psychology emerged. Humanistic psychology focused on experiences that people had and how that impacted them. Cognitive Psychology combined both of these. People who followed this school of thought were concerned with both observable behavior and the mind itself. With all of these new and unexplored ideas about psychology floating around, the media of the time will reflect that in films like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” or Ken Kesey’s book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” An important part of this interest with physiology was the conclusion of the movie, where the doctor tells Lila and Sam about Norman’s condition. It is a satisfying conclusion at first until we hear Norman’s conversation with his “mother,” which casts doubt on the analysis. While some of what the doctor said was true, it was definitely not completely correct, which just shows that they have a limited understanding of what goes on in Norman Bates’ mind. This makes it even creepier since if we don’t understand his mind we have no idea what he might do. This may reflect Hitchcock’s own feelings or the general public’s feelings about people with psychological disorders at the time. This film is like an insight into what people thought in the 1960s. Norman’s condition definitely gets into the ideas of Humanistic psychology, where the things he has experienced have definitely led him to this point in his life. We get some explanation of the trauma he faced as a young person and how he developed his mother into his own mind. This definitely reflects the thinking of Humanistic psychology because it seems this was the single thing that really changed how he had behaved and ultimately gave them his psychological disorder. Throughout most of the film Norman (when he is himself), is still reasonably likable, even if he is unsettling and the audience almost feels sorry for him. It never really seems like it was his fault that his “mother” killed people. A common trait that there seems to be is the stigma around these mental problems. In both Psycho and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest(another piece of media made around the same time), people seem to be frightened by the people with these disorders. In Psycho, Marion is taken aback when Norman mentions his mother and hints that she might have something wrong with her mind. This is really the only point we see Norman flip out and get mad at Marion. It is obvious that these disorders are seen as very bad and people want to avoid them as much as possible. Similarly, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the patients are often treated with disdain and fear, not only by random people they encounter, but the hospital staff as well. These pieces of media are both very conscious of the way these people are treated in the society of their time. The film seems to cast a negative light on people with psychological problems. However it is worth considering that someone who had a psychological disorder who was less violent and more docile may have been a much worse story, especially a horror story, rather than one who is a murderer with complex and obscure motives. Alfed Hitchcock’s Psycho reflects its time. It was a time where people were questioning and discovering new ideas about psychology and this very much was an influence on the media of the time. This was made clear through how little anyone could really understand the actions of Norman Bates, especially when considering the lens of the early 1960s.