Blog 19

Christopher Caruso

Blog #19

Looking back on my research topic, I believe that one of my study's greatest strengths is the fact that it has a seemingly endless amount of information or volunteers to look through.  Especially in our age of advancing technology, movie studios are able to utilize their editing tools to make special effects and visuals that nearly catch up to, if not equal, the limits of human imagination.  As such, more films in this time period than ever before are being adapted from novels or comic books, bringing in astoundingly large audiences from various fanbases back into the movie theaters.  It is impossible to turn on a television or go online without seeing advertisements for the latest films in theaters.  In short, our society's method of entertainment is very focused around film among other things.  So on top of the wide amount of people I can interview, people are more knowledgeable about what goes into movies that makes them good or bad.  The same could be said for people who are diehard fans of a certain series and have both read the original story and seen the adaptation as well.  Overall, researching this topic remains stimulating and enjoyable because it is based around two of some of the most cherished forms of entertainment in our country.  I should also note that my topic is completely relate-able to researching language and literature. The main focus of the course is to study and understand the process behind how people take in information, processing it, and using the information given to them in their surroundings.  With my topic, I am studying and analyzing two different ways that individuals take in, store, and process information, and which method of information storing that they enjoy overall the best.  Also, because of the fact that I am gaining a large amount of my findings from individuals from a specific fandom, I am also able to observe how individuals apply the information that is processed in these forms of entertainment, due to the fact that these individuals reflect our society's popular culture.  I have access to plenty of first-hand data and it all remains relevant not only to the class, but to society as a whole.

However, I must confess that there are some places where I am lacking in my study.  For starters, although I have plenty of first-hand research, I admit that I might be slightly lacking in second-hand research.  As of now, I only have two sources (not counting my Gee textbook), one of which is a solid book source while the other is an online article.  If I want to be able to successfully code all of my terms and information in my final essay explaining the findings of my first-hand research, I need to be able to strengthen my second-hand research.  However, despite our society becoming increasingly cinema-based, I admit that I am finding some trouble specifically finding sources on cinema and how it relates to literature.  I also confess that I am finding some slight difficulty finding articles on the process of how people read, process, and store information.  If I can find some stronger sources, it will make all of the difference in the overall strength of my case study.