Context Essay Planing 1

I have two ideas that I just can't decide between: Consumerism & Technology in WALL-E and How Dinosaurs are depicted in popular culture.

The WALL-E idea has the more obvious theories behind it and could easily be translated into an essay.
My second idea would be more of a look at how science (Specifically palaeontology) is represented in film verses how it actually is in real life. It would be a more complex argument to make and could be rather difficult, however this is something I'm quite passionate about (Possibly too passionate?) and I think that it could lead me to creating an engaging and content rich essay.


Idea 1:

What is the purpose of your essay?
To emphasise the film's message about consumerism and how it is effecting human life. I also want to show its connection to technology (How consumerism causes humanity to create more technology, which in turn creates more things that fall into consumerism).

What are the big ideas / key theories?
I want to look at the entire concept of consumerism, how it impacts everyday life and how it could effect us in the future. I also want to look at the advancement of technology, possibly specifically artificial intelligence.

What is the historical context of your discussion?
The positives and negatives of both consumerism and technology throughout history and what could happen in the future.

What is the next step?
Re-watch Pixar's WALL-E and take notes whenever I see anything that relates to my argument.


Idea 2:

What is the purpose of your essay?
To show how many films depict various sciences incorrectly and how this misinformation has spread into popular culture. Mostly looking at Paleontology and how dinosaurs have changed over the years.

What are the big ideas / key theories?
While I'd love to simply hang onto the idea of just talking about palaeontology, other sciences such as chemistry or meteorology are also misrepresented in numerous films. Any of these topics could create large essays, but I think my strongest argument would be for palaeontology as that is the one I have most experience with.

What is the historical context of your discussion?
Back when films were black and white, dinosaurs were used as monsters. They were depicted as giant, monster reptiles. At the time this wasn't seen as inaccurate as this is what dinosaurs were believed to be like, however in later years in was discovered that dinosaurs are actually closer to birds than lizards. This was hinted at in Jurassic Park, which depicted dinosaurs to be more animalistic than monstrous, which was good. However discoveries even before Jurassic Park revealed that many dinosaurs were covered in feathers. This is something that should be common knowledge, however films like Jurassic World continue to spread the false information that dinosaurs were lizard like.

What is the next step?
To look back at many different films containing dinosaurs to see how they have changed over the years and also compare them to how they were depicted scientifically at the times.