#ip tag

There was a loud, almost-warrior-like cry from behind him, followed by the sickening sound of a knife plunging into an alien over and over in various spots. He whirled around, having not paid attention to his Spidey sense since it had been going off as soon as he stepped out of the portal. The slain alien slumped to the ground as the attacker pulled her knife from the back of its neck -- a perfect point to paralyze and render useless before she had continued to kill it. 

Blowing a piece of hair out of her face, her eyes flicked over to meet his. Peter had stared into those eyes plenty of times, making them easily recognizable even though five years had passed. And from the looks of it, those five years had been tough. There was a scar that started right above her eyebrow, cutting across the bone in a slight U shape and ending right by her ear. Fresh cuts and blossoming bruises marked her face, mixing with dirt and non-human blood, no doubt from tussling with a few aliens and Thanos himself. The short brown hair he was used to had grown longer, even though it was pulled back tightly, some longer strands had escaped during battle. 

“Molls?” he whispered out, not completely sure that the young woman standing in front of him was the girl he fell in love with all those years ago. She twirled the ring knife in her hand out of habit, then gave him an almost embarrassed smile which looked out of place on a battle-hardened face like hers.

“Hey, Pete.” her eyes were beginning to water.

– ENDGAME FEELS IN HYPOTHESIS CONTRARY TO FACT 

Q!” Dawson’s voice rang out, making her turn to see him pointing a gun directly at her. 

The sound of his gun going off hit her before the bullet did. Suddenly, the force knocked her off her feet. She collapsed on the ground, all the air leaving her body with one fell swoop. Another gunshot rang out immediately after, followed by the thump of a body hitting the ground behind her. 

Rolling onto her back, she let out a loud groan of pain while staring up at the night sky. Her groans of pain continued as she tried to get into a comfortable position. God getting shot sucked. The heavy sound of Dawson’s hurried footsteps was getting closer and then his face suddenly appeared above her. He crouched down to try and help her off but she shoved him away, annoyed by what he did.

“I can’t believe you shot me!” she shouted at him, sitting up slightly. Her hands went to her lower shoulder, her fingers dancing around the hole in her jacket, “God, you’re lucky you got my kevlar.” she grumbled. He rolled his eyes, pushing up out of his crouch. 

“That was what I was aiming for.” he said matter of factly. She glared at him before getting to her feet, “Hey, you wouldn’t have been able to get that guy.” he motioned to the guy on the ground, “You should be thanking me.” he pointed out, ignoring her eye roll. Ripping open her jacket, she revealed her kevlar. Nestled inside was a the bullet from his gun. She pulled it out with a wince, knowing the area underneath would be bruising. 

“Next time give me a warning.” she snapped back, pushing the bullet into his chest and walking past him to the car. She let out an annoyed huff, arms crossing over her chest.

“I said Q.” he muttered to himself, walking around to the driver’s side of the car.

– DELETED SCENE FROM REALITY IN MOTION

[GIF: アキラ Akira, Dir. Otomo Katsuhiro]

For the most part, I feel very fortunate to live in modern times. I enjoy technology, science, and medicine. I am very thankful that I'm able to stay in good health and access information. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to not have plumbing, phones, or doctors.

However, I can all too easily imagine what it would be like if technology and modernization took control. Not necessarily an AI takeover, but something more subtle. The disappearance of physical media. Cash becoming obsolete. AI taking more jobs away from humans. We're already seeing this occur and start to impact our lives. I'm only afraid that we are too late to stop it.

Medical science is what I fear more than just going cashless or DVDs going obsolete. "Designer babies" may not be a hot topic in my friend circles, but is a prime example of medical science that seems innovative and useful, but could easily be used unethically. One moment you're screening for terminal illnesses in an embryo, the next you are choosing hair, eye color, or skin color. How far do we let it go? This is the premise for the film "Gattaca", which is one of my precedent projects. It depicts a world in which genetic selection is a routine process for embryos, resulting in a society run on eugenics and full of genetic discrimination.

My idea for this project is to explore a narrative in which humanity has highly revolutionized sound therapy. It began as a search for the cure to vertigo and motion sickness, and ended with a society where sound is something used to control. And the technology has been made too accessible. Now individuals protect their ears in public spaces. Society was forever changed, all because someone wanted find the cure for a common illness.

[GIF: 아가씨 The Handmaiden, Dir. Park Chan-wook]

Growing up in a digital age where many people discuss politics and social issues online, I have seen a lot of different political opinions over the years. My family is considerably liberal, with some conservative views popping up here and there.

That being said, I would mostly attribute my political and moral beliefs to personal experiences from my childhood. Such as growing up in poverty, biracial Black and white, and a woman. I believe this opened my eyes to the unfairness and inequity in the world.

Seeing my family members struggling also "radicalized" me so to speak. I had close family members who were victims of CSA. My dad has been legally blind his whole life. The list goes on.

All this to say, I was well aware of our country's shortcomings long before the year 2016 or 2020. Even though I benefit from being an American citizen in certain ways, such as passport or not living in war zones, I vehemently oppose colonialism, imperialism, and war.

I don't feel conflicted about my opposition to them, but I do feel conflict over how I am privileged as a United States citizen. I don't have to live in active war zones, where people are getting blown up by bombs and drone strikes. Their lives destroyed.

I would love it if the United States military was less funded. I hate that my tax dollars go towards killing people, especially innocent people. At the same time, I like not living in fear of drone strikes. I do feel a sense of protection knowing that is highly unlikely.

I want to examine this dichotomy in my project. Which is why I chose precedent projects that feature themes of colonialism, imperialism and war implicitly and explicitly.

For example, Eight Views of Korea and Cotopaxi are the implicit ones.

Eight Views of Korea is woodblock print created by Kawase Hasui. It is a beautiful landscape depicting Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. However, it was created during Japan's colonization of Korea. It is hard to only focus on the beauty knowing the darker implications of the piece.

Cotopaxi is an oil painting by Frederic Edwin Church in 1862. It depicts a stunning sunset on the active volcano, Cotopaxi, in Ecuador. I was enamored by it when I was able to see it in person at the DIA. However, researching it further, I found that Church was a part of the Hudson River School. A group of landscape painters who painted the Americas in the 19th century. Their goals were to portray three themes: discovery, exploration and settlement.

[GIF: ARTMS "Birth" Official MV]

I have grown up Christian, attending Presbyterian, Baptist, and Unitarian Universalist churches. When I was in elementary school, I used to look forward to going to church and participating in service. Now, I consider myself a non-religious person. Specifically, agnostic. Even though I enjoy celebrating Christmas with my family, and will attend a Christmas Eve service, I don't identify with Christianity.

Except for acknowledging that I am culturally Christian, and that fact impacts my world view. It also informs my opinion on religion and general, as well as my art making process.

I tend to view religion more critically. Not because I think it's naive to believe in a higher power, but because of the societal issues that exist as a result of organized religion. Misogyny, sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Along with how religion has been involved in colonialism, imperialism, and genocide.

I know that religion does not take the full blame for these things. There is beauty and community in religion. There are people dear to me who will tell me they are praying for me during tough times, and after years of hating hearing that, I have come to immensely appreciate it. Because I know they are sincere and I can feel that.

But I cannot forget about all of the lives that were snuffed out during the colonization of the Americas. The slaves who had their freedom stripped from them. The muslims who were discriminated against following 9/11. The women who suffered, and still suffer, in abusive marriages, and stay because divorce isn't an acceptable escape.

The Matrix, a science fiction action film. Directed by the Wachowskis. 1999.

Pantheon, an American science fiction animated show. Created by Craig Silverstein. 2022.

 終わりのセラフ (English Title: Seraph of the End), a Japanese dark fantasy manga series. Created by Kagami Takaya and Yamamoto Yamato. 2012.

X-Men: Days of Future Past, a superhero film. Directed by Bryan Singer. 2014.

Gattaca, an American dystopian science fiction film. Directed by Andrew Niccol. 1997.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a point and click adventure horror game. Developed by Cyberdreams and The Dreamers Guild, co-designed by Harlan Ellison. Based on Harlan Ellison's short story. 1995.

天草四郎時貞、島原之乱合戦之図 Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, A Scene from the Battle of Shimabara, an illustration by Yamamoto Takato. 720x340 mm. 2004.

Eight Views of Korea: Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, Gyeongbokgung Palace, a woodblock print by Kawase Hasui. 42 x 29.4 cm. 1939.

Cotopaxi, an oil painting Frederic Edwin Church. 48 x 85 in. 1862.

火垂るの墓 (English Title: Grave of the Fireflies), a Japanese animated war drama film. Produced by Studio Ghibli. Directed by Takahata Isao. 1988.

Banana Fish, a Japanese thriller manga series. Created by Yoshida Akimi. 1985.

Avatar, an epic science fiction film. Directed by James Cameron. 2009.