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Video games started gaining popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, introducing people to interesting concepts of story, action, adventure, horror, and overall fun. Video games have only grown over time, not just in popularity, but via expression. Before we go into what video games were most popular, lets define what a video game is. According to Oxford, "a game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a television screen or other display screen" (Oxford).

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In this section, we will discuss the highest and lowest grossing movies of all time, as well as the most impactful.

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Gender and sex... aren't they the same thing? Well... kind of. Gender refers to the sex you feel most comfortable portraying as a social construct. It branches over anyone and everyone, women, men, genderfluid, and nonbinary people. Sex is the binary that you were assigned at birth, female or male. (It gets a little more difficult when we include intersex into that definition because some medical institutions don't qualify it into the gender binary while others do.) Is sexuality the same thing? No. Sexuality is what an attraction is toward other people, such as a woman being attracted to another woman being named a lesbian.

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Tennis for Two was the first video game released to the public in 1958, by a man named William Higinbotham. While this game wasn't widely distributed, many people found this game to be intriguing. According to MEGA (Museum of Electronic Games and Art), the game was actually called T42, pronounced "Tennis for Two." The whole idea of the game was two players would hit a light back and forth from one side of the screen to the next using a button and a joystick. "On 18 October 1958, hundreds of visitors waited in line to play the first electronic action game, a two-dimensional tennis game played on the small screen of a cathode ray tube oscilloscope" (MEGA). Unfortunately, the original game could not be saved however, MEGA had recreated this fine piece of work and released it to the museum in May of 2011.

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Space Invaders was created by Tomohiro Nishikado and released by Taito in 1978. The objective of this game is to "pan across a screen and shoot descending swarms of aliens, preventing them from reaching the bottom of the screen" (Britannica). You as the player need to shoot down these aliens and protect your structures before they invade. This game paved the way for new and upcoming games to be recognized and appreciated like how they are received today.

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Pac-Man was released in 1980 by Atari and the character was created by Toru Iwatani. You as the player are Pac-Man, formerly known as Puck-Man, and you need to eat all of the dots on screen without being eaten by the ghosts preventing you from completing your task. There are power ups where you are able to eat the ghosts to slow them down and send them back to their starting point too! This game took the whole world by storm, as there actually became competitions to win it all. (History of Pac-Man)

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Game

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This action adventure game is based on the hit 80s cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was released by Nintendo in 1989 and developed by Konami Industry Co. The premise of the game is April O'Neil was kidnapped by the great Master Shredder, or more accurately, his thugs, and you, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will save her. The interesting twist on this game that wouldn't be often seen in the 80s-90s is this game isn't based on lives, but more so that you have one of the four brothers to play as, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphaelle. If you are playing as one and "loose," then you need to go back to the surface and save that brother. Until then, you play as a different brother. (Moby Games)

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The Sims, a game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, was released in the year 2000. This was a game that was meant to be played on a Windows computer, not in an arcade. The origins of this game was called SimCity, which was the first iteration of what is called a "God Game," a game that controls characters AND the rest of the in game universe. "The player controls every aspect of life for a Sim or family of Sims, with no ultimate goal but a never-ending series of tasks to accomplish in order to keep the Sim’s life on track" (History.com).

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Call of Duty: Black Ops is the 7th game created in the series, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision to be released on Nintendo Wii, PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. This game has two playable countries, America and Russia, however there are only American campaigns. This game is based on missions, but also can be played as a first person shooter without any direction. You are able to play against bots and people alike. (Contributors to Call of Duty Wiki)

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The Last of Us Part II was released in 2020 by Sony Interactive Entertainment, developed by Naughty Dog. This is the fourth installation of TLOU, the first of which was released then remastered, followed by several more installations which were remastered as well. This story follows Ellie and Joel yet again on an epic adventure through a land filled with zombies, or what they call, infected. There are several types that they run into, clickers, runners, stalkers, bloaters, and shamblers. This is a heavily story based game, so you as the player and interacting with both villains, infected, and people from your own sanctuary. (PlayStation)

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Introduction and Origins of the First Homosexual Movement | A Queer History of Germany Pt. 1

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The term "gender" didn't become used until 1955 by sexologist John Money. He said it is something that describes a human characteristic. It is extreamly important because of the people who take that word and use it as their lifeline. It is a word we began to use left and right, but we began to loose sense of what that word means and it has begun to warp in media.

Gen Z and Millennials have begun to use this word more and more to describe themselves and their gender identity. More and more people are coming forward about their identity and how they don't feel like they are in the right body. Gender is a form of expression, a front of sorts. Woman and man are social constructs, while female and male are sex.

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In the past, sexuality was used to describe how sexually active one was, while today we use it to describe attraction towards other people. LGBTQIA+ is now a blanket term for sexuality, standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersexual, and Asexual. Intersex and Transgender often get confused with this because it is also considered a gender. There isn't one way to describe sexuality, as it is so incredibly fluid. Asexuality just recently became accepted into the community, it explains that lack of romantic or sexual attraction toward other people.

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What is cisgender and transgender? Cisgender describes a person who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth, while transgender means the person changed their gender identity to match with how they view themselves. One of the biggest controversies with people who aren't a part of the LGBTQIA+ community is they think that we want to be animals, or "Furries." Not all furries think that they are animals, some just dress up similar to cosplay, however it is the weird side of the furry fandom that gets put into the community and gets hated upon, including those who want to put litter boxes in their schools. The community is accepting of all people, but it gets complicated when one wants to change their species.

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#1 Most Voted Influential Film Ever Made

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#1 Most Voted Influential Film Ever Made

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The Birth of a Nation (1915), directed by D.W. Griffith, is a silent film that depicts the events of the American Civil War and Reconstruction through the perspective of two families: the Southern Camerons and the Northern Stonemans. The film controversially portrays the rise of the Ku Klux Klan as heroic, framing them as protectors of Southern society against the perceived chaos of Reconstruction. While it was groundbreaking in its cinematic techniques, such as its use of close-ups and cross-cutting, the film is heavily criticized for its overt racism, glorification of white supremacy, and distorted portrayal of African Americans and historical events. It remains a deeply divisive piece of American cinematic history.

OpenAI, ChatGPT Response to prompt "what is the summary of Birth of a Nation, one paragraph"

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According to Wikkipidia, Citizen Kane, "a reporter is assigned to decipher newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane's (Orson Welles) dying words, his investigation gradually reveals the fascinating portrait of a complex man who rose from obscurity to staggering heights. Though Kane's friend and colleague Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten), and his mistress, Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), shed fragments of light on Kane's life, the reporter fears he may never penetrate the mystery of the elusive man's final word, 'Rosebud.'"

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The original movie by James Cameron, Avatar, was the highest grossing movie of all time with a global box office gross of approx. $2.92 billion. The only movie that got close to that number was Avengers: End Game with a gross of $2.79. According to ChatGPT, "Avatar (2009), directed by James Cameron, follows Jake Sully, a paraplegic Marine sent to the alien moon Pandora to infiltrate the Na'vi, its indigenous population, by using a genetically engineered avatar. Jake becomes torn between his mission and his growing connection to the Na'vi and their environment. The film was successful due to its groundbreaking use of 3D technology, innovative visual effects, immersive world-building, and universal themes of environmentalism and cultural respect, which resonated with global audiences and set new benchmarks for cinematic experiences."

OpenAI, ChatGPT prompt given "give a short paragraph of Avatar and why it was so successful" (December 3rd 2024)

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Zyzzyx Road made only $30 during it's release in 2006. It wasn't until later on when it was released on DVD and other digital distribution when it made $368,000. "The thriller stars Katherine Heigl, Tom Sizemore, and Leo Grillo and follows a complex tale of deception and murder in the desert. While its poor box office performance was planned, the film gained notoriety as a cinematic oddity due to its unique release strategy and minimal earnings​" (ChatGPT).

OpenAI, ChatGPT prompt given "lowest grossing movie of all time" (December 3rd 2024).

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"In the early days of comic books, which began in the 1930s and 1940s, sexism was a significant issue, reflecting broader societal attitudes of the time," says ChatGPT. As a female reader, I've understood there are not many outstanding female representations in the comic industry. The origins of women in comics are a lot of different damsels in distress and were often sexualized too.

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"While Wonder Woman, introduced in 1941, was groundbreaking as a powerful female superhero, her stories often incorporated themes of submission and bondage, reflecting both the creator's personal views and the limitations of cultural perspectives on women’s empowerment. The physical portrayal of women in early comics further exemplified sexism. Female characters were often drawn with exaggerated features and dressed in impractical, revealing outfits designed to cater to male readers. Additionally, most comic creators, editors, and publishers were men, limiting the diversity of perspectives in storytelling and reinforcing these patterns." More information here: https://bamsmackpow.com/2015/08/31/sexist-factors-present-women-comics/

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The earlier on movies go, the more interesting they become. I just rewatched The Wizard of Oz and I hadn't realized the techniques that they used before CGI were so interesting. Going from those older movies to Avatar is absolutely crazy!

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Oversexualized Wonder Woman in a published comic

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Female Gaze vs Male Gaze is a huge talking topic in the media as of 2024. The idea is that historically, the male gaze oversexualizes women and over makes men overly muscular. Alternatively, in the female gaze, the women in question are in loose fitting clothes or fairly covering clothing with more emphasis on how they present themselves.

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Funny comic where male superheroes are forced to wear female superhero costumes. 

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Thank goodness we have more writers and artists that are women in 2024. While we have sexism still in this day and age, we are working to prevent that.

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Star Wars is a fictional series set in a futuristic world where there are good and bad, Jedi and Sith, monsters, and aliens. While the franchise has grown into a multi-movie, show, and book media form, it still follows the same basic storyline. There is a protagonist who starts with humble beginnings then are called into action by an unknown force (haha force, get it?). Typical "heroes journey" formatting. But in SPACE!

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The Prequals were released from 1999 through 2005, three movies released in this timeframe. This storyline follows a young boy named Anakin Skywalker and travel with him through his trials of becoming a Jedi. The older he gets, the more he gets seduced to the Dark Side of the Force. Throughout the movies, the war of the Republic gets worse until it ends, then, we end with the final and most used line in all of Star Wars, "the war is just beginning."

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The original trilogy of Star Wars follows Anakin Skywalker's son, Luke Skywalker (though we don't know he is a Skywalker yet...) and his journey of becoming a Jedi Knight. The Empire is under control of the Galaxy and a small group of Rebels are trying to win the war. Luke meets Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca and begin their adventure. Then, ending with that same line, "the war is just beginning."

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The sequel of Star Wars released in 2015, then two other movies following in suit. In this story, the Republic won the war and is now ruling the galaxy. We follow our main character Rey through her life of hardships of poverty, only to be paired with an ex-stormtrooper to find the Republic. The stormtrooper, FN-2187, or Finn, helps Rey and the Republic to take down the First Order and bring peace to the galaxy.

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Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm, they've been milking the franchise for everything its worth. There are several spinoffs...

1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

2. Star Wars: The Bad Batch

3. Andor

4. Ahsoka

5. Mandalorian

6. Book of Boba Fett

7. Solo

8. Visions

9. Acolyte

10. Star Wars: Rebels

11. Kenobi

12. Rouge One

13. Skeleton Crew

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The Star Wars Sequels: Disney's Anti-Trilogy

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The originals and prequals were considered to be the best of Star Wars in the community. They weren't too complex but could still have people finding the smallest of things from nothing. They had iconic characters, a good and evil, fantastic soundtracks, and amazing worldbuilding. It was also the beginning of 3D technology in the film industry, along with stopmotion animation.

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More and more die-hard fans have been complaining more and more about the direction Disney is taking for Star Wars. Some say it is rushed, the stories are dry, characters are weak, and there aren't great morals. It all began in the sequels, while the story was good, they milked Rey too hard for her character to handle, it didn't make much sense. With the first 6 movies being so close together, adding a whole new character into something that is meant to tie it together later on just doesn't make sense. This is a theme that is followed throughout the other spinoffs as well.