Disclaimer!!! The following blog contains animated violent scenes and spoilers from the anime Attack on Titan.

Sasha! Are you that much of a scaredy-cat? Is it that hard for you to leave this forest and get along with others?

Artur Braus

Outside the Walls and the Sea

According to his father’s writings, although humanity has not yet perished beyond the wall and sea, the inhabitants of this Island, the Eldians, are despised by those who live beyond the sea. According to history, several Eldians were left behind in Marley, treated as second-class citizens when the great war occurred, and the Eldians were defeated. The king fled with some Eldians and built the walls on Paradis Island. Marley dispatched warriors to destroy the walls to make the Island Eldians atone for sins and a violent past they knew nothing of. It was evident after a trip to Marley that the world wasn’t ready to give the Eldians of Paradis Island a chance. As a result, Eren makes a unilateral decision compelling the military to join him in attacking Marley.

The Lost Hunter

Sasha Braus was a comic relief character for much of her screen time because she frequently professed her love of food. However, through a flashback of a conversation she has with her father, Artur Braus, we are introduced to the concept of the forest.

In this conversation, the forest here doesn’t only refer to the physical space but also outdated traditions, violence, hunting, and killing. Sasha believes it is outrageous that she and her family must abandon the forest and their identity for something that is not their fault. Her father, however, no longer sees the forest as a home; in his eyes, the forest is a home for the self-centered who can deny others help. Even if these people once looked down on him, Artur is still willing to give them a chance.

After this conversation, Sasha departs for military training to escape the forest. She is not willing to die in the forest. She is not willing to die while hunting. On a mission, she has to go back to her hometown. When she arrives, all is deserted but for the house where a young child is trapped and helpless as a titan attacks her mother. Despite only having a bow in hand and none of her usual weaponry, Sasha risks her life in order to save the girl. Sasha is no longer the selfish girl she used to be.

However, during the attack on Marley, the best thing that could have happened to Sasha’s character occurred. She died.

The Ones Who Leave the Forest

Gabi, a trained Eldian warrior, killed Sasha as revenge for the attack on Marley and the people Sasha killed. Unlike Falco, another trained warrior, she believes strongly in her country Marley and that Eldians, including herself, must atone for their sins. During her conversation with Kaya, who offered them a place to stay, knowing that they were Eldians, we can see how much Gabi repeats the same rhetoric, even if it doesn’t make sense.

For the longest time, Gabi chooses to stay in the forest. Although sharing the same racial background as the islanders, she refuses to recognize them as fellow humans but rather as devils who must atone for the sins of their forefathers. However, it is essential to note that she views the existence of the Island Eldians as an obstacle that stands between her and her freedom. As long as the Paradis devils are still alive, in her opinion, the world will never respect the “Good Eldians.” Deep down, she is aware that there is no hope for her and her people to be free if it turns out the island devils are innocent people. This truth will destroy the world as she knows it. If the world’s hatred towards the Eldians is unjustified, to begin with, then there is no winning and no freedom. Thus, she must continually remind herself that Paradis’s people are wicked and that she is not like them. But there comes a time where she is no longer able to deny the truth.

As Gabi starts to accept the truth of the world, we can see the cycle of hatred continued by Kaya, who is unable to forgive Gabi for killing Sasha. Sasha has been dear to Kaya ever since Sasha saved her, so she can’t comprehend why someone would kill her. Thus she decides that Gabi must be the devil because someone must be the devil.

Sasha died in the forest, but her death served as caution and a reminder of the truth of the violence and war in the world. No matter how well-meaning she was. She still died in the forest. A place in which no child should reside.

Leaving the forest can be many things. It can be leaving prejudice and discrimination behind. It can be seeking peace amid violence. It can be hearing out those seeking peace instead of holding to misconceptions. 

The Ones Who Don’t Leave the Forest

While it might be a mere coincidence but Floch Forster’s last name alludes to someone who works in a forest or is involved in forestry. Therefore, it is no surprise that Floch meets his death in the forest. Floch begins to envision himself as a leader of the future nation after being the lone survivor of a mission. Despite how his confidence and arrogance grow, he is still a coward, holding onto the forest out the fear of reencountering death. He believes there will come a day when he and his people won’t have to fight if he stays in the forest long enough for the enemy to be eradicated. As a result, Floch Forster willingly dies in the forest.

Outside the Forest

The concept of the forest brought to mind Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” which I immensely enjoyed. This short story explores a utopia called Omelas that is maintained by the suffering of a small child. Each adolescent must witness the tortured child for themselves at a particular age. Although the reality has scarred all young people, many decide to continue their lives as usual while accepting the child’s suffering as necessary and inescapable. However, those who can’t live with the truth, leave Omelas. Le Guin, interestingly, never refers to the world outside of Omelas. Similar to the ones who leave Omelas, those who leave the forest are stepping into the unknown. The fear of the unfamiliar holds back those who remain.

It is important to recognize that the act of leaving the forest on its own neither causes the forest to vanish nor does it protect those who are lost in it. The forest might continue to expand, trapping everyone inside. Similarly, if walking away from Omelas doesn’t free the child from its suffering, is deciding not to contribute to the injustice sufficient?

All we know is that the forest is a part of nature. It will never disappear.

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Questions

1- If you have seen Attack on Titan, what did you think of the ending and the cycle of violence theme?

2- Is there a route out of the forest, or will it remain as long as there are people around?

3- Have you ever come across characters whose deaths had a more significant impact on the plot? Who are they and what did they add to the narrative?

4- Do you think that recognizing bias and hatred will be sufficient to achieve any form of peace?

In many languages, sarcasm conveys emotions and intentions. It is essentially saying something different from what is meant. It is usually used to convey humor, mockery, or criticism. Without understanding the context, it can be difficult to understand it. Sarcasm can be expressed through tone of voice, facial expressions, or words.

In English, sarcasm is used to convey humor as well as irony . It can usually be seen being used subtly and indirectly to make fun of someone. For example, if someone says, “I love spending my entire weekend cleaning the house,” after being asked to complete a chore, they are subtly implying that they aren’t happy. Sarcasm in English can usually be detected if someone’s voice’s pitch changes, specifically becoming slightly lower.

Sarcasm in Arabic is usually used as an indirect insult. Arabic is much more aggressive in tone than other languages when expressing sarcasm. If someone says, “Wow, you are so clever,” in a sarcastic tone after someone makes a mistake, they are expressing their disappointment and disapproval of what has happened as a result. At times sarcasm can be used to ignore or quickly end conversations by keeping on repeating words like “nice” very quickly.

Japanese sarcasm is much more subtle than other languages and sometimes hard to notice. It is often conveyed through implication or irony. For example, if someone says, “I’m so glad you finally made it,” in a sarcastic tone of voice after someone arrives late, they are using sarcasm to express their frustration with the other person’s tardiness. The phrase “You are really skilled, aren’t you?” may be interpreted as a compliment, for non-native speakers and at times native speakers as well . However, understanding the subtleties of Japanese sarcasm can greatly enhance one’s ability to communicate effectively with Japanese speakers and to appreciate the humor and irony that it can convey.

Questions:

1. Has there been a situation where you couldn’t make out if someone was being sarcastic ?
2. Can you give a scenario where you have used sarcasm?

Sources :

https://omniglot.com/language/articles/sarcasm.htm

Do other languages indicate sarcasm in speech the same way as English?
by u/regular_gonzalez in askscience

I fear I can’t hear without subtitles, and apparently, I’m not alone in this sentiment. We’re all becoming increasingly reliant on subtitles to understand what’s going on in film, tv, and other media for several reasons. Firstly, subtitles make it easier to keep up with what’s happening on screen as they prevent you from missing slight but crucial details in dialogue. To some, they minimize the already minimal effort we have to put in as we consume and enjoy visual media, enhancing the experience but to others, reading while watching seems counterintuitive. For those of us with short attention spans (thank you Tiktok), the constant attentiveness subtitled media requires can help maintain focus. Anyhow, our increasing dependence on subtitles/closed-captioning isn’t entirely our fault. 

By the way, the difference between subtitles and closed-captioning is that closed-captioning is intended for people who have difficulty hearing, so it includes background noises, sound effects, etc. while subtitles assume the viewer can hear background noises and effects, and transcribe/translate just the dialogue. 

In fact, advancements in technology have really altered the viewer (listener) experience. The use of tiny portable mics hidden on actors means that they don’t have to project their voices to reach a fixed microphone hidden out of frame. This allows for more naturalistic enunciation and more realistic performances but often results in dialogue that is difficult to interpret. Moreover, the sophisticated audio technology of our times loses a lot of its quality when sound is forced through mobile, laptop, or television speakers. Subtitles are also sometimes essential in deciphering partially made-up languages or real accents that perhaps sound made-up.

All of these reasons apply to why we, as English speakers, might use subtitles while consuming English-language media. However, the role of subtitles in the increasing attention towards international media and the subsequently diminishing dominance of English-language media is also worthy of attention. In recent times, wide international audiences have been consuming foreign-language media ranging from interviews with BTS to immensely popular Netflix shows like Money Heist, Squid Game, Lupin, and Elite, with the aid of subtitles. Subtitles help cross the bridges between people, cultures, and languages. 

Bong Joon-Ho, the director of Parasite, the first non-English-language film ever to win Best Picture at the Oscars, famously said that “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” The prevalence of subtitled media greatly reduces language barriers, providing audiences access to a whole wide world of content. For some of us (embarrassingly so), English subtitles enhance our understanding of media even in our own mother tongues. However, the inaccessibility of subtitles to those with sight issues as well as the complexities and incompleteness of translation cannot be ignored.

How big is the barrier, actually?

Translation theory is highly complex and true translation is deemed near impossible. I will not go into detail, as exploring the nuances and complexities of translation warrants the word count of at least a few dozen blog posts. This article, through the case of Squid Game, explains how Netflix often mistranslates subtitles, which detracts from the viewing experience and the message and misrepresents the culture and context the media is coming from. Languages differ in so many ways, and it is challenging to convey through translation completely the meaning, tone, and undertones of certain dialogues while abiding by their length constraints. Still, it is imperative for streaming platforms to improve the subtitling process to fulfill their responsibilities towards the people and cultures they represent, as well as to the deaf and hard of hearing. 

Click if you’d like to learn more about: 

• The Subtitles vs Dubbing Debate
• Why We All Need Subtitles Now 
• The Cognitive Effect of Subtitles 

Let me know:

• What is your experience with subtitles and do you find them to be an essential part of your viewing experience?
• What do you think is the importance of consuming diverse international media?

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0634240/

Nolan is one of Hollywood’s most famous directors, with his movies grossing approximately 5 billion dollars at the box office, making him one of our time’s most important movie directors of his generation. His movies are ones that I hold very dearly, with instant classics such as Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and Inception.

However, a hidden pattern could be seen throughout Nolan’s movies, a pattern that is extremely interesting. Particularly, if you narrow this down to 5 of his 13 movies: Memento, Inception, The Prestige, Interstellar, and most recently Tenet. In all 5 of those movies, time is almost an important character within these works of art.

Nolan’s fascination with time isn’t a new concept, he has made it very obvious, even saying that :

I’m fascinated by the notion that we all feel the passage of time to be unfair to us, and yet, we are all ageing at exactly the same rate.

https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/understanding-christopher-nolans-obsession-with-time/

In every movie Nolan approaches the concept of time differently, thus I’ll be looking at how Nolan interacted with Time differently in 3 of his movies –

Inception

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/inception/2/

This award-winning movie is known for its complexity, as all Nolan movies are, with characters essentially entering dreams within dreams. However, as characters enter a new layer time passes differently, it slows down – a couple of seconds in the first layer translates to 3 hours in the 3rd layer. The characters are in a fight against time to complete their heist, a heist into Cillian Murphy’s memory. Here time is the antagonist of the story, as time is the biggest enemy for the protagonist, Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Intersteller

Once you’re a parent, you’re the ghost of your children’s future.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/interstellar

This line from Cooper, portrayed by Matthew McCounghay, sticks with me every time I watch this movie. Especially since the movie takes this line so literally, as Cooper guides his daughter, like a ghost, from another dimension. Furthermore, the next time Cooper sees his daughter after this line she is on her deathbed while he is still a middle-aged man. Time made him a ghost for his daughter, but it also allowed him to see his daughter one more time. This shift happened due to time dilation, because Cooper was in proximity of a Black Hole, time sped up for him, so what was a few moments for him was 60 years for those back on Earth, again showing how Nolan uses the intricacies of time within his narratives.

Tenet

This movie is the summation of Nolan’s work with time. It is a movie I have watched 5 times and I am yet to fully understand it, it spurred hundreds of Youtube videos that attempt to explain, and yet I am still not 100% able to grasp the mechanics within it. This movie is built on the premise that “you have a future in the past”, and that time goes both ways not only one. It is truly a mind-numbing experience, however, Nolan’s logic throughout it is consistent and infalliable.

We all experience time, a concept that is a factor in every decision we make and every issue we face. Nolan took this concept and made it the beating heart of multiple beautiful works of art.

Questions:

Do you see time as a hindrance in your life or as more of an opportunity?

What is your favorite Chris Nolan movie and why?

Christopher Nolan is my favorite director, do you have one? If so who and why?

Links Used:

https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/understanding-christopher-nolans-obsession-with-time/

What does it mean to write?

Almost all of us, in one form or another, write on a daily basis. Whether it be for university classes, personal diaries, texting, and all the other myriad forms of writing that exist today, one cannot deny the essentiality of writing. However, have you ever asked yourself what it means to write?

More often than not, we do not question the meaning behind our own actions. We simply do them. Perhaps, one can put this down to the fast paced nature of modern life. After all, we hardly have any time to relax ourselves, so how can one expect us to meditate, reflect, ruminate upon our actions and decisions? That hardly seems fair and the truth is that it is not fair. Alas, it is the world we live in.

To those of you who thought about such a question before (or perhaps one in a similar vein to it), what was your answer? Such a question could never have a universal answer because every single human being has a little unique style to them. Perhaps some of you used writing as a medium to communicate with, while some used it as a way to channel their emotions. There is no perfect answer here. Only your answer exists.

For those of you who may have never pondered such a topic before, let me help you by sharing my personal answer to it. To write is to discover the world hidden inside of our world, the world between the lines.

Is the writer the creator or the discoverer of the story?

For me, a writer’s job bears an uncanny similarity to that of a ferryman. You may ask yourself “how so? A writer uses words to convey the meaning of thing, while the ferryman gets people from one side of the river to another”.

Simply put, the characters in the story are the writers of the story. They are real and they do exist. They live their lives struggling with both mundanity and climaxes. They feel love, hate, joy, sorrow, anger, and sadness just like everyone else. At the end of their life, they are sent to cross a river with the help of a ferryman. From one riverbank to another.

During such a journey, they tell the ferryman of their lives. By the end of the long voyage, the ferryman would have come to know almost every detail of their story. Thus, the ferryman no longer is a ferryman. Rather, he becomes a scribe documenting his travelers’ lives. Case in point, the writer is the ferryman and the ferryman is the writer.

I personally find that writers do not create their own stories; rather, they draw upon their discoveries about the world we live in, whether these discoveries are imaginary or real. Those discoveries are the so called “characters” of the story (to the ferryman, they are known as travelers). Writers simply weave words to tell the story of those characters.

One personal experience of mine is when I knitted together the expression, “like the loneliness of a leaf in autumn”. During one particular autumn a few years back, I saw a leaf getting carried by the wind away from the tree that was all it has ever known. I asked myself, “Isn’t this leaf, whose fate moved from the stability of the tree to the erratic nature of the wind, lonely?”.

It may seem a fool’s errand to contemplate the emotional state of an inanimate object such as a leaf; however, that is not the point. The point here is the discovery of the world of the leaf in autumn. It is a cruel and lonely world away from its home and place of birth. It is that world that gave birth to my expression. I simply connected it all together. It is as Elizabeth Bowen says:

Characters are not created by writers. They pre-exist and have to be found.

– Elizabeth Bowen

Links

Characters and writers

Why do some writers write?

What does it mean to be a writer?

What do writers say about writing?

Questions

What is the meaning behind your writing?

Do you think writers discover or create?

Have you ever thought about writing beyond the scope of a book?

Knowing Different Languages

People are always interested in knowing about the number of languages a certain individual can speak. It is always fascinating and amazing to get in contact with people who are capable of speaking several languages. It introduces you to the diverse cultural insights, enhanced and smooth communication skills, and the complex critical thinking abilities those specific individuals would have, which are qualities truly everyone would desire. However, have you ever really thought of the importance of polishing your fluency and understanding of your mother tongue before proceeding to learning additional languages? Improving your accuracy and expression in your mother tongue goes far beyond just proper speech. Factors like ability to read and write also play a crucial role in determining one’s proficiency and expertise in a language. Unfortunately, nowadays, the drive to learn various languages has defeated the motivation to perfect our first language. Being a Pakistani, I have always been keen on learning more about my language. My family and I shifted to Kuwait when I was 7 years old, which restricted my ability to develop my reading and writing skills in Urdu. Although I was fluent in speaking Urdu, till date, I often struggle with reading complex passages like News headlines and other books that have overwhelming amounts of traditional Urdu vocabulary. 

Introduction to Roman Urdu

However, does any of that even matter anymore? People have developed alternative ways of communicating in Urdu by the use of Roman Urdu. Roman Urdu script is the use of English characters for Urdu words and vocabulary. This is a widely adopted method in various social media platforms, along with everyday messaging, comments, reviews and other forms of texts that would normally be conveyed in traditional Urdu. The rise of Roman Urdu in Pakistan has further decreased the motivation to strengthen Urdu reading and writing proficiency for an individual. 

The Role of Roman Urdu in Pakistan

It’s important to question when and how Pakistan experienced a rise in Roman Urdu. As explained in this article, Roman Urdu serves the purpose of satisfying people’s socializing needs, and is therefore mainly used by individuals that are highly active on websites and other online platforms. These individuals are composed of Pakistan’s young population that find convenience in using the English keyboard instead of the Urdu letters and commands, therefore have developed the habit of sending Urdu messages, comments and other texts using English characters. The authors of the article make an important contribution that thoroughly explains the rapid increase of Roman Urdu. They explain how Roman Urdu is also greatly used for the purpose of information extraction and to perform other search techniques. Several people amongst the users of these online platforms face difficulties in efficiently comprehending the English language, therefore the development of Roman Urdu serves as an excellent channel to extract academic or other information that can deliver them their desired results. Although it acts as an effective and valuable tool to deliver important knowledge and information for people that lack English proficiency, others have also incorporated Roman Urdu into their lives by using it for other socializing purposes. Not only has Roman Urdu been incorporated for personal communication and simple search engines, its rising involvement in everyday life is evident through its use for other entertainment purposes like memes, tweets and Instagram stories and posts that once again target the young population. This shows that gradually, Roman Urdu is penetrating the most frequently used and famous platforms of social media, and will eventually secure a stable position in Pakistani society. 

Accuracy of Roman Urdu 

Now that we understand the purpose and use of Roman Urdu in Pakistan, it is important to analyze its accuracy and efficiency in conveying the message. This article presents and thoroughly explains the flexibility and adjustments of words and vocabulary that can be introduced in Roman Urdu unlike normal Urdu. Traditional Urdu has a fixed format of writing sentences, punctuations, lining, and formatting which adds an element of organization and clarity to the writing that also aids the process of reading and understanding, whilst giving the language its own unique characteristics. On the other hand, Roman Urdu can translate the same word in English characters, with no punctuation and specified rules for spellings and formats. Although the transition from Urdu to English characters is an effective one,  Roman Urdu takes away all the elegance and structure of the Urdu language. The meaning stays the same, but the way people may read and pronounce words can differ on several margins, which affects the articulation and diminishes the beauty and identity of the language. 

Will Roman Urdu Replace Traditional Urdu?

Although this may seem as an exaggerated question, considering the rapidly changing environment we are surrounded by, it does not take time for people’s language patterns and habits to evolve and take new forms. Several people are highly influenced by social media activities, and considering the vast use of social media amongst the young population, it will not be a surprise to notice the gradual elimination of traditional Urdu from the lives of the upcoming generations. They may know how to speak and communicate in Urdu, however, the ability to convey their thoughts into Urdu words and express their emotions in their mother tongue, may become a rare quality. 

I often see my parents or other people from the same age group that still use Urdu letters and words to text and communicate online, and I find it so fascinating to see their ease and convenience in using the Urdu keyboard and language. However, if we really think about it, this should not be a surprise to us. The question of “Do you know how to read and write in your language?” should not really be a common one. In fact, everyone should work towards strengthening and enhancing the understanding of their own language because that is their initial and ultimate personality. Their mother tongue is what shapes their personality and highly influences their thinking and life habits. Apart from just verbal communication in Urdu, I think it is essential to ensure its written presence in the books and other literature materials to secure the cultural significance of the language that beautifies and leaves a remarkable touch to the country as a whole. The quote below is a great conclusion to the point of knowing and communicating in your mother tongue.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.

~Nelson Mandela

Questions for discussion:

1. What do you think is the importance of being able to read, write, and speak in your mother tongue/ first language.
2. Do you believe that one can truly express themselves in a language other than their mother tongue?
3. Do you think the rise f English language in society can threaten/diminish the existence of other languages?

Links:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009913332030149X?casa_token=M5rlRCfswmgAAAAA:FSSRNaf523Cy_3t1B0VQuBehVKmEQUgWAssDjdDtAddrowgkKHnrXIKV_8YS8EB8-LrMYpQi

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9094176

For many people, including myself, nationalism is a big part of our identity. The sense of community among people of the same Palestinian, religious, and cultural backgrounds makes people connect on a deeper level than many people believe is possible. There is a saying in Gaza that goes, “when a person is in pain, they yell out ‘AKH,'” which means “brother” in Arabic. A sense of brotherhood wherever a person is, is very important, especially in the diaspora. Although nationalism has gotten a bad reputation in the past because it is seen as “superiority” or the political movements that have tainted the image of nationalism, it could be used for political gain, but that is not the purpose of it. The purpose of nationalism is to give people a purpose in life and a sense of community.

Nationalism and Feminism

When a person thinks of the ideology of nationalism, feminism would not be the first thing on their mind. On the contrary, feminism and nationalism are very interlinked because of the shared history between them. Nationalistic movements against colonialism in Palestine led to one of the biggest women’s liberation movements in the history of the region. Educated women were not a rare occurrence in Palestine, which opposed all norms of the time in the region.

Additionally, the feminist movement is inherently nationalistic because the main goal of feminism is the liberation of women and their people, which is also a large part of what nationalism is. Moreover, feminism and nationalism may clash when the feminist movement feels that the nationalist movement is prioritizing the nation over women.

How Nationalism Affected my Life

As a Palestinian, nationalism has always been a large part of my life. When the Free Palestine riots were trending in mid-2022, my sense of nationalism spiked up by miles because of the sense of community that I was feeling when I was watching it on TV. People around me who were not Palestinian or did not have a nationalistic sense usually did not understand this feeling. Usually, I bond well with older people because they are usually people who were born in their homeland and migrated to the UAE, and nationalism is always a large part of older Arab people.

During the Palestinian riots in London in front of the Israeli embassy, the protests were getting a lot of attention from so many social media platforms and influencers, as well as newscasters. This gave hope to the Palestinian people inside and outside of Palestine.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/22/palestinian-solidarity-protests-marked-around-the-world

Discussion Questions

How has nationalism affected your life?

what other ideologies like feminism do you think is an indirect part of nationalism?

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If I had to count the number of times music has helped me get through less-than-ideal moments in life, I would need a gazillion fingers and a time machine. Superficially, we all know that music has the astounding ability to evoke a wide array of powerful emotions within us, and one such emotion is nostalgia. All of us have experienced nostalgia at some point in our lives – the longing or sentimental yearning or feeling for the past – but whether it is bittersweet or melancholic depends on the person and their experiences. From time to time, certain songs or pieces of music may trigger vivid memories and transport us back to a particular period or place. A song associated with your first love, first heartbreak, a cross-country road trip, or something your mum and dad used to play at home – does any of this sound familiar? Well, in this blog post, we will be exploring that very connection between music and nostalgia and also attempt to explain why music has such a strong grip on our memories and emotions.

Now, contrary to popular belief, the concept of “nostalgia” has existed for centuries. It is even more interesting to note that the word “nostalgia” originates from two Greek words, “nostos” and “algos,” which mean “return” and “pain,” respectively. This makes sense because initially, nostalgia was thought to be a disease or medical condition, and it was linked to homesickness. But in the present day and age, we know nostalgia is not an ailment but a natural human emotion which can be triggered in so many ways – one of the most sure-fire triggers being music.

Now why is music so “nostalgic” to us human beings? Quick hint – it has something to do with our memories. Our brains have this innate ability to associate music with specific memories and emotions, and according to several leading research studies, it has been shown that music can activate the same regions of the brain that are involved in emotional and memory-based information processing. Scientists have also been able to prove that music “activates the entire brain,” which is super cool when you think about it.

Another reason why music is so effective in initiating nostalgia is that certain songs often tend to be linked to significant life events, all thanks to our limbic system (the system that stores all your fears and emotions). For many people, a favourite song may remind them, for example, of their first love or a special moment in their lives. Since these moments have a heavy significance in our lives owing to “high emotional intensity,” the music essentially gets intertwined like many other things (the color of your partner’s dress, the smile they wore, and so on), creating a powerful connection between the two. Consequently, music is known to create a sense of comfort and familiarity. Many people find that listening to music from their childhood or teenage years provides them with an “auditory haven,” a way for them to return back to simpler, carefree times. The reason for this sentiment is that the music we listened to during our yester-years becomes a part of our identity and shapes our perceptions of the world around us. So, if we hear the same exact song years later, it brings back those lived-through memories from our subconscious mind to the forefront.

It is also interesting to note that the relationship between music and nostalgia can be different for different people. While some people find that certain songs or pieces of music strongly trigger their nostalgia, the same may not be applicable to another individual, thus forming a degree of contextuality. Our memories, experiences, and emotions are unique to us, and that plays a massive role in the feelings certain songs may bring into our psyche.

Now, so far, we have been talking about music-linked nostalgia on an individual level but how can we take this to a broader scale? As of late, you may have noticed that many movies and TV shows use classical hits to create a sense of nostalgia and transport viewers back in time. Let me take two very memorable movies that use this trope to their advantage – “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Baby Driver.” For those of you who have watched these movies, you know very well the significance of music in them. Whether it be Star Lord’s Walkman or Baby’s iPod; the movies truly would not be the same without them. Additionally, the inclusion of these wistful songs creates a sense of nostalgia on a larger scale as audiences who have grown up with these specific songs will most likely connect on an emotional level.

To put everything in a nutshell, the relationship between music and nostalgia is complex and multifaceted. Music has the power to evoke powerful emotions and transport us back in time, reminding us of significant life events and creating a sense of familiarity and comfort. While the way we respond to music is unique to each individual, there is no doubt that it plays a very significant role in our lives.

Questions:

1. What is a song that reminds you of your childhood? Was it a song you came across yourself, or was it recommended by someone else?
2. How do you think the use of music in movies and TV shows contributes to our collective sense of nostalgia? Can you think of any examples of movies or shows that use music in this way?
3. In what ways do you think music can be used to help us process and cope with difficult emotions like nostalgia and grief? Have you ever used music in this way, and if so, how did it help you?

Music is a big part of most, if not all, of our lives. It is something we grew up with, whether it was by falling asleep to our mom’s favorite song in the car, or a rock band we were captivated with in our ‘rebellious teenager’ phase. It has, quite literally, always been there for us. You’re in a good mood? Put on some happy music. Feeling down? Put on some sad music. Need a confidence booster? Put on some upbeat music. Point is, music has always been something we could rely on to cope with our emotions and understand them better.

Lyrics

A fundamental aspect of a song is its lyrics. Although music itself is enough to make a person feel a specific emotion, lyrics do form an integral part of songs. Barradas in “When words matter: A cross-cultural perspective on lyrics and their relationship to musical emotions” mentions that lyrics help people explore and understand their feelings better. When artists write music and sing about something that could be relatable to most people, it gives them a sense of comfort because they know they’re not alone.

Additionally, lyrics help put into words feelings and experiences that most people are unable to express on their own. So in a way, certain songs could be the voice for people who don’t know how to convey their message the way they want to. This can be seen in many aspects of our lives. For instance, when your best friend sends you a song with a text right after that says, “THIS IS LITERALLY OUR SONG!!!”, wouldn’t you focus on the lyrics to see what they’re trying to say? Or how about when your partner makes you a Spotify playlist? How often are songs added to that playlist because they express your partner’s feelings through their lyrics?

How Music Affected My Life

There was a point of time in my life where I was really confused about the way I felt toward certain concepts; specifically love. I always knew that I was a person that loved to love, but what I didn’t know was that I loved being in love. I felt like I was alone in this experience and I started viewing myself as someone who wasn’t normal. That was, until I came across my favorite band: The Neighbourhood. I discovered their song “Void” and instantly became obsessed with it.

Thought you could better me but

Then you stopped lettin’ me walk

Now you’re just settin’ me off

So I’m tryna lose you

https://genius.com/The-neighbourhood-void-lyrics

Analyzing the Lyrics

1. For a long time, I’ve been chasing love because I felt like I needed to be in love with someone to feel alive. I used to believe that love “could better me” because having a partner would allow me to rely on them and be taken care of. But what I didn’t realize was that there are also negative sides to being in love.
2. It felt like love “stopped letting me walk” in a sense that I felt restricted, like I had no freedom to do what I wanted or prioritize the more important things in my life.
3. Love started “setting me off”. I was angry. I didn’t like the fact that I was addicted to being in love. It was an endless loop of liking someone and then moving on to the next person, and I was desperate for it to end
4. So I tried to lose it. I started working on myself and trying to experience newer things to show me that there was way more to life than just being in love.

These specific lyrics always felt personal to me because I could relate to them on a deeper level. They helped me realize that I was in fact, not alone, and definitely not weird for feeling the way I did. I was able to think about my thoughts and feelings and how I could work on them to be a better version of myself, so in a way, it’s safe to say that this song changed me.

Another fascinating thing about lyrics in songs is that it can be interpreted in any way. For example, the exact lyrics that I mentioned above could also be analyzed to be talking about being addicted to drugs, rather than the concept of love itself. And according to Genius, the songwriter did have a past with drugs, which goes to show that lyrics can easily be molded into whatever notion a person wants it to be. There isn’t a wrong or right answer when it comes to analyzing lyrics, it all depends on the way you think and view the world. I’ve come across people who have had completely different views on the lyrics of ‘Void’, and that’s okay! Their interpretations are still valid because they coincide with their thoughts and experiences.

The Benefits of Listening to Music

Apart from the emotional benefits of listening to music, there are quite a few health benefits too. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, music helps reduce anxiety and improves sleep quality as well as memory. It is mentioned that music is seen to be a great workout for the mind as it aids in boosting creativity, and allows us to recollect memories that are easily associated with the music being played. Music also plays a vital role in increasing our mental health. Most people use music as a coping mechanism or an escape to reality when the world starts getting too loud for them.

Overall, music is something that allows people to delve deeper into their thoughts and emotions, and it helps people connect with one another, whether it is directly (by recommending songs or listening to songs with your loved ones), or indirectly (by relating to different people’s experiences through lyrics and their meanings).

Questions

1. Has music ever helped you through a rough patch in life?
2. What are your opinions on analyzing song lyrics and the impact it can have on an individual?
3. How has music contributed in increasing your creativity and analytical thinking?

References:

https://genius.com/The-neighbourhood-void-lyrics

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your-brain-young-with-music#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20listening,%2C%20mental%20alertness%2C%20and%20memory.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03057356211013390#body-ref-bibr17-03057356211013390

I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit

J.R.R. Tolkien

To put it plainly, worldbuilding is the process of creating, constructing and developing a fictional world. This imaginary universe, with all its corresponding history and geography, will serve as the setting of the work, whether it is a novel or a poem, or a visual medium like film, comics or video games.

The world authors create could cover vast expanses of land, sea and space or it could be confined within the boundaries of a town. They could fill the world with all sorts of flora and fauna, a multitude of different kinds and races inhabitants, invented history and languages. They can approach this in many ways, using top-down worldbuilding or bottom-up worldbuilding, building off a primary world to create a secondary world or creating a uchronia. The key is to create something that is believable, meaningful and something that has real depth.