Author: Jiaruo Zhang

1.Critical Report Structure：

Title / Subtitle

A research title can identify a main topic and a subtitle can qualify a specific area or focus for the research. Often it is helpful to create a question your research can answer or pose a problem the research aims to resolve.

Abstract An abstract is a short summary of your dissertation. You should briefly outline the research question you started with, the methods you used to answer it, and the results of your research. This is not a promotional piece, so you do not need to keep the reader in suspense – simply explain what you did.

Contents Page You should include a list of the contents of your report along with page numbers. Remember to give your chapters meaningful titles, do not simply use Chapter 1 Chapter 2 etc. You should also make sure that the contents list matches with the actual page numbers

Example Contents Page:

Assessment Cover sheet

Title page

Abstract

Key words

Contents Page

Page 3.  –   Introduction

Page 3.  –   Chapter 1 – (Suitable Title)

Page 4.  –   Chapter 2 – (Suitable Title)

Page 6.  – Chapter 3 – (Suitable Title)

Page 8. –  Conclusion

Page 8. –  Appendix 1 (optional)

Page 8. –  Reference List / Bibliography

Page 9. –  Image List (optional)

Introduction The introduction should tell the reader what your research is about, explain the context in which you are working, state your research question, and outline the ways your writing will answer that question over the subsequent chapters. if your practice is central to the Critical Report, it is crucial that you place your work and the questions or ideas that motivate your work in the introduction to your assignment.

On the one hand consider what is going to spark an interest and curiosity about your work in your audience, on the other, the more precise you can be about the field of knowledge in which your research is situated the better. (pptx week 8)

Literature Review

The purpose of writing a literature review is to present the sources you have used in the research to your readers. By doing this, you’re communicating several things:

Explaining the type of research you conducted, mapping your research showing where you started, which concepts you chose to focus on and where following those concepts brought you and where your work fits into the bigger picture explaining how your findings connect to the existing body of research on your topic.

Don’t just list and describe the sources you have read; respond to them, interpret them, and critically evaluate them. Keep in mind that you don’t have to agree with every source you use—in fact, exploring where your findings diverge from a source’s findings can be a strong point in your literature review and paper.  (pptx week 8)

Chapters for main discussion

In this section you will discuss all the key issues and strands that have consequence or relevance to your research enquiry. Provide a structure for a balanced argument and objective analysis of the subject with relevant materials, recognising established and contemporary theories surrounding your topic.

Structure your discussion into relevant chapters with suitable headings and sub-headings required. While each chapter may cover different subject matter it is important to maintain a connection to the overall research question or objective informing the reader of the relevance of that information.

In the discussion your voice and perspective should be heard but balanced and supported by recognised and reliable referencing and citation. (pptx week 6)

Conclusion This should sum up the findings of your research, and clearly explain your overall position. It should bring closure to your discussion alongside broader meaning and any implications for other topics, you can also identify areas where your work could be extended (for example in terms of things that you haven’t had space to cover in this project)

You may want your reader to think differently, question something, or perform some action or make a recommendation of what your reader should “do” with the information.

Avoid introducing new topics or additional content not previously discussed. (pptx week 8)

Bibliography You must include a bibliography. This is a complete list of the texts (including books, articles, websites, etc.) that you have referred to in writing your dissertation. This list should be Harvard referenced. You may also require a filmography, image list etc. (Refer to Harvard Referencing Guide on Moodle)

2.Referencing：

Use the Harvard referencing system to see: should do & shouldn’t do

Attributing Ideas: surname, publication date and page number

Using Quotations

1. Short prose quotations (up to three lines long) should be incorporated into your own sentence, using double quotation marks.  Always check that your sentence grammar has remained intact.
2. Longer prose quotations should be indented and single-spaced (remembering that you are using double or line and a half spacing elsewhere in your text).  They should be preceded and followed by a line space.  No quotation marks are used where a quotation is indented in this way.

Writing your bibliography in the Harvard Style：

https://academicsupportonline.arts.ac.uk/learning-resources/27850

Book

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book. Edition if not the first edition. Place of publication: publisher. 

Exhibition Catalogue

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of exhibition Location and date(s) of exhibition [Exhibition catalogue]. 

Journal article

(printed magazine or newspaper): Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) ‘Title of article‘, Title of Journal, Issue information, Page reference. 

Website without author

Title of web page (Year that the site was published/last published) Available at: URL (Accessed: date). 

Website with author

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page. Available at: URL (Accessed: date). 

Television Broadcast

Title of programme (Year of broadcast) Name of channel, Broadcast date. 

Film / Movie

Title of film (Year of distribution) Directed by … [Film]. Place of distribution: distribution company. 

Video / films on YouTube

Name of person posting video (Year video posted) Title of film or programme. Available at: URL (Accessed: date). 

Exhibitions 

Title of exhibition (Year) [Exhibition]. Location. Dates of exhibition.

Visual Material

Image caption: Title, artists or designer, (photographer if known, year) 

Bibliography: Photographer if known. Artist or Designer (year). Title. Available at: URL. (Accessed/downloaded: date) 

Today’s class taught how to write the introduction and conclusion of the report.

Whether for a report, a journal paper, a dissertation or thesis these components are a critical consideration in successfully communicating to a reader.

• A clear understanding of the research topic undertaken and why
• What information, data, learning informed the research and findings
• A conclusion restating objective and connecting findings

We should think clearly about who the audience of this article is and what we can tell readers.

An introduction should do the following:

1. Attract the Reader’s Attention
2. State Your Focused Topic
3. State your Thesis

Conclusion：

• A conclusion works to remind your reader of the main points of your paper and summarizes what you want your reader to “take away” from your discussion. Consider these tips when writing your conclusion:
• Begin with your rephrased thesis statement to remind your reader of the point of your paper.
• Summarize the points you made in your paper and show how they support your argument; tie all the pieces of your paper together.
• Tell your reader what the significance of your argument might be. Why is the discussion important? Do you want your reader to think differently, question something, or perform some action? Make a recommendation of what your reader should “do” with the information you just gave them, or share the importance of the topic.

Tips for Writing an Introduction：

• Do keep your introduction paragraph short. There are no hard and fast rules, but for most types of features and blog posts three or four sentences is a reasonable goal.
• Don’t waste words. Write lean. Get rid of . It’s good to practice clean, crisp writing in general, but it’s especially important in an opening paragraph to capture your reader’s attention.

• Do consider eliminating your first sentence. Your first sentence (or even your first two or three) is often a sort of writer’s warmup. Cut it and see if it makes the intro stronger.
• Don’t oversell it. Never let your intro write a check your article can’t cash. Whatever you promise in the opening paragraph, make sure you deliver in the post itself.

• Do try drafting the rest of your article before working on the introduction. Often, writing a piece will reveal the best way to introduce it. If your intro doesn’t flow from the beginning, start with a placeholder and write the opening paragraph after the article is complete.

Take time craft and carefully edit your introduction. It can mean the difference between a reader navigating away to greener digital pastures or staying on the page to read what you’ve written, share, and engage. 

Tips for Writing a Conclusion：

1.In the simplest terms

2.Objectives

3.Shouldn’t：

• There are a few things that you should definitely strive to avoid when writing your conclusion paragraph. These elements will only cheapen your overall argument and belabour the obvious.

Avoid phrases like “in summary,” “in conclusion,” or “to sum up.” Readers know they’re at the end of the essay and don’t need a signpost. 

• Don’t simply summarize what’s come before. For a short essay, you certainly don’t need to reiterate all of your supporting arguments. Readers will know if you just copied and pasted from elsewhere.

Avoid introducing brand new ideas or evidence. This will only confuse readers and sap force from your arguments. If there’s a really profound point that you’ve reached in your conclusion and want to include, try moving it to one of your supporting paragraphs. 

• State your purpose

Synthesize rather than restate the material. If you presented an argument, show the reader how all the points fit together to form a logical conclusion.

• Add perspective 

If you’ve come across a fantastic quote in your research that didn’t quite make it into the essay, the conclusion is a great spot for it. Including a quote from one of your primary or secondary sources can frame your thesis or final thoughts in a different light. This can add specificity and texture to your overall argument. 

• Consider the clincher

At the end of the essay comes your closing sentence or clincher. As you think about how to write a good conclusion, the clincher must be top of mind. What can you say to propel the reader to a new view on the subject? This final sentence needs to help readers feel a sense of closure. It should also end on a positive note, so your audience feels glad they read your paper and that they learned something worthwhile. 

• Whereas your introduction acts as a bridge that transfers your readers from their own lives into the “space” of your argument or analysis, your conclusion should help readers transition back to their daily lives. 
• You don’t want to simply summarize what your discussion. Rather, the conclusion should convey a sense of closure alongside the larger meaning and lingering possibilities of the topic. 
• Provide readers with a solution, and insight for any further study.

In this session we will meet in groups to discuss topics, exchange knowledge, share resources and approaches.

• Communicating

For grouping, the two majors are shuffled. They might broaden their thinking by listening to the group members discuss the themes and concepts of their own papers.

My earlier topic choice was about virtual reality in cyberpunk, but after the discussion and the teacher’s feedback to the students following me, I too felt that the subject of cyberpunk was too distant and that it was challenging to write clearly and critically about it：VR vision is used in cyberpunk. Because of this, it is challenging to have solid evidence to back up the assertions because that era has not yet truly arrived. So far, everything information has been based on fiction.

After class, I read a lot of materials, and finally gave up this topic, and replaced it with the direction of computer stereo vision. This is more closely related to my major, and it has been a hot topic in recent years, with more literature and applications to support it.

Read the following paragraph and paraphrase the authors point in your own words.

• The authenticity of a documentary is ‘deeply linked to notions of realism and the idea that documentary images are linked to notions of realism and the idea that documentary images bear evidence of events that actually happened, by virtue of the indexical relationship between image and reality’.

Horness Roe. A. (2013, Animated Documentary) argues that documentary authenticity is “deeply related to the notion of realism and evidence of real events in documentary images”. There is an indexical relationship between documentary images and reality. If the images are evidence of real events and conform to the concept of realism, then the documentary is real.

*Realism refers to accurate, detailed and unadorned depictions of nature or contemporary life.

Video link is here:

Discussing how it would or wouldn’t be classed as a documentary, applying Honess Roes’ ‘Taxonomy for documentary’ and what arguments presented by Nichols or Formenti might question that definition.

• I consider this short animation about the testimony of abductees to be a documentary. In line with the third entry in Honess Roes’ ‘Taxonomy for documentary’ that “has been presented as a documentary by its producers and/or received as a documentary by audiences, festivals or critics”.

• Nichols argues that “Comprehension itself becomes a social act” of transformative understanding rather than an abstract mental process while the use of psychoanalytic terms like desire, lack, or paranoia to make social points metaphorically yields to a vocabulary designed expressly for historical interpretation such as project, intentionality and the social imaginary”.

• But it may be Conflicting somewhat with Honess Roes’ third definition of animated documentary, Nichols believes it should be in line with understanding the fate of contemporary and older works rather than mere documentation.

• Abstract forms are used to express the terrifying testimony of abductees, alien owls, etc. are used to metaphorically reflect the fear of the abductees.

Categorisation:

-background-

• Disney had introduced Technicolor’s three-color system with “Flowers and Trees” in 1932, but most movies were still shot in black and white. Len Lye’s “Rainbow Dance” in 1936, a colour film experiment, abandoned total abstraction.

• The film was a unique move at the time, with pop jazz tunes paired with the artist’s colourful abstract animations that set the format for the music video.

Form and Function:

• This is a fun, free-wheeling and light-hearted, pioneering work of colour animation. The jazz score is upbeat, and the colour is vibrant, making for a successful advertisement for the GPO.

• The animated shorts of the 1930s are almost free of film grain, each colour photo is very stable, and the perfect combination of movement and colour music also reflects Lye’s belief that movement can be part of the artistic language.

Process:

-From the Len Lye Foundation-

• “Tired of naturalism, Lye mixed live action with cartoon symbols, and combined positive and negative footage.”

• “Lye filmed well-known dancer Rupert Doone in black and white, then added colours as the footage was developed and printed. He also added a variety of painted and stencilled patterns. Rainbow Dance is full of striking effects such as figures that leave behind a trail of coloured silhouettes as they move (like Duchamp’s painting “Nude Descending a Staircase”).”

Formal Elements:

The film was made by colourful printing of footage combined with drawing directly on film. The bouncy music drives home the message heard at the end of the film, promoting the GPO (General Post Office): “The Post Office Savings Bank puts a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for you. No deposit too small for the Post Office Savings Bank.”

Pick a film you personally have watched and enjoyed. Blade Runner 2049

-Breakdown the story arc.

Stasis:

Replicants are bio-modified human beings designed by Terry Corporation for extraterrestrial colonies. Their muscular bodies are suitable for slave labor in the colonies. After a series of bloody uprisings, Terry Corporation went bankrupt because it banned the production of clones. The ecosystem in 2020 The collapse, the rise of the physicist Niander Wallace. His company excels at producing artificial crops, which save humanity from famine. Wallace obtained the remnants of Terry’s technology and created a new batch of replicants that obey human beings. Many old replicators with no lifespan have survived, but they are still being hunted down and “decommissioned”. The hunter of replicants is named “Blade Runner”.

Trigger:

In 2049, replicants become slaves. The protagonist K is a replicator, a “Blade Runner” working for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), responsible for hunting down and decommissioning (killing) stray replicators.

The quest:

K, whose job is to hunt down replicas of older models, is assigned to the tough Lt. Josie of the Los Angeles Police Department. During a routine mission to hunt down an early model of the chain No. 8 clone, Saper, which was thought to be as ordinary as any other mission, a shocking secret was discovered.

Surprise:

While on a mission, K finds a box buried under a tree. The box contained the remains of a female replicator with cesarean section marks, proving that replicators can reproduce through sex, which was previously thought impossible. This discovery is enough to threaten the border between humanity and the millions of anthropomorphic slaves that now exist. The obedience of replicants to humans depends on their built-in validity period and the idea that they were created to serve their masters. Many Anything can mess up the system.

Critical choice:

K’s immediate boss, Joshi, worries that this could lead to a war between humans and replicants. She orders K to find and destroy the replicant child to hide the truth. Caused a war between humans and replicants. K faces the difficult choice of continuing to beat the discovery as ordered or disobeying the order and cracking the terrifying conspiracy.

Climax:

K disobeys orders and searches for clues. During the search, it was discovered that he may be the child of the female replicator, and Dr. Ana Stelline, the designer of the toy horse and the replicator’s memory, confirmed that his memory of the orphanage was real, and also used as evidence, making him more convinced that he is Rachel’s son. At the same time, K escapes from Love and Josh to protect the child.

Reversal:

After Love kills Josh, track K to Deckard’s hideout in Las Vegas. The Replicant Freedom Movement saved K. Their leader, Freya, told him that Rachel’s child was a woman and that he was not Rachel’s son. To prevent Deckard from taking Wallace to the children or freedom movement, Frieza asked K to kill Deckard for the greater good of all clones.

Resolution:

Love takes Decker to Wallace’s headquarters to meet Neander Wallace. He provided Deck with a copy of Rachel to reveal what Deck knew. Deckard refuses because he recognizes the fake Rachel’s eyes as not green, and Love kills the replicant. While Love was transporting Deckard to a ship and taking him away for questioning, K intercepted and killed Love, but was seriously wounded in the fight. He deliberately arranges Deckard’s death to protect Deckard from Wallace and the wandering replicants. He takes Deckard to Sterling’s office, deducing that she is Deckard’s daughter, and the memory of that toy horse is hers. K lay motionless on the stairs outside the office, looking at the snowing sky, while Deckard walked into the office to meet Sterling.

-Breakdown the characters into their archetypes.

A character archetype in novel terms is a type of character who represents a universal pattern, and therefore appeals to our human ‘collective unconscious’ . For example, ‘hero’ is the most fundamental character archetype, which directly corresponds to us each being the hero (or protagonist) of our own life story.

K，Rick Deckard: Warrior

Commonly, this character archetype is courageous, self-sacrificing, a person of honor. They’re strong willed, involved, and have a code. But they can often be stubborn and obsessive.

Joi：Seducer

K’s AI girlfriend, a product of cyberpunk.

Commonly, this character archetype is charming, a person of charisma. They’re confident, persuasive, and sly.

Often debonair, they’re provocative and mysterious but they can often be manipulative and a bit jaded.

Niander Wallace, Freysa：Leader

Niander Wallace :The owner of Wallace’s. He knows what he wants and how to get it. Can lead her team to victory or destruction, keeping her eyes on the finish line.

Freysa :clone leader

Commonly, this character archetype is forceful, a person of action. They’re confident, motivated, and brave.

Which is beneficial for staying active and building story momentum but they can often be arrogant and domineering. This is great for generating a lot of natural conflict.

Luv：Castaway

Killer

Commonly, this character archetype is observant from a safe distance, a bit of a loner. They’re devoted, loyal, and introspective. But they can often be gullible and emotional.

Dr. Ana Stelline：Professor

The designer of the clone’s memory, Dr. Ana Stelline, has extraordinary abilities, proving that the male protagonist’s childhood memories are real, and he is also the child of the clone.

Commonly, this character archetype is literal, droll, and very often a genius. They’re logical, problem solving, and candid.

But they can often be socially oblivious and rigid.

-Create a timeline for the main character starting before the film start.

Influence of future life on human beings

In many film and television works and science fiction, we can often see many images of human life in the future. Will the high-tech life in the future bring happiness or despair? Or cyberpunk, which has become popular in recent years, is a combination of low-end life and high technology? Smart technology is an essential presence for Gen Z. They have received more Internet information than their predecessors and are immersed in the near-future sci-fi imagination of the 21st century. The forward-looking “future technology sense” has become the most widely sought popular element and cultural phenomenon in the Z era. These wonderful worlds attract people. I will analyze the charm of different worldlines and the impact it has on human beings from different types of works.

Keywords:

Future

artificial intelligence

Utopia and Dystopia

Cyberpunk

Cyberpsycho

References:

[1] J Anderson, L Rainie, A Luchsinger. (2018). “Artificial intelligence and the future of humans”. Pew Research Center. tony-silva.com

[2] I Csicsery-Ronay. (1988). “Cyberpunk and neoromanticism”. Mississippi Review. JSTOR

[3] CD Projekt Red. “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners”. Based on the video game Cyberpunk 2077.