Influence and success of the Arabic edition of UFO Robo Grendizer: Adoption of a Japanese icon in the Arabic-speaking world

UFO Robo Grendizer, a Japanese anime character produced in 1975, was immensely popular in Arab countries. Adapted into Arabic in Lebanon as it was enduring a devastating civil war, the program was broadcasted in 1979, then during the 1980s across many Arab audiences (mainly Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf). The cartoon’s narrative of alien invasion and heroic resistance, using cutting-edge technology in the form of Grendizer the super-robot, mirrored the harsh reality of war and occupation that so many Arab populations endured during the same period. This paper aims at uncovering why Grendizer struck such a profound echo in the minds and hearts of the generation of children who found in the character a super hero figure as an escape route to their world’s problems. It will also address the impact of this Japanese cultural reference onto Arabic audiences and highlight how the cartoon came to be domesticated for an Arab context, thus leaving its original universe and encompass the mindset, reflections and expectations of many Arab generations.

Pandemic Practice: Horror Fans and Morbidly Curious Individuals Are More Psychologically Resilient During the COVID-19 Pandemic

One explanation for why people engage in frightening fictional experiences is that these experiences can act as simulations of actual experiences from which individuals can gather information and model possible worlds. Conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study (n = 310) tested whether past and current engagement with thematically relevant media fictions, including horror and pandemic films, was associated with greater preparedness for and psychological resilience toward the pandemic. Since morbid curiosity has previously been associated with horror media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, we also tested whether trait morbid curiosity was associated with pandemic preparedness and psychological resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that fans of horror films exhibited greater resilience during the pandemic and that fans of “prepper” genres (alien-invasion, apocalyptic, and zombie films) exhibited both greater resilience and preparedness. We also found that trait morbid curiosity was associated with positive resilience and interest in pandemic films during the pandemic. Taken together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to frightening fictions allow audiences to practice effective coping strategies that can be beneficial in real-world situations.

COVID19 PANDEMIC: WHY DOES IT HAPPEN AND WHERE DOES IT TAKE US TO?

Genome of eukaryotic cells contains up to 69% of the transposable elements and repetitive sequences. To a large extent it is a result of billions of years of evolution through which eukaryotes were encountering gazillions of viruses and storing the footprints of those encounters in its genome. This time Mankind deals with a novel virus belonging to the coronavirus family, which albeit being widely spread in the wildlife is new to humans. Once infected, 80% of humans experience a flu-like symptoms and eventually recover. However the real menace is posed to those whose vulnerability is determined by old age and underlying medical conditions. Akin to the scenario of alien invasion, this pandemic will leave a notable imprint on social, economic and biological aspects of human existence. How did it happen, or rather, why did we allow this to happen? Let’s ponder over the biological, medical and philosophical domains of COVID19 pandemic.

An Interplanetary Travel

<p>To promote STEAM vocations among our teenage students aged between 12 and 16, our institute has designed and implemented a project called "AN INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL" thanks to the collaboration of the EUROPEAN OFFICE RESOURCES FOR SPACE EDUCATION OF SPAIN (CESERO Spain) which provides us with a kit of materials for our purpose.</p><p>The project is structured in different parts:</p><p>-First, we propose our students the possible fictitious alien invasion by recreating a radio program where all countries are informing of the alien threat existing by aliens who want to invade our planet.</p><p>Through a previous brainstorm the students consider the possibility of colonizing other planets of the Solar System in order to survive.</p><p>-Second, to be able to choose the ideal future home, they must investigate various planets that match the requirements for the human being to live and do experiments in order to detect the existence of life.</p><p>-Third, while some students are dedicated to designing and selling one-way tickets for this new place, through the creation of their own travel agency, and all the logistics involved others are dedicated to studying how to plan that trip . Subsequently, the "clients" select the agency that provides the best services.</p><p>-Fourth, for the planning of the trip it is necessary that our students become spaceships engineers to design the space vehicle and the pertinent tests for its takeoff.</p><p>To be able to build that spacecraft, it is necessary to investigate the different properties of the materials to find the perfect features that the different parts of the space vehicle must have: impact resistance, magnetism, densities, electrical properties and thermal conductivity, etc. and select the suitable ones to carry it out Both the water rocket and the reentry capsule are designed and tested in an open field. The idea is to land in our future home.</p><p>-Fifth, calculations are made for the different phases of our trip: launch phase, space phase and reentry phase. (Level adapted for high school students). For the reentry phase the parachute is designed and tested with an egg so that it can land without breaking.</p><p>-Sixth, the students study the possible health consequences of future colonizers.</p><p>-And finally, all student groups teach their peers the achievements through exhibitions.</p><p><br>Good trip !!!</p>

Golden Gate

William Brown’s Golden Gate is a poetic video essay that reworks footage from 43 movies, spanning eight decades. Through intertitles, repetition, loops and other formal strategies, the film creates an affective and theoretical argument concerning the role of the Golden Gate Bridge in American cinema and American culture more generally. Taking a posthuman approach, Brown considers the bridge not just in terms of its spatial span across the Golden Gate Bay but also as a ‘living, sentient’ entity. This video essay connects films featuring the bridge that deal with the birth of artificial intelligence, autism, alien invasion and the control of woman to suggest how it could represent, if not the end of humanity, then the end of western patriarchal masculinity.