Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development. Throughout this course my writing went through multiple drafts, feedback cycles, and collaborative discussions. At the beginning, I struggled with categorizing my posts, making it difficult for my instructor to locate and review my work. After clear instruction, I placed assignments, such as the Rebuttal Rewrite and Visual Rewrite into the appropriate categories. I then returned to my Rebuttal Rewrite, and by using Professor’s feedback I strengthened my argument, refined my points, fixed my flaws, and highlighted the limitations of AI detection methods. These recursive revisions demonstrated that writing is not a one-step activity but rather a repetitive, social process supported by peers, instructors, and self-reflection. Ultimately, this process transformed rough drafts into more coherent, polished pieces that better conveyed my ideas.
Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. Assignments like the Research Paper and Annotated Bibliography enhanced my critical reading and analysis skills. Instead of passively accepting authors’ arguments, I learned to question their claims, identify hidden assumptions, and consider their work within broader academic and public findings. For example, while researching AI-generated misinformation, deep fakes, and dark money, I synthesized diverse perspectives—from legal precedents such as Citizens Unitedto technical analyses of deep face detection methods and ethical considerations about responsible AI use. Integrating and comparing these sources clarified complex arguments, revealed patterns, and provided a stronger foundation for my stance. This critical engagement with texts allowed me to craft arguments that were well-informed and thoughtfully contextualized with very limited flaws.
Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments. Working within various academic genres required me to consider audience and purpose carefully. The Definition Argument asked me to clarify concepts like AI-generated misinformation for a potentially skeptical audience, while the Visual Rewrite required translating subtle visual elements into a coherent narrative. In the Causal Argument, I had to consider how different readers—concerned citizens, policymakers, or fellow students—would respond to the implications of deep fakes and unregulated political spending. Each assignment demanded adjustments in tone, organization, and evidence selection. By deliberately thinking about audience expectations and the contexts surrounding my arguments, I produced texts more likely to inform, persuade, and engage readers.
Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations. Developing my Annotated bibliography and Research paper greatly improved my information literacy skills. I learned to find credible sources—well-reviewed articles, Supreme Court decisions, and interdisciplinary studies—and then assess their relevance and reliability. Incorporating this evidence required correct citation formats, consistent phrasing, and clear attribution. By grounding my claims about AI-generated misinformation, deepfake technology, and socio-political issues using reputable studies, I boosted my argument’s credibility. This evidence-based approach helped me understand the larger academic and cultural findings. Over time, I improved in interpreting data, weighing opposite viewpoints, and presenting nuanced and informed arguments that met academic standards.
Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. Respecting intellectual property and representing complex issues were very important to my writing. I credited authors properly in assignments like the Research Paper. When exploring challenging topics, such as how AI-generated disinformation affects democratic processes, I aimed to show multiple sides without misrepresenting or oversimplifying them. Interacting honestly with sources, avoiding manipulative rhetoric, and acknowledging my argument’s limitations solidified my commitment to ethical integrity. Although me and Professor had a concerning encounter regarding the honesty of my work, I was able to prove my innocence through my resilience. By upholding these values, I maintained academic integrity and earned reader trust.
Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.
In the beginning of the semester I could tell that this was going to be a tough class. I realize that writing counterintuitively takes time, focus, and effort. I especially realized this when writing my Definition Argument. This class was in fact a challenge, it challenged my writing skills on another level. I had to really take a look at my thesis and even had to change it a couple of times in order to write comfortably.
Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.
I believe that in my proposal +5 I found good sources to utilize in my research paper. With the great help of Google Scholar I was able to find good academic sources that would help me with my argument. Due to these sources I was able to successfully complete my research paper to the best of my abilities.
Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.
In my Rebuttal I was able to form my argument and execute it. I feel that I was able to get my audience to become engaged and understand my argument. I believe I hit my target audience and was able to give the message I wanted them to receive. I was able to help them look at the facts in history and how it lead up to where we are now in this country when it comes to the American Education system and the systemic racism it was built upon.
Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.
While writing my Causal Argument I was able to effectively point out and explain the cause and effect of racism in the education system. Also with the help of my sources I was able to showcase my evidence for the causes and effects that racism has on the modern day education system. By applying historical context I was able to help my audience better understand my argument and the message I wanted to convey.
Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation.
I feel as though in my Research paper I could have tried to do better with representing complex ideas fairly. This was hard to me due to morality and maybe even bias. As a minority I am on the minorities’ side when it comes to racism in the education system, and I was not able to fairly express two sides of this argument. I feel I could have done better on that part.
I decided to do my own study on the topic of sadness and why people consume it. I asked friends, family, professors, and other random people for feedback to a few different questions. I asked if they listened to sad music and if so, when. I asked if they liked seeing a montage of happiness on their social media feed when they are feeling down.
To the first question, most people responded that they listened to sad music because by chance it happened to be playing, idle listening. The next most popular answer was people listened to sad music because they found it beautiful or a nice change of pace, enjoyable though novelty. The last most popular answer was that people found it therapeutic. They used sad music to live through it. They wanted to feel a sort of connection to the music. It is a way for them to sort through their feelings. Import note, is that people do not stay there for forever. Once they feel ready, they move on to finding funny or happy content. The music I believe in combination with what I have read and seen in my survey; is what people use as part of mood regulation. Mood regulation is not anything fancy, it is simply strategies people may have for getting their mood back to a normal neutral state. The greater the worktime, the greater the playtime people need. Sad music acts as a playground for people to explore their emotions.
We can see support for my results with E. Glenn Schellenberg and associates in their article Liking for happy- and sad-sounding music: Effects of exposure for the Online Journal of Cognition & Emotion wrote an interesting article with the intention was to see the effect of exposure of music over time.
Their study was to address other studies that appear to clash at first glance, some saying people liked music the more they listened and another that said people grow tired of listing to the same song. E. Glenn Schellenberg and associates found a “U-curve” where both points of view can exist, just on opposite sides of the curve. Her study finds that people like music the more they here the song up to a point and then there is diminishing returns, and finally there is a dislike of overplaying a song.
The one variable that is of interest is that participants listened to sad and happy songs. While most people in their study preferred happy songs, why did people prefer sad songs?
“(overall)…listeners preferred happy- over sad-sounding music, and we have no reason to believe that the present listeners would differ in this regard. Indeed, the observed interaction between listening condition and emotional status stemmed from relatively high levels of liking for sad sounding music among the incidental listeners (see Figure 1). This finding is consistent with two alternative hypotheses that could be tested in future research. One involves mood congruency and the proposal that listeners in a negative mood demonstrate enhanced liking for music with negative (sad) affect. The other suggests that the appeal of sad music is linked with its calming effects, most likely its association with reductions in arousal levels. As noted, two distinguishing characteristics of sad-sounding music are its slow tempo and minor mode.”
Miriam Serrano Soliva wrote The effectiveness of live music in reducing anxiety and depression among patients undergoing haemodialysis. A randomised controlled pilot study for Plos One where she concluded “It is concluded that listening to live classical music during haemodialysis sessions reduces anxiety and depression levels in HD patients”
Here we can see that music can return people to a more upbeat state and that it is part of mood regulation.
We can also see supporting literate in the Journal of Communication, the article Entertainment as Pleasurable and Meaningful: Identifying Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motivations for Entertainment Consumption by Mary Beth Oliver & Arthur A. Raney has a lot to say that supports my study.
“…there exist numerous forms of entertainment for which ‘enjoyment’ may not be the most apt descriptor of the gratifications that individuals experience. Tragic drama, moving cinema, heartbreaking opera, or poignant novels and poems are but a few examples of entertainment that may be deeply gratifying, but not ‘‘enjoyable’’ in the colloquial sense of the term. Indeed, to say that one ‘‘enjoyed’’ or was ‘‘entertained by’’ a film such as Hotel Rwanda would seem decidedly odd, at best.”
“The idea that moving or meaningful entertainment could be gratifying, but simultaneously not readily characterized in terms of positively valenced affect has generated considerable theorizing that has aimed at resolving the apparent ‘‘puzzle’’ or ‘‘paradox’’ of the ‘‘enjoyment’’ of genres such as sad films or tearjerkers (Oliver, 1993; Zillmann, 1998).”
“Similarly, some scholars have suggested that entertainment—including entertainment that elicits negative affect—can be conceptualized as a form of ‘‘play’’ that ultimately helps viewers/users cope with or confront their realities (Vorderer, 2001) and that may further have evolutionarily benefits in terms of providing safe ‘‘training’’ for dangerous or threatening situations or allowing for the enactment of a diversity of cognitive and behavioral responses to the environment (e.g., Steen & Owens, 2001).”
Thalia R. Goldstein of Boston College writes in her paper The Pleasure of Unadulterated Sadness: Experiencing Sorrow in Fiction, Nonfiction, and “In Person” for the American Psychological Association that “Fictional works can be manipulated to create large emotional effects; indeed, this is often one of the prime goals of a fiction writer (Oatley, 1999). A nonfictional work does not have this kind of freedom (Mellmann, 2002). Fictional films, for instance, are organized so as to manipulate the audiences’ sympathy and engage their emotions (Coplan, 2006). Fiction abstracts, simplifies, and compresses real life to elicit strong emotions in the audience (Mar & Oatley, 2008).”
“Knowing that we have entered a fictional world allows our emotions a “safe” space to be released, without real world consequences.”
“Consistent with this finding, Keen (2006) argued that nonfiction readers operate in a skeptical and investigative mode, whereas fiction readers become immersed in the lives of the characters. In short, because we mute our appraisal system when we read fiction, we are more likely to allow ourselves to feel powerfully in response to fiction than in everyday life”
“Fiction provides readers with a controlled environment in which to explore emotions they try to avoid in real life (Mar & Oatley, 2008). Fiction also allows us to safely practice our understanding of others and our emotional responses to other’s situations (Zunshine, 2006). Fiction allows for the cognitive simulation of an event without any real world consequences; we are not tied to feeling any one way and therefore can feel more”
“When people recalled a tragic event that they had personally experienced, they felt not only sadness but also anxiety. In contrast, the sadness reported when witnessing a sad movie was unadulterated by anxiety. Perhaps this is because, as suggested by Coplan (2006), in our own lives we know the event will not go away, and we will have to keep dealing with the long term effect. However, when watching a movie we know that when the film ends, we can walk away from that world.”
If we turn our attention to the other question about seeing happy people on social media, people don’t want to see that kind of happy stuff when they are in a bad mood, it makes them more frustrated, or at least that is what I have concluded after my second question talking to people. I asked people if they found pictures of people being happy frustrating or upsetting when they were in a bad mood. And the answer was an overwhelming yes. There was a sense that they wished other people understood what they were going through. Social media sometimes being a trophy rack of peoples’ life accomplishments, subtle brags about social status, or posts featuring their amazing lives with awesome friends, contrasts from people that are feeling down. It pushes people away. This may be partly why we see depression rates in people with social media.
“People who are ‘extremely online — spending more than two hours a day on social media — can end up feeling lonely or depressed. One widely cited 2018 study from the University of Pennsylvania found that college undergraduates who limited their use of social media apps Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 30 minutes a day quickly saw significant reductions in their feelings of depression and loneliness, compared with those who did not change their social media behaviors. “At least with some of these most popular, image-heavy sources of social media, we know they cause negative affect and isolation,” says Stone of Demographic Intelligence in CQ Researcher’s article Loneliness Epidemic.
We can find further support for this in an Article called the Association Between Social Media use and Depression Among U.S. adults written by Liu yi Lin and associates, they found mixed results of depression in young adults using social media. They speculate “One explanation may be that exposure to highly idealized representations of peers on social media elicits feelings of enby and the distorted belief that others lead happier and/or more successful lives. Consequently, these envious feelings may lead to a sense of self- inferiority and depression over time.”
In the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Brian Primack and associates writes in their paper The Temporal Associations Between Social Media Use and Depression “This study provides the first large-scale data investigating the directionality of SMU and depression. It finds strong associations between initial SMU and subsequent development of depression but no increase in SMU after depression. This pattern suggests temporal associations between SMU and depression, an important criterion for causality.”
People who are sad what other people to level with them, someone to relate to, someone that has experienced the same negative emotions. People who are down want to hear validation about their grievances, and hear that despite things looking bad, want relief in the form of hope from people who have gone though the same things and made it out of the darkness. People may otherwise want a place to explore their emotions outside of a journal. Movies, books, music, and videogames can provided spaces where the imagination is the limit, and any number of situations can be created for people to explore with their grief. My conclusion of all of this is perhaps if people can find a nugget of laughter or happiness in the grimdark setting of Warhammer 40k or a sad song, then perhaps they can find some in their own lives.
Even if I did accept the argument that Warhammer 40,000 and Space Marine 2 got lucky, that does not stem the flow of dark stories that has made companies rich, hit after hit. The Walking Dead, Black Mirror, Game of Thrones, West World, Squid Game. There are also the other ones I have mentioned above like Godzilla, and Gundam.
Edgar Allan Poe died in 1849 the American civil war was 1861 to 1865
In literature nothing cleanly starts or ends. No one would dare assume all men or women are alike. In the same way poets are not all of one hivemind and genres change immediately, though we may teach it that way, what we are actually teaching is what the fad or trend was for that time, whether it be romanticism or realism or something else. We see people try something different occasionally, and maybe it catches on. Sometimes they invent new genres by trying something new. And while yes, it could be demonstrated that Edar Allan Poe’s writings could not be directly connected to the tragedy of the civil war, that does not mean that there was no tragedy to be had.
“Edgar Allan Poe wrote ‘The Raven’ during a difficult period in his life. His wife, Virginia, was suffering from tuberculosis, Poe was struggling to make money as an unknown writer, and he began drinking heavily and picking fights with coworkers and other writers. It’s easy to see how he could have conjured the dark and melancholy mood of ‘The Raven.’” says Christine Sarikas of Prep Scholar.
It is not a far leap to suggest that Edgar Allan Poe wrote this dark, and now famous poem, to help channel what grimness he was feeling at the time.
Robert Frost was not only into Existentialism.
Robert Frost was into Naturalism, though with an Existentialist twist. Even though Robert Frost does explore other themes in his works such as the barriers men create in “Mending Wall”, the majority of his works convey imagery of empty nature. There is very much darkness that can be extrapolated from the emptiness and aloneness he conveys in his poetry.
America is always in a war, America has always had dark writers
Between Vietnam and Desert Storm, and multiple campaigns fighting the War on Terror, I can understand the point of view that America has warlike tendencies every few decades. However, might I also point out that America also has suffered a “great” recession, a pandemic, and for dessert, political turmoil. None of this stops the American public from feeling anxiety or tension, if anything it only encourages more it! These bottled-up negative emotions only pave the way for more writers and directors to therapeutically express their fears on paper and sometimes make a lump some of money doing so. When the general public feels down about the things around them, we can see a general acceptance of these stories and movies by their popularity and profit.
If war hammer has always been dark, why hasn’t it taken off until now
There were plenty of dark events between 1980 and now, therefore it had the chance to become big for a long time between then and now. Because it hadn’t then, it must either be a coincidence or is big now for another reason instead. I would respond by saying that there is one key difference between then and now and that is our pop culture had changed dramatically and therefore what is acceptable. Thanks to popular superhero movies of the 2000s through the 2010s paving the way, traditionally nerdier media such as Game of Thrones could now be an acceptable pastime for non-nerdy people to watch. I am modest of course, as Game of Thrones was an HBO blockbuster that had people on the edge of their seat every episode and leaving on a note that made people excitedly ready to devour the next episode, to the point they did not want to wait. The advent of nerd culture becoming pop culture in modern society has replaced the trends of past such as 80s action movies. In the 1980 it was widely accepted that nerds would be bullied for the media they consumed as well as other things like their appearance. Even I got teased for liking nerdy stuff that is now considered cool or nostalgic. “Nerd culture is pop culture” is what has enabled media like Warhammer to come into the spotlight, and because it is dark, amusing, or maybe even resonate in a few ironic instances with people who see the world as a dark place.
American Psychological Association, The Pleasure of Unadulterated Sadness: Experiencing Sorrow in Fiction, Nonfiction, and “In Person”, Thalia R. Goldstein. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015343
Association Between Social Media Use and Depression Among U.S. Young Adults, Liu yi Lin, Jaime E. Sidani, Ariel Shensa, Ana Radovic, Elizabeth Miller, Jason Colditz, Beth Hoffman, Leila Giles, and Brian Primack, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY 33:323–331 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22466
Cognition & Emotion, Liking for happy- and sad-sounding music: Effects of exposure E. Glenn Schellenberg, Isabelle Peretz & Sandrine Vieillard. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930701350753
International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents, Betul Keles, Niall McCrae & Annmarie Grealish. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851
Journal of Communication, Entertainment as Pleasurable and Meaningful: Identifying Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motivations for Entertainment Consumption Mary Beth Oliver & Arthur A. Raney. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01585.x
Media Psychology, What Combination of Message Characteristics Determines Hedonic and Counter-Hedonic Preferences? An Examination of the Interplay Between Valence and Semantic Affinity, Jinhee Kim & Mary Beth Olive. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213269.2011.573462
Plos One, The effectiveness of live music in reducing anxiety and depression among patients undergoing haemodialysis. A randomised controlled pilot study, Miriam Serrano Soliva, Rafael Ortiz Ramo, ConradoCarrascosa Lopez, Inmaculada Rico Salvador, Javier Villalon Coca, Rafael Garcia Maset, Alicia Garcia Testal. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0307661
Dark media is better than happy media at making sad people happy!
I have recently encountered a conspiracy! Friends, strangers, and Youtubers alike, have said the same thing to me, “I feel like as the world around people feels darker, the more people are more into darker stuff.” This appears to be a recurring reaction after people play Space Marine 2. The uncanniness of multiple people coming to the same conclusion, makes me wonder if the franchise itself asks leading questions, and more importantly, could it be true that people are gravitating towards darker stories nowadays because they feel like we are living in dark times?
For some context, Space Marine 2 is a video game that was released in September. It exceeded its parent company’s expectations, with Game World Observer estimating the game sold 2 million copies and produced $202 million within the first month, while Newsweek has recently released updated sales figures for December estimating an additional 3 million copies sold since the first month.
Space marine 2 part of the Warhammer 40,000 IP, owned by parent company Games Workshop, and is a popular multimedia franchise spanning over 300 novels (and still going), a table-top wargame, multiple video games genres, crossover events with Call of Duty and Magic the Gathering, and CG movie animations, with a new one showing up on Amazon Prime December 10th this year!
While this “yada-yada” may seem like praise, my intention instead is to demonstrate a foil between the popularity of the franchise and its story. This is not a Disney story that naturally garners praise, makes people feel good, tells people to follow their dreams. “Warhammer 40,000 is one of the darkest, most depressing universes, like ever, or at least like top 3!” Youtuber Bricky states. The parent company, Games Workshop, proudly touts that they pioneered a new genre they call “grimdark”. How does doing the opposite of Disney and creating arguably one of the darkest universes make its way into the mainstream and pop culture consciousness? Do we really have an appetite for dark things, and if so, where does it come from?
After revisiting the comment people seems to come to time and time again after playing Space Marine 2, I extrapolated their thoughts to produce a hypothesis to investigate: Dark media is better than happy media at making sad people happy.
What do I mean by happy or dark media?
Happy media in this particular usage is referring to stereotypical American media, the kinds of stories with happy endings. It can include both adult and children’s shows. It can also refer to art that has an optimistic view of the future, or songs that are upbeat and the lyrics are positive. If I were to take a random song on the radio it would most likely be about having a good time.
Before the American Civil War, the optimism of Ralph Waldo Emerson who started the Transcendentalism movement made its way into American literature, the most famous of these writers was arguably Walt Whitman. We can look at his famous poem Song of Myself where he displays such a zest for life and a hopefulness for all of humanity.
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” … “Do you see O my brothers and sisters? It is not chaos or death—it is form, union, plan—it is eternal life—it is Happiness.” -Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
He believes in a spirit that we are all a part of and that we can be happy just stopping to smell the roses and become more integrated with nature. He believes we are all good, that goodness lies within us all already, and that happiness awaits us. This is from a larger inspiration and shared by many that were transcendentalist. This optimism directly conflicted with darker works, like The Raven by Edger Allen Poe which Christine Sarikas of Prep Scholar points out when she says
“The Raven” brought Poe instant fame, although not the financial security he was looking for. Critical reception was mixed, with some famous writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Butler Yeats expressing their dislike for the poem.”
Other good examples of what I mean would be TV series from those golden years of the 1960s and 1970s. Shows like I Dream of Jeanine (1965), Batman (1966), Star Trek(1966), The Carol Burnett Show(1967) The Brady Bunch (1969), Mary Tyler Moore Show(1970), All in The Family (1971), The Bob Newhart Show(1972), Happy Days (1974), Taxi (1978) were all great entertainment that embodies this happy media style. The characters that despite their shortcomings sometimes, always did the right thing in the end! There was never any grey areas questions of morality or pragmatism. Most fights were resolved with words and great points, even when tackling progressive topics for their time in small part to great writers! If there was a scene with a physical fight such as in the more action-oriented shows such as Batman or Star Trek, it would end in just in one punch and unusually reasonable bad guys that often see the folly of their ways afterwards.
Dark media on the other hand refers to movies, music, or art of the dark genre. It’s a genre that usually involves the themes of loss, misfortune, death, suffering, or apathy. It may also involve themes of revenge or justice involving morally gray areas, and sometimes the enjoyment of the suffering or misfortune of others. A tragic song about breaking up with a lover is a common theme in music, after all the happy songs about finding love that is.
Tragedy specifically is nothing new and dates back to “ancient Greece from the late 6th century BCE” (World History, Greek Tragedy). Dark is nothing new and can be found in popular classic literature! The Brothers Grim and their stories are infamous as classic children’s stories from the early 1800s. Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel are often cited for being dark and serve as debate material as to what is acceptable for children. Emily Dickinson poetically writes “Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me–” about death being such a charitable fellow in the later 1800s. We can see this bleaker edge in literature in H.P. Lovecraft’s Eldritch stories of horrors and madness, or in Robert Frost’s ponderance of existentialism after World War I.
“They cannot scare me with their empty spaces Between stars–on stars where no human race is. I have it in me so much nearer home To scare myself with my own desert places.” -Desert Places, Robert Frost
A newt’s third law of motion (pictures), every war has an equal and opposite dark literature reaction
We can see dark stories march to the drum beat of war. It could be argued that a writer is inspired in their writings after the events of war, though it is equally likely they are using their art for cathartic reasons. The people that enjoy darker stories may also find one person’s catharsis relatable and perhaps therapeutic for themselves. Take for example, after the Civil war we can see the proliferation of dark literature becoming more common place with writers like Emily Dickerson.
Dr. Oliver Tearle of Loughborough University points out “Frost wrote ‘Fire and Ice’ in 1920. This is just two years after the end of the First World War, and a time when revolution, apocalypse, and social and political chaos were on many people’s minds.” (10 of the Best Robert Frost Poems Everyone Should Read)
One of the of the scariest wars mankind has waged against itself.
As time progressed, we can see more pop culture landmarks that show darker tones due to war.
Godzilla was the anthropomorphization of the Atom bomb and the horrors inflicted upon Japan in World War II. Godzilla features giant lizard monster destroys Toykyo. The monster is often referred to as sin or retribution, as it became a monster due to nuclear exposure. It is a way to personify the horror of pandora’s box that has been opened thanks to nuclear weapons. The most recent reboot, titled Godzilla Minus One, won an Oscar in the United States, and 90+ additional awards and accolades after being shown internationally. Godzilla Minus One features a protagonist suffering from PTSD after World War II, and how people in general deal with dark or grim situations. Based off of the positive reviews this dark story has clearly resonated with people!
M.A.S.H. was groundbreaking and was well received during its airing from 1972 – 1983. Rather than a rallying trumpet to charge, it was more reserved, a cautionary series about war, specifically the war in Vietnam going on at the time. It featured a commentary on the war as the characters deal with the situation they are stuck in and dark sense of humor to go with it. “It’s just a war, it is nothing to die over”- Captain B.J. Hunnicutt
Even children’s shows such as Gundam got darker thanks to war. Guman’s creator Yoshiyuki Tomino was given no further instructions then to make cartoon featuring a giant robot so toys of it can be sold. Tomino was heavily influenced by World War II when writing, and therefore unlike other giant robot shows of the time that featured battles of good versus evil and happy endings, Gundam instead featured a daker war story. It stars a teen named Amero Ray who lived in a neutral space colony until it gets attacked and destroyed. Amaro is only able to survive the attack by finding a secret prototype weapon, the giant robot called Gundam. However by taking this giant robot intended to finally break the gridlock of the ongoing war, Amaro is sucked into battles he wants nothing to do with, fighting not for ideology but for his friends’ and his own survival.
What is interesting about this show is that it was a slow burn to mainstream popularity. The show’s dark war story did not resonate when it aired at its timeslot intended for children but came into its own much later after being rediscovered by an older crowd. This is an interesting piece to bring to the table, as to what it may further imply that dark stories resonate with adults but not children.
And finally we make our way back to the example of Warhammer 40,000. The setting is bleak, mostly revolving around mankind in the far future of the 41st millennium. Mankind worships a corpse on a throne that they believe to be their god-emperor. To live in this time is to live amongst one of the cruelest authoritarian regimes ever. Forget progress and understanding, knowledge from the golden age of technology has been lost. Everyone is some flavor of xenophobic religious zealot. War rages across the galaxy resulting in the deaths of untold billions. Mankind is assaulted on all sides by mutants, xenos, daemons, and worse. Barely hanging on thanks to the might of the Emperor’s armies and his super soldiers the Space Marines.
“Planets are deemed unrecoverable and are completely destroyed on a whim. Everything sucks, but that’s like the charm of it!” -Bricky
I should mention that there is a good helping of irony and dark humor to balance out such a horrible universe because it would not be “So stereotypical British” otherwise. Everything is so ridiculous, destructive, or horrible, the stories sometimes end up being a metaphorical dark Monty Python skit of jumping over on a nuclear bomb just to land on a banana peel and hit your head on the bomb anyway. Mankind as a result often up killing each other as much as they kill their enemies.
On the other side of the coin, having a grim universe naturally leads to characters performing heroic deeds or just trying to make the best of bad circumstances. There are sacred people of course, but they are used to contrast the people who spit in the face of unwinnable circumstances.
I also remember a good friend, that after trying to commit suicide, suddenly became obsessed with darker stories. I thought it was unusual, but I didn’t ask any questions about it at the time. He at the time fell in love with The Witcher, a series of novels, videogames, and even a Netflix series that take place in a “Dark Fantasy World” according to the official website for The Witcher 3.
The story of the Witcher displays a blunt, dirty, and inglorious tone to war, a handful of different kingdoms– their courts rife with politics, conspiracy, and taboo family affairs, and to top it all off a monster hunter, our protagonist, that sometimes questions who is more of a monster; the monsters he is hunting or the humans he is dealing with. If that doesn’t set up enough opportunities to explore dark topics, “The Witcher Borrows Heavily From European Folklore”( https://time.com/5753369/the-witcher-history-folklore/) including demonic creatures like the Striga, as well as inspiration from fairytales such as a slightly altered version of Hansel and Gretel where our protagonist Geralt follows a trail of flower petals and rescues a group of children from being eaten by three swamp witches. Many of these fables were already dark, without needing any additional embellishments seen in The Witcher.
Furthermore, what if we think abstractly and personify America as a person? One of the most defining movie trilogies of the 2000’s in America was The Dark Knight Trilogy. Recognized inside of theaters for its darker depiction of Gotham, Batman, and the Joker, while being recognized outside of theatres for the tragedy surrounding Heath Ledger’s death and the Oscar he would win posthumously for his performance as the Joker (Express, Heath Ledger’s Oscars). This newer interpretation by Christopher Nolan was not the “Adam West Batman” for general audiences, but instead a darker, morally grayer, and realistic imagining of what Batman would like in our modern world. The interesting part is this trilogy started playing in theatres right around the America was fighting its “War on Terror” in Iraq and Afghanistan (History Channel, War on Terror Timeline). The finally of the trilogy literally involved terrorism, which Batman had to fight against.
Dark is found in our own lives though we do not see it the way we literature. In our own lives we just see it as scary, sad, or as an existential crisis. We see dark when we see politicians or judges make regrettable decisions, but we call it disappointment or outrage. We see dark when we lose hope, but we just call that hopelessness. Perhaps it is because we are unable to see it in our own world that we wish to live it out in a song or movie. And this is where the hypothesis comes into play. What are we looking for in dark media when there are plenty of problems around us already?
What does Science have to say?
I decided to do my own study on the topic of sadness and why people consume it. I asked friends, family, professors, and other random people for feedback to a few different questions. I asked if they listened to sad music and if so, when. I asked if they liked seeing a montage of happiness on their social media feed when they are feeling down.
To the first question, most people responded that they listened to sad music because by chance it happened to be playing, idle listening. The next most popular answer was people listened to sad music because they found it beautiful or a nice change of pace, enjoyable though novelty. The last most popular answer was that people found it therapeutic. They used sad music to live through it. They wanted to feel a sort of connection to the music. It is a way for them to sort through their feelings. Import note, is that people do not stay there for forever. Once they feel ready, they move on to finding funny or happy content. The music I believe in combination with what I have read and seen in my survey; is what people use as part of mood regulation. Mood regulation is not anything fancy, it is simply strategies people may have for getting their mood back to a normal neutral state. The greater the worktime, the greater the playtime people need. Sad music acts as a playground for people to explore their emotions.
We can see support for my results with E. Glenn Schellenberg and associates in their article Liking for happy- and sad-sounding music: Effects of exposure for the Online Journal of Cognition & Emotion wrote an interesting article with the intention was to see the effect of exposure of music over time.
Their study was to address other studies that appear to clash at first glance, some saying people liked music the more they listened and another that said people grow tired of listing to the same song. E. Glenn Schellenberg and associates found a “U-curve” where both points of view can exist, just on opposite sides of the curve. Her study finds that people like music the more they here the song up to a point and then there is diminishing returns, and finally there is a dislike of overplaying a song.
The one variable that is of interest is that participants listened to sad and happy songs. While most people in their study preferred happy songs, why did people prefer sad songs?
“(overall)…listeners preferred happy- over sad-sounding music, and we have no reason to believe that the present listeners would differ in this regard. Indeed, the observed interaction between listening condition and emotional status stemmed from relatively high levels of liking for sad sounding music among the incidental listeners (see Figure 1). This finding is consistent with two alternative hypotheses that could be tested in future research. One involves mood congruency and the proposal that listeners in a negative mood demonstrate enhanced liking for music with negative (sad) affect. The other suggests that the appeal of sad music is linked with its calming effects, most likely its association with reductions in arousal levels. As noted, two distinguishing characteristics of sad-sounding music are its slow tempo and minor mode.”
Miriam Serrano Soliva wrote The effectiveness of live music in reducing anxiety and depression among patients undergoing haemodialysis. A randomised controlled pilot study for Plos One where she concluded “It is concluded that listening to live classical music during haemodialysis sessions reduces anxiety and depression levels in HD patients”
Here we can see that music can return people to a more upbeat state and that it is part of mood regulation.
We can also see supporting literate in the Journal of Communication, the article Entertainment as Pleasurable and Meaningful: Identifying Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motivations for Entertainment Consumption by Mary Beth Oliver & Arthur A. Raney has a lot to say that supports my study.
“…there exist numerous forms of entertainment for which ‘enjoyment’ may not be the most apt descriptor of the gratifications that individuals experience. Tragic drama, moving cinema, heartbreaking opera, or poignant novels and poems are but a few examples of entertainment that may be deeply gratifying, but not ‘‘enjoyable’’ in the colloquial sense of the term. Indeed, to say that one ‘‘enjoyed’’ or was ‘‘entertained by’’ a film such as Hotel Rwanda would seem decidedly odd, at best.”
“The idea that moving or meaningful entertainment could be gratifying, but simultaneously not readily characterized in terms of positively valenced affect has generated considerable theorizing that has aimed at resolving the apparent ‘‘puzzle’’ or ‘‘paradox’’ of the ‘‘enjoyment’’ of genres such as sad films or tearjerkers (Oliver, 1993; Zillmann, 1998).”
“Similarly, some scholars have suggested that entertainment—including entertainment that elicits negative affect—can be conceptualized as a form of ‘‘play’’ that ultimately helps viewers/users cope with or confront their realities (Vorderer, 2001) and that may further have evolutionarily benefits in terms of providing safe ‘‘training’’ for dangerous or threatening situations or allowing for the enactment of a diversity of cognitive and behavioral responses to the environment (e.g., Steen & Owens, 2001).”
Thalia R. Goldstein of Boston College writes in her paper The Pleasure of Unadulterated Sadness: Experiencing Sorrow in Fiction, Nonfiction, and “In Person” for the American Psychological Association that “Fictional works can be manipulated to create large emotional effects; indeed, this is often one of the prime goals of a fiction writer (Oatley, 1999). A nonfictional work does not have this kind of freedom (Mellmann, 2002). Fictional films, for instance, are organized so as to manipulate the audiences’ sympathy and engage their emotions (Coplan, 2006). Fiction abstracts, simplifies, and compresses real life to elicit strong emotions in the audience (Mar & Oatley, 2008).”
“Knowing that we have entered a fictional world allows our emotions a “safe” space to be released, without real world consequences.”
“Consistent with this finding, Keen (2006) argued that nonfiction readers operate in a skeptical and investigative mode, whereas fiction readers become immersed in the lives of the characters. In short, because we mute our appraisal system when we read fiction, we are more likely to allow ourselves to feel powerfully in response to fiction than in everyday life”
“Fiction provides readers with a controlled environment in which to explore emotions they try to avoid in real life (Mar & Oatley, 2008). Fiction also allows us to safely practice our understanding of others and our emotional responses to other’s situations (Zunshine, 2006). Fiction allows for the cognitive simulation of an event without any real world consequences; we are not tied to feeling any one way and therefore can feel more”
“When people recalled a tragic event that they had personally experienced, they felt not only sadness but also anxiety. In contrast, the sadness reported when witnessing a sad movie was unadulterated by anxiety. Perhaps this is because, as suggested by Coplan (2006), in our own lives we know the event will not go away, and we will have to keep dealing with the long term effect. However, when watching a movie we know that when the film ends, we can walk away from that world.”
If we turn our attention to the other question about seeing happy people on social media, people don’t want to see that kind of happy stuff when they are in a bad mood, it makes them more frustrated, or at least that is what I have concluded after my second question talking to people. I asked people if they found pictures of people being happy frustrating or upsetting when they were in a bad mood. And the answer was an overwhelming yes. There was a sense that they wished other people understood what they were going through. Social media sometimes being a trophy rack of peoples’ life accomplishments, subtle brags about social status, or posts featuring their amazing lives with awesome friends, contrasts from people that are feeling down. It pushes people away. This may be partly why we see depression rates in people with social media.
“People who are ‘extremely online — spending more than two hours a day on social media — can end up feeling lonely or depressed. One widely cited 2018 study from the University of Pennsylvania found that college undergraduates who limited their use of social media apps Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 30 minutes a day quickly saw significant reductions in their feelings of depression and loneliness, compared with those who did not change their social media behaviors. “At least with some of these most popular, image-heavy sources of social media, we know they cause negative affect and isolation,” says Stone of Demographic Intelligence in CQ Researcher’s article Loneliness Epidemic.
We can find further support for this in an Article called the Association Between Social Media use and Depression Among U.S. adults written by Liu yi Lin and associates, they found mixed results of depression in young adults using social media. They speculate “One explanation may be that exposure to highly idealized representations of peers on social media elicits feelings of enby and the distorted belief that others lead happier and/or more successful lives. Consequently, these envious feelings may lead to a sense of self- inferiority and depression over time.”
In the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Brian Primack and associates writes in their paper The Temporal Associations Between Social Media Use and Depression “This study provides the first large-scale data investigating the directionality of SMU and depression. It finds strong associations between initial SMU and subsequent development of depression but no increase in SMU after depression. This pattern suggests temporal associations between SMU and depression, an important criterion for causality.”
People who are sad what other people to level with them, someone to relate to, someone that has experienced the same negative emotions. People who are down want to hear validation about their grievances, and hear that despite things looking bad, want relief in the form of hope from people who have gone though the same things and made it out of the darkness. People may otherwise want a place to explore their emotions outside of a journal. Movies, books, music, and videogames can provided spaces where the imagination is the limit, and any number of situations can be created for people to explore with their grief. My conclusion of all of this is perhaps if people can find a nugget of laughter or happiness in the grimdark setting of Warhammer 40k or a sad song, then perhaps they can find some in their own lives.
Ifs ands or buts
It just got lucky, it was a video game
Even if I did accept the argument that Warhammer 40,000 and Space Marine 2 got lucky, that does not stem the flow of dark stories that has made companies rich, hit after hit. The Walking Dead, Black Mirror, Game of Thrones, West World, Squid Game. There are also the other ones I have mentioned above like Godzilla, and Gundam.
Edgar Allan Poe died in 1849 the American civil war was 1861 to 1865
In literature nothing cleanly starts or ends. No one would dare assume all men or women are alike. In the same way poets are not all of one hivemind and genres change immediately, though we may teach it that way, what we are actually teaching is what the fad or trend was for that time, whether it be romanticism or realism or something else. We see people try something different occasionally, and maybe it catches on. Sometimes they invent new genres by trying something new. And while yes, it could be demonstrated that Edar Allan Poe’s writings could not be directly connected to the tragedy of the civil war, that does not mean that there was no tragedy to be had.
“Edgar Allan Poe wrote ‘The Raven’ during a difficult period in his life. His wife, Virginia, was suffering from tuberculosis, Poe was struggling to make money as an unknown writer, and he began drinking heavily and picking fights with coworkers and other writers. It’s easy to see how he could have conjured the dark and melancholy mood of ‘The Raven.’” says Christine Sarikas of Prep Scholar.
It is not a far leap to suggest that Edgar Allan Poe wrote this dark, and now famous poem, to help channel what grimness he was feeling at the time.
Robert Frost was not only into Existentialism.
Robert Frost was into Naturalism, though with an Existentialist twist. Even though Robert Frost does explore other themes in his works such as the barriers men create in “Mending Wall”, the majority of his works convey imagery of empty nature. There is very much darkness that can be extrapolated from the emptiness and aloneness he conveys in his poetry.
America is always in a war, America has always had dark writers
Between Vietnam and Desert Storm, and multiple campaigns fighting the War on Terror, I can understand the point of view that America has warlike tendencies every few decades. However, might I also point out that America also has suffered a “great” recession, a pandemic, and for dessert, political turmoil. None of this stops the American public from feeling anxiety or tension, if anything it only encourages more it! These bottled-up negative emotions only pave the way for more writers and directors to therapeutically express their fears on paper and sometimes make a lump some of money doing so. When the general public feels down about the things around them, we can see a general acceptance of these stories and movies by their popularity and profit.
If war hammer has always been dark, why hasn’t it taken off until now
There were plenty of dark events between 1980 and now, therefore it had the chance to become big for a long time between then and now. Because it hadn’t then, it must either be a coincidence or is big now for another reason instead. I would respond by saying that there is one key difference between then and now and that is our pop culture had changed dramatically and therefore what is acceptable. Thanks to popular superhero movies of the 2000s through the 2010s paving the way, traditionally nerdier media such as Game of Thrones could now be an acceptable pastime for non-nerdy people to watch. I am modest of course, as Game of Thrones was an HBO blockbuster that had people on the edge of their seat every episode and leaving on a note that made people excitedly ready to devour the next episode, to the point they did not want to wait. The advent of nerd culture becoming pop culture in modern society has replaced the trends of past such as 80s action movies. In the 1980 it was widely accepted that nerds would be bullied for the media they consumed as well as other things like their appearance. Even I got teased for liking nerdy stuff that is now considered cool or nostalgic. “Nerd culture is pop culture” is what has enabled media like Warhammer to come into the spotlight, and because it is dark, amusing, or maybe even resonate in a few ironic instances with people who see the world as a dark place.
American Psychological Association, The Pleasure of Unadulterated Sadness: Experiencing Sorrow in Fiction, Nonfiction, and “In Person”, Thalia R. Goldstein. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015343
Association Between Social Media Use and Depression Among U.S. Young Adults, Liu yi Lin, Jaime E. Sidani, Ariel Shensa, Ana Radovic, Elizabeth Miller, Jason Colditz, Beth Hoffman, Leila Giles, and Brian Primack, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY 33:323–331 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22466
Cognition & Emotion, Liking for happy- and sad-sounding music: Effects of exposure E. Glenn Schellenberg, Isabelle Peretz & Sandrine Vieillard. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930701350753
International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents, Betul Keles, Niall McCrae & Annmarie Grealish. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851
Journal of Communication, Entertainment as Pleasurable and Meaningful: Identifying Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motivations for Entertainment Consumption Mary Beth Oliver & Arthur A. Raney. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01585.x
Media Psychology, What Combination of Message Characteristics Determines Hedonic and Counter-Hedonic Preferences? An Examination of the Interplay Between Valence and Semantic Affinity, Jinhee Kim & Mary Beth Olive. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213269.2011.573462
Plos One, The effectiveness of live music in reducing anxiety and depression among patients undergoing haemodialysis. A randomised controlled pilot study, Miriam Serrano Soliva, Rafael Ortiz Ramo, ConradoCarrascosa Lopez, Inmaculada Rico Salvador, Javier Villalon Coca, Rafael Garcia Maset, Alicia Garcia Testal. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0307661
There is a huge problem in Vancouver with heroin addicts committing crimes to support their habits. The “free heroin for addicts” program is doing everything they can to stop the addicts. The problem is that there is a large crime rate due to the addicts. It is obvious that addicts have a hard time getting through their day to day lives. Daily activities such as jobs, interactions, and relationships are hard to maintain because of the fact that they are using. By heroin users being addicted, they will do whatever they have to do to get their hands on the drug. The types of crimes committed are those of breaking and entering as well as stealing. There are no limits to where they will go to retrieve this drug so that they can feed their addiction. The problem with this program is that it won’t help to ween these addicts off using heroin. It is only trying to save the city from rising crime rates that they’re up to. By providing the drug, these addicts will be off the streets, which in turn will prevent them from committing minor street crimes. This will also keep the heroin users out of the hospital. It is pointless that the hospitals have to deal with people that want to use bad drugs or unsanitary needles and find themselves being unable to afford hospital bills and hard to cope without the drug. This program gives people free heroin in the cleanest way possible. This will in turn fix the city but not the addiction that these people face.
Revision:
The large heroin addict population in Vancouver commits crime by stealing in order to pay for heroin. The “Free Heroin for Addicts” program’s goal is to eliminate the addicts’ crime of stealing by providing free heroin, but this does not help with the addiction. The Program also helps keep the addicts out of the hospitals yet the rate of overdoses continues to rise higher. The program may help the stealing rate go down, while the addiction and overdose rate becomes worse.
Every day, every morning, I feel numb, and dead inside where the world is black and white around me. I always felt tired and couldn’t care less about those around me until I started drinking coffee. The idea of getting coffee fills me with hope and joy and the adrenaline I need to get through my toughest days. The smell of coffee brewing when I stepped into a café shop, welcomed me with pleasantry and the anticipation of drinking it. Drinking coffee motivates me to the point that I can’t live without it. Coffee is my toxic love-and-hate relationship. I want to end my connection between myself and coffee, but I’m on the deep end where I’ve become addicted to the point that I ended up crawling back to it despite knowing the red flags because I was practically color blind.
It occurred to me that we never ask ourselves why we are so reliant on coffee when there are other methods to keep us up and going throughout our days.
The first go-to method we use when we feel tired and need something to keep us going throughout our days is to drink products that have caffeine in them. Caffeine is the world’s most popular psychologically addicting drug that is consumed daily by a certain proportion of coffee, soda, tea, and energy drinks. The effects of caffeine target our central nervous system where it decreases drowsiness while increasing alertness. It can bring positive side effects in certain situations, but there comes a price if one doesn’t manage their consuming habits. Caffeine can boost mental and physical energy, however, due to its mastery of availability to consumers where they can alter their own time of intake, dose amount, and time intervals, a person can become restless, sleepiness, headaches, and withdrawals. Regardless of the risks, we still continue to consume caffeine products that we are unable to stop taking them to the point of becoming addicted which defines caffeine as a psychological substance.
Researchers are having trouble defining whether caffeine is in the category of true addiction to provide concrete evidence to support that position. One example from an article by a team of various researchers such as Udan Sahab in “Neuropsychological Effects of Caffeine: Is Caffeine Addictive?” stated that caffeine is “not truly addictive.” Despite Udan Sahab claims that caffeine is “not truly addictive,” their readings of the Diagnositc and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders where it refers to “caffeine addiction” and “caffeine withdrawal” as a familiar mental disorder. A theory from Sahabs team, which seems to support the claims of caffeine being addictive, is the effects of caffeine itself where it “can produce life-threatening health hazards,” such as anxiety, insomnia, reproduction abnormalities, and even death. His team’s only dispute with caffeine’s easily noticeable addictive characteristics is that it is not accountable for severe health risks based on their readings from the Food and Drug Administration, where the intake of caffeine is categorized as “generally recognized as safe,” than the abuse of a more dangerous drug of addiction like heroin.
The difference between caffeine and heroin is that heroin is categorized as an opioid which is a class of drugs that derives from or mimics, natural substances that are found in the opium plants. Opioids are a type of medicine that is like painkillers with effects that are difficult to obtain since they are created in laboratories. In contrast to heroin, caffeine is very common in modern age society where its adverse pharmacological effects have no value due to how easy it is to obtain them. Despite the availability of caffeine or heroin, they both have similar functions that target our bodies which are the central nervous system in our brains. What heroin does is the exact same effect as what caffeine provides for us users when it comes to the need to feel energized and has the same aftereffects once it wears off. Both heroin and caffeine are two different sides of the same coin, however, heroin or opioids are far more extreme drugs than what caffeine does to us.
CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, the voice of the daily art from a podcast by Savin Monique in ProQuest, admitted that he was a caffeine addict, who relies on drinking coffee and energy drinks to keep himself up from his job. He shared his daily routine with his audience about how one day he wanted to crash in the mid-afternoon when he was bleary-eyed, and he couldn’t speak, but later on, his energy would drastically come back to him. The job he does every day and night takes a toll on his mental and physical health from drinking coffee in the morning, one in the afternoon, and a triple espresso at night for his radio sessions. His struggles with the caffeine addiction turn into a psychological addiction where Ghomeshi found the effects of caffeine like a rollercoaster where it has some ups and downs of caffeine giving energy with a small amount of stress, and discomfort.
Even though the love-and-hate relationship between us and coffee will mostly never fade away since we want that spark or boost that lasts in the short-term rather than long-term relationships. Caffeine in our coffee is an invisible psychological drug that we are not aware of from the fact that caffeine builds up in our immune system slowly through age. We all became victims of drinking caffeinated products during our high school, or at the start of freshman year in college where we would either do an all-nighter to finish our assignment at the last minute due to our procrastination before our due dates or stay up late to have fun while we have class early in the morning the following day. There will be pros and cons of how and what caffeine does to our bodies when we consume it when it makes its way to our stomachs. The effects of caffeine are benevolent to us initially until they’ve become thorns on our side.
The main reason caffeine makes a psychological drug is that caffeine is a bitter, crystalline white methylxanthine alkaloid that directly affects our central nervous system by blocking our adenosine A1 receptors from drinking any type of caffeine product. Adenosine A1 is a type of neurotransmitter organic compound in our bodies, where it promotes sleep in our brain receptors which means that caffeine is preventing us from falling asleep which is how we can stay up longer. The obvious effect of caffeine is that it provides us with energy and adrenaline feel which is known as a stimulant that would last us within an hour or more. This depends primarily on how much we consume them.
Structurally, caffeine and adenosine are remarkably close to each other in molecules where caffeine functions equivalently in our brains. There is an increase in the risk of mental disorders if we don’t keep track of how much caffeine we consume at a given time. A higher dosage of caffeine will overthrow the effects of our adenosine A1 receptors where the impact can be severe psychologically. If we drink caffeine at the wrong time like in the evening, then we won’t be able to sleep at night which is the result of feeling tired in the morning. If we did drink at the wrong time then the results of producing a sleeping and anxiety disorder because of the lack of sleep.
Surprisingly by consuming a moderate amount of caffeine, it can also function as an anti-depressant where caffeine can lessen the symptoms of depression and suicide from the adenosine A2A receptors which promote depression-like symptoms such as stress, and anxiety. Not only does caffeine block adenosine A2A receptors, but it can boost our dopamine receptors which is a type of neurotransmitter that encourages motivation and pleasurable rewards.
The way caffeine can become addictive is by changing our pathos or our mood which creates problems such as headaches, lack of care, and anxiety which can accumulate to become aggressive, and sudden mood swings. Ironically, caffeine can help solve the problem that it creates by repeatedly consuming it to alleviate minor pains since the symptoms aren’t severe. Strangely enough, an excessive amount of caffeine can bring about headaches, but suddenly stopping consuming caffeine completely can increase the chances of getting a headache.
The reason why caffeine can counteract the headaches it creates is a similar drug called acetaminophen which is a non-opioid for treating pain and fever which is how Tylenol is created. Acetaminophen is categorized as a physical pain reliever where it’s greater than what caffeine can do when it comes to physical health. The molecule structure between the caffeine and the acetaminophen are so significantly close to each other that people think that drinking more caffeinated drinks can help alleviate the head pain. Both acetaminophen and caffeine indeed target our central nervous system, but caffeine is not the cure or the solution for chronic headaches
We would make ourselves feel better by consuming food that contains caffeine since it’s the easiest, and quickest approach to reduce our headaches like coffee, energy drinks, or tea rather than medications since food appears to be more pleasing to us than medicine. It is bizarre how caffeine can counteract itself by stating that it creates problems but also solves itself.
Even though caffeine can give these “benefits” to us in a short period of time, our bodies become addicted to drinking caffeine. Whether stopping the consumption of caffeine products completely or being unable to obtain these drinks will cause our bodies to experience a downfall. As soon as we stop consuming caffeine, that is when withdrawals occur and the neuroreceptors in our bodies prevent our receptor pathways from releasing the feeling of adrenaline which will make us feel dull in our lives, to the point where we tend to consider caffeine drinks as a necessary part of our diet. Back to Sahab Uddin, their findings show a 50% chance that normal caffeine consumers who restrained themselves for 24 hours will get a headache. However, many people claimed that they have not experienced withdrawals because they don’t know that they consumed small amounts of caffeine on days they thought they were caffeine-free. The reason that people are unaware of the caffeine capabilities of being hidden is the preferences and the flavors of the products such as the sweetness of flavored products that overwrites the bitterness which is the key characteristic of caffeine.
Sidra Ajmal, one of the researchers in the article “Caffeine – An Invisible Addiction,” did a cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study that describes the characteristics and effects of 200 students towards caffeinated drinks based on their opinions, behaviors, and views. The results of Ajmal’s team found a correlation between caffeine consumption, time, and age that shows 50% of students drink once or twice a day whereas 26% consume more than twice a day as the frequency of new students enrolling into colleges is slowly increasing by the day. There is no surprise as to why students consume caffeinated drinks for energy, but surprisingly, 40% of the population of students claimed that they cannot live without coffee or tea. However, not everyone gets the same experience or symptoms of caffeine due to the variables of the person’s age and weight.
We are people with habits where we like to perform the same routines each day to find comfort and familiarity by doing it. When we no longer stop by Starbucks every morning before going to school or work to enjoy a cup of coffee, we feel like something is missing in our lives. We would feel depressed or upset at getting rid of what we love from our routine. Getting rid of caffeine suddenly can flip our moods, and the ability to move forward with our lives which is why our usual go-to method is to continuously drink more to induce the positive feeling that caffeine can give to us.
I firmly believe that my statement about caffeine being a psychologically addicting substance based on researchers’ reports about how caffeine does to our brains is factual. Of course, there is no surprise that there are other alternative opinions about what caffeine is based on their hypothesis.
An article in National Library of Medicine, during the era of COVID-19 by researchers, Mohammad Aghamohammadi, and his team proposed an idea of vitamins B1, B3, B6, and caffeine as key ingredients for a drug design to fight the pandemic. Scientists in the article believed they could use caffeine as part of a chemical reaction where the effects could help our respiratory system by helping our muscles relax to improve our breathing. I approved the science and logic behind Aghamohammadi’s hypothesis of using caffeine to counter the pandemic. Still, if that were the case then that would mean that we would take twice the amount of caffeine than usual since certain foods that we eat have already provided for us.
Tea and soda are the most common food products for children to obtain and consume based on the article Trends in “Caffeine Intake Among US Children and Adolescents,” which proves that caffeine intake builds up slowly to become part of our immune system. Amy M Branum, one of the researchers of the article, claims that approximately 73% of children consumed caffeine on a given day which is a significant increase from 63% of kids ages 2 to 5 years old to 75% among the older age group. Our preferences for tea and soda will indeed change as we grow, but that’s when coffee and energy drinks will come into our lives where we cannot escape caffeine itself.
We already know how COVID-19 affects a person’s body by saying that it has similar effects to the flu, but it goes further past beyond the limits to the point that the disease has become severe. It is not ideal for Aghamohammadis team to double the amount of caffeine in our immune system if we already have caffeine in us from our early childhood. The government would need to find a way to get rid of Covid-19, however, the method of adding caffeine into a vaccine wouldn’t benefit us entirely because the negative side effects will affect our minds and bodies.
People were skeptical and scared when the government announced the release of the vaccine because the effects were either minor or severe. It’s a fact that adding more caffeine to the vaccine would mean that we would be overdosing ourselves to where we would likely get the chance to get a headache.
Another hypothesis suggests that caffeine is a physical drug that enhances our bodies, especially among athletes in sports. Researchers from the article “Caffeine-containing energy drinks Improve Physical Performance in Female Soccer Players” on the website of Springer Nature Link, claimed that consuming caffeine can help improve peak performance in sports games. Respectfully, our brains are the main controls of our bodies than the other way around. I acknowledge that caffeine can boost physical since it acts like a stimulant, but the problem with their argument is that they only talk about the benefits that caffeine can provide for female athletes instead of the negative side effects that come after it.
The reason is that they admitted that their report findings aren’t complete because they only gathered information about short-term effects rather than long-term effects. Athletes who use caffeine before their competition match will eventually lose their momentum and focus as time goes on during a late game. There will be a sudden change in an athlete’s mental health because of caffeine where minor pains such as headaches will hinder their physical performance in sports games.
To further support my argument about caffeine being a psychologically addicting substance is back to caffeine that can mimic as an antidepressant drug. In the article “Caffeine-induced Augmentation of Antidepressant Therapy,” by Pravin Popatrao Kale and his team in Science Direct, caffeine can take in form of a psychomotor stimulant which means a drug that can react towards the central nervous system. Depression is a huge problem that can’t be eliminated since over the past few years, there has been an increasing number of prescriptions for antidepressants. Caffeine can “lift” a person’s mood up drastically for those who seek the spark they need to get through their day. The psychological effect plays a key role when it comes to controlling our behaviors where the effects can trigger the dopaminergic system that causes us to feel “happy”,
Even though drinking coffee can “lift” our spirits and soothe our anxiety, we would soon feel the urge to grab another cup of coffee to feel euphoric again since the effects are not long-lasting. There are other methods of reducing depression such as medications, but we would rather lean towards caffeinated food products since they look visually pleasing than pills. Drinking caffeinated products while being depressed is not the only reason why a person would drink it in the first place. I’ve encountered people who drink caffeinated products for different reasons such as the joy of feeling the taste of coffee even though they are not depressed. Another case that I encountered was when I went to a local coffee bean shop where I saw a slogan that said, “Caffeine is not a drug, it is a vitamin,” which is a huge bold claim to define what caffeine is.
I firmly believe that obtaining caffeine is a byproduct of a psychological drug addiction that makes us feel alive or happy. I’m continuously drinking coffee every day because of the “spark” that caffeine gives me to start my day, regardless of the negative side effects. As long as we look after ourselves by calculating the dosage amount, we eat or drink that involves caffeine then we would be able to decrease our chances of suffering the side effects. Caffeine may not be described as addictive, but the effects that come from it can be described as a psychological addiction.
Ajmal, Sidra and Laiba Ajmal. “Caffeine – an Invisible Addiction.” Caffeine – An Invisible Addiction | Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Food Science and Technology, 11 June 2023, journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/fst/article/view/14592.
Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.
In my definition rewrite, I was intended to summarize what my paper was focused on which was emotions in the human mind. It did take a few tries to write exactly what I wanted to be written but the deadline was approaching so I ended up submitting it how it is. I wasn’t able to fix it or rewrite it as I would have liked mainly because I forgot and I was also focusing on the next writing assignment. I also explored different stages of development in the human mind and included it in my paper. Overall, I would say that it really is a first draft and I could have wrote more and improved as the professor did provide feedback for me.
Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.
In my casual rewrite, It was quite difficult to explain what I wanted the readers to understand with my research. I found myself trying to add in different examples and also scenarios. I added two in the casual rewrite but I do believe I could have done something different in my writing or expressed it differently to get readers to understand. In my rough draft I kind of found myself repeating the same things I mentioned in my definition rewrite. When I realized that examples or scenarios could help readers imagine what they would feel or think in those situations, I tried to add that into my casual rewrite. The sources that I used kind of tied into the examples that I mentioned.
Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.
I can confidently say that my rebuttal argument was not the best of my writing. It was a bit challenging trying to add in arguments that disagreed with my research paper. My research paper was based on how emotions in the human mind work and why. The “arguments” that I tried to tie in were neurological explanations and psychological explanations. Which is why I understand the grade that I received on my rebuttal argument. I thought that what I wrote would be enough but reading it over again, I could have added in more arguments that were disproving my thesis.
Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.
This was shown in my purposeful summary or my visual rewrite. I believe that both of these assignments reflect the qualities the most. I was able to describe the video in the visual rewrite and the picture in my purposeful summary writing. My work demonstrates this because I included every detail in both. Although I received an 81-83 on both I think I did a good job, mainly on the visual rewrite. This is because I stopped at every second of the video, capturing everything from every single angle and describing it.
Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation.
While I was writing my research paper I tried to keep a balanced perspective on both sides. My responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly were somewhat used in my research paper but I could have done better. It’s a bit difficult to represent a different idea when you aren’t even sure what that idea is. My thesis was about complex emotions in the human mind and although I added in examples, I wouldn’t say I was fair in how I represented them. I will say that I was able to cite my information appropriately and provided evidence for each concept.
Core Value 1.My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.
My Definition Rewrite represented a recursive, multi-step writing process, as I revised my definition drafts based on research, feedback, and the writing process itself. For instance, I started with an analysis of the tension between artistic expression and technical performance in Olympic figure skating, but my analysis changed once I started looking into the International Judging System (IJS) and scoring trends. Peer discussions and feedback helped me clarify the focus of my argument, and drafting and revision helped me better balance evidence and interpretation. This recursive process also incorporated local and global revisions; I rewrote paragraphs to ensure logical flow while returning to my thesis to guarantee it aligned with my evidence. This assignment is indicative of how perseverance and collaboration influenced my writing as I interacted with sources and considered their method of scholarly engagement through figure skating and its community.
Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically and placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.
In my Causal Rewrite on the influence of artistic focus on technical skills in Olympic ice skating, I critically engaged with diverse sources to connect artistic emphasis with a decline in technical execution. For example, one source provided insights into the International Judging System’s (IJS) prioritization of artistic components like interpretation and choreography. Another explored trends in quadruple jump attempts, highlighting their decline in recent competitions. Initially, these sources seemed disconnected, focusing on separate aspects of figure skating. However, through close reading and synthesis, I used these findings to build a cohesive argument that linked the IJS’s scoring priorities to skaters’ shifting training focuses.
By placing these texts in conversation, I crafted an argument that showed how scoring changes have incentivized skaters to prioritize artistry at the expense of technical innovation. This process demonstrated my ability to analyze complex arguments and derive meaning by integrating perspectives from different discourse communities. It also reinforced my understanding of how synthesis can create a more comprehensive narrative that supports my claims effectively.
Core Value 3.My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.
In my Rebuttal Rewrite, I specifically tailored my argument to address skeptics of the idea that technical execution should take precedence over artistry in figure skating. Recognizing that my audience might include readers who value artistry or believe in balancing the two components equally, I incorporated rhetorical strategies such as counterargument and refutation to engage their perspectives. For instance, I referenced celebrated skaters like Nathan Chen and Yuna Kim to acknowledge artistry’s role in creating memorable performances, thus establishing common ground with readers who admire these aspects of the sport.
Additionally, I structured my argument to highlight the practical challenges skaters face when attempting to balance technical and artistic demands, effectively appealing to an audience of both figure skating enthusiasts and those unfamiliar with the sport’s nuances. By presenting evidence like the decline in quadruple jumps and the mental toll on athletes, I framed my argument within a context that emphasized real-world implications rather than abstract ideals.
This careful consideration of audience expectations and rhetorical context demonstrated my ability to craft a persuasive argument that both respects opposing views and strengthens my own position.
Core Value 4. My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.
In my Purposeful Summary on Fabienne Charisma and the media ethics debate surrounding her tragic death, I engaged deeply with information literacy by evaluating how various forms of media coverage shaped the narrative of her story. To craft an informed and balanced summary, I critically analyzed the ethical implications of using imagery of suffering to elicit global compassion. This required me to contextualize my analysis within broader conversations about journalism, humanitarian crises, and ethical reporting.
I carefully selected evidence to highlight the dual nature of such coverage—raising awareness while risking exploitation. By presenting this evidence objectively, I ensured my writing addressed the complexity of the issue without oversimplifying it. Additionally, I evaluated the sources for their credibility and relevance, ensuring that the information I incorporated accurately represented the ethical dilemmas journalists face in such scenarios.
This assignment demonstrated my ability to use research to inform my writing, contextualizing ideas within existing conversations while maintaining academic integrity. I met expectations for proper documentation, ensuring that my summary was grounded in factual evidence while respectfully acknowledging the broader ethical challenges in reporting human suffering.
Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to credit the sources of my information with appropriate citation.
In my Research Paper, I ensured all sources were properly cited in MLA format and carefully distinguished my analysis from others’ perspectives. I presented a balanced argument by including both sides of the debate on artistry and technical precision, acknowledging the complexity of the issue. By avoiding exaggeration and using credible evidence, I upheld academic integrity and ensured my work responsibly contributed to the broader discussion.
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 
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