a) List and describe your reasons for selecting at least three other pieces of media that you would consider optimistic and/or hopeful (this doesn't have to but might entail a clichéd conclusion or stereotypical "happy ending")
Fire Emblem: Awakening (video game) - This is one of my favorite games, and (spoiler) near the end the protagonist is left between a choice to sacrifice themselves and permanently kill a demonic dragon, or simply put it back to sleep for an indeterminate amount of time. Either way, it ends up with a hopeful ending, because if you sacrifice yourself, there is a chance your character will be reborn as they were before, and your friends promise they will search for you if that happens. In a post-credits scene if you choose that outcome, it mirrors a scene from the beginning of the game where your friends find you passed out in a field, except this time they say "Welcome back". I like it because it's bittersweet and gives a vague yet hopeful ending.
The Handmaid's Tale (Book) - In the book, it ends in a questioning manner, and the reader is not sure if Offred is taken by the Eyes or by Mayday. But in the Epilogue, there's a professor teaching about Gilead to a class based on Offred's journal, and it is implied that she was rescued and escaped. It's vague but it leaves room for hope and optimism.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (movie) - I like the way the movie ends because it isn't just "guy saves the girl, they live happily ever after", but it acknowledges that the two didn't really know each other and Scott created this idolized version of Ramona in his head that wasn't actually like her. They meet later and decide to start over as if they had just met, and it ends on a hopeful and optimistic note.
Fire Emblem: Awakening (video game) - This is one of my favorite games, and (spoiler) near the end the protagonist is left between a choice to sacrifice themselves and permanently kill a demonic dragon, or simply put it back to sleep for an indeterminate amount of time. Either way, it ends up with a hopeful ending, because if you sacrifice yourself, there is a chance your character will be reborn as they were before, and your friends promise they will search for you if that happens. In a post-credits scene if you choose that outcome, it mirrors a scene from the beginning of the game where your friends find you passed out in a field, except this time they say "Welcome back". I like it because it's bittersweet and gives a vague yet hopeful ending.
The Handmaid's Tale (Book) - In the book, it ends in a questioning manner, and the reader is not sure if Offred is taken by the Eyes or by Mayday. But in the Epilogue, there's a professor teaching about Gilead to a class based on Offred's journal, and it is implied that she was rescued and escaped. It's vague but it leaves room for hope and optimism.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (movie) - I like the way the movie ends because it isn't just "guy saves the girl, they live happily ever after", but it acknowledges that the two didn't really know each other and Scott created this idolized version of Ramona in his head that wasn't actually like her. They meet later and decide to start over as if they had just met, and it ends on a hopeful and optimistic note.
b) List and describe your reasons for selecting two historical events that you would consider examples of "the glorious past of humans" (from p. 57 of The Stories of Ibis).
Landing on the moon - This was revolutionary because we were able to go into space, land on the moon, and come back, and since then space technology has just continued to evolve. The idea that humans, especially as pointed out in the book by the robots that they're not efficient or superior, were able to accomplish a feat is crazy, because of just contemplating the sheer scale of us compared to what is encompassed within space.
The creation of vaccines - I consider this to be "glorious" because I think it is one of the greatest advancements of modern medicine. To be able to almost completely eradicate specific diseases that would result in disability, brain damage, or death was revolutionary. Before vaccines, it was just expected that at least one child would die because of a disease or something else that is now preventable due to modern medicine. It kind of reminds me a bit of programming/engineering, because it is essentially rewriting or reprogramming the body to respond differently to something, thus "customizing" it. It's a way of editing biology to get a more desirable outcome.
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