Popular Character Research Articles

Суверенитет и активизация человеческого фактора в системе единства публичных властей

The author examines the problems of popular and state sovereignty that determine the democratic essence of the Russian Federation and ensure social and state stability. The modern development of the Russian state presupposes a fair social structure, determined by the active role of the people based on the implementation of the principle of popular sovereignty. State sovereignty is not a principle — a privilege, but a duty of the state to ensure guarantees of the rights of its citizens. The popular character of Russian statehood is determined not by “transferred democracy” — “participation in elections”, but by the embodiment of the idea of a state based on the implementation of popular sovereignty. At the same time, attention is focused on the need to move from the bottom up — from small politics at the municipal level to big politics of the state as a whole.

The influence of entertainment and brand characters on children's object preferences and monetary judgments

Companies often use images of popular characters from children's media on their products. The current study investigated how different types of popular characters (i.e., entertainment or brand) influence children's trust, preference for, and monetary judgments of objects. Additionally, we explored whether children's own parasocial relationships with such characters influence their preferences and judgments. Participants included 66 four- and five-year-olds (Mage = 5.06; SD = 0.48; 34 boys; 32 girls). First, children completed a selective trust task measuring their preference for information from a familiar or unfamiliar character. Then children asked which object (i.e., damaged with a familiar character image or undamaged without a familiar character image) they would want and which people would pay more money for. Results indicated regardless of character type (i.e., entertainment or brand), children did not trust (i.e., seek out new information or endorse specific testimony) the familiar marketing character more than an unfamiliar character. Children across all character conditions did not display a preference for either object, however they were more likely to rate the undamaged object as more valuable than the damaged object featuring the familiar character. Parasocial relationships for all types of characters were high and did not relate to children's preferences or judgments. These findings expand on previous research suggesting that although the presence of familiar media characters can influence children's preferences for individual objects, children can also weigh more relevant features of an object, such as potential flaws in the design, when making other decisions (e.g., value).

BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING & BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

“The only reason I would write a sequel is if I were struck by an idea that I felt to be equal to the original. Too many sequels diminish the original.” ~ Dean KoontzA sequel is a production of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues or expands upon the plot of some earlier work. When we talk about the narrative work of fiction, a sequel showcases events set in the same timeline and set as an earlier work, usually following the events of that work.In many cases, the sequel proceeds with the same elements of the existing story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key characters appear repeatedly for eg. ‘The Dhoom franchise’. The Indian film industry is known for the sequels even though most of them are not as successful as the prequel. Most of the sequels either repeated the entire cast in a different storyline while some of them were made with a few popular characters of a successful movie. ‘Padmashree Doctor Saroj Kumar ‘is an example for the same as the movie was made with three main characters (Saroj Kumar, Pacchalam Bhasi, and Rafeeque) of its prequel ‘Udayananu Thaaram’.‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ is one of the most successful movies ever made in India. The movie was released in 2015 and the sequel, ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ was released in 2017 and became the biggest block buster of all time. Even though surpassing the collection records of the prequel there are many flaws and unanswered questions regarding ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’.This study compares and analyses ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ as a perfect sequel in light of aspects like the story, screenplay, character portrayal and quality like graphics and other aspects are studied. ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ has several elements which fail to connect with the first film. This study will also analyze the reasons behind the elements that failed to do justice to the prequel.

Victim, Seductress, or Executioner? The Ambiguously Feminist Recycling of Little Red Riding Hood: From Charles Perrault to Contemporary Pop Culture

Little Red Riding Hood is arguably one of the most famous fairy tales in the world. The tale has traditionally been interpreted as a Freudian learning experience (Bettelheim, 1976), and this popular character as well as its narrative simplicity allowed the renowned scholar Umberto Eco to use it as a parable on the limits of interpretation (Eco, 1994). This article will examine the recycling process that the tale has undergone from Charles Perrault to the present day, spanning various mediums such as comics, movies, anime, or songs from the late 20th to early 21st centuries. The strategies employed to retell and recycle the tale, especially in pop culture (whether from a structural standpoint or under a new conceptual framework), will be studied, along with their implications from the perspective of feminist empowerment.

The Current Discourse of the New Biographism in the Contemporary Cinema

The article is devoted to the actual problems of the biographical genre in cinematography. This genre arose at the very beginning cinematography and developed in the 1920s. However, the first classic examples of it were created in England in the mid-1930s by Alexander Corda (in particular — «Rembrandt»).Soon, the totalitarian regimes of the Soviet Union, Italy and Germany began to actively use it with varying degrees of success. We can see the paradoxical flowerishing genre in the 1950s when it underwent final academisization and codification, but lost touch with real life (despite some successes, par example, the film «Taras Shevchenko» by Ihor Savchenko). The follow years demonstrate a variety of undividual options, both in the works of artists of «poetic cinema» («Dream» by Volodymyr Denysenko) and artists of late modernism («Dante`s Inferno» by Ken Russel, «Portrait of Rembrandt» by Jos Stelling). For the first time, artists of naïve direction (Pirosmani, Chontvari) become heroes of feature films. But the genre really changes already at the turn of the century. It draws attention to artists with disabilities, marginals, representatives of national and sexual minorities. A typical example is Frida Cahlo, a heroine at least three films. Finally, the image of female artist — a dissident (Alla Gorska in «Forbidden» by Roman Brovko) or a simple village woman (Katerina Bilokur in «Mad Woman» by Victor Vasylenko) appears in Ukrainian cinema. And even in the realm classics, the most popular characters remain artists with victim fate: Van Goht, Modigliani, Goya, and again Rembrandt. We have, of course, Taras Shevcenko.

PEMBINAAN KEPEMIMPINAN PEMUDA MELALUI KETERAMPILAN PUBLIC SPEAKING DI PAC GP ANSOR SAGULUNG KOTA BATAM

The Ansor Youth Movement (GP) is a youth, community, national, and religious organization with a popular character. The spirit of struggle, nationalism, liberation, and heroic ethos colors GP Ansor. GP Ansor has a vision, mission, and goals as a structured organization. GP Ansor has spread throughout all regions in Indonesia, including in Batam. The coaching at GP Ansor Sagulung District is carried out with the following stages of coaching: GP Ansor Youth follows all the material that will be delivered at this coaching activity, namely: Organization and Leadership, Public Speaking, and Presentation Techniques. The methods to solve problems offered by the devotees are lectures and hands-on practice and ensuring that all GP Ansor youth understand the material presented, are given time to discuss, and can make presentations and speak in front of crowds in real situations.

SYMBOLISM OF EARLY CHRISTIAN PRAYERS IN ROMAN, GREEK AND EGYPTIAN FUNERARY ART

The question of semantic connections between Early Christian funerary art and texts of Early Christian prayer for the dead – Ordo commendationis animae – remains controversial. Some scholars endorse the idea that iconographic programs of Roman catacombs and Early Christian sarcophagy can be traced back to the prayer. Others highlight the distinctions between them, emphasizing, that the oldest text of the Ordo commendationis animae cannot be dated earlier than the 4th century. Both the prayer and the funerary art embody the same themes of salvation and resurrection, often depicted through shared biblical heroes and narratives. Although there are inconsistencies between the biblical heroes mentioned in the prayer and the most popular characters and narratives in Early Christian art, the semantic parallels cannot be simply dismissed. This research seeks to uncover the origins of the prayer itself and propose liturgical sources that could have influenced regional traditions of Early Christian funerary iconography. Additionally, it hypothesizes explanations for the iconographic principles of several renowned Early Christian monuments.

«КОКТЕЙЛЬНЫЙ» ЧЕБУРАШКА: МЕДИЙНЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ СОЗДАНИЯ И ПРОДВИЖЕНИЯ ОБРАЗА В РОССИЙСКОМ МАССОВОМ КИНЕМАТОГРАФЕ

The Russian family comedy Cheburashka became not only an example of a successful commercial project, but also demonstrated an example of professional adaptation of Hollywood technologies in the modern domestic socio-cultural space. Against the background of a steady and continuously increasing nostalgia for the Soviet past, a creative product was created in which the audience’s illusions about the Soviet Cheburashka and new Western-oriented, ideologized cultural values were strangely combined, which turned out to be encoded in the characters, subject environment andplot twists of the film. The image of Cheburashka in Soviet culture evolved from an amorphous animal with an unspecified species to a common Soviet symbol of childhood with an appropriate set of existential meanings. According to the authors of the Russian Cheburashka, they created a new story of this character, at the same time, the retroatmosphere of the picture and the set of characters invariably refer viewers to the Soviet Cheburashka. But the new image can only formally be attributed to its visual prototype, since it was intentionally created as a visual and semantic structure appealing to the prevailing industrial thematism and consumer values in Russian society. That is why the new Cheburashka becomes an “Easter egg”, implicitly indicating the presence in one film of several dozen purposefully borrowed elements of images of popular characters from commercially successful Western, Soviet and Russian media projects of the past decades. Such technology makes it possible to fix the prevailing ideological trend associated with the comprehensive assimilation of Western values in the space of Russian culture.

RECONTEXTUALIZATION OF SUN WUKONG’S HEROISM IN THE MONKEY KING FILM TRILOGY 2014–2018

The classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, written by Wú Chéng’ēn in the 16th century of the Ming Dynasty, is an influential work in Chinese culture. The main character of the novel, the Monkey King Sun Wukong, has become a highly popular character and been adapted into various cultural products. Sun Wukong’s popularity was adapted into three films directed by Cheang Pou-soi, namely Monkey King 1 (2014), Monkey King 2 (2016), and Monkey King 3 (2018). This article analyzes the reconfiguration of Sun Wukong in the films based on the monomyth schemes by Joseph Campbell, focusing on the construction of Sun Wukong’s heroic journey and his hybridity visualization that is closely related to his transformation from an archetypal hero who represents the principle of the “Three Teachings in One” to a modern superhero who represents social and individual values in the “Twelve Core Values of Chinese Socialism”. Through the archetypal theme of the journey, hybridity visualization, and a set of values associated with Sun Wukong, this article tries to analyze the transformation of his heroism from a classic hero into a modern superhero. The re-contextualization of this transformation to the contemporary China’s situation reflects the spirit of China today and its long journey from traditionalism to modernity.

Parasocial relationships with morally ambiguous media characters – the role of moral foundations

Parasocial relationships are examined in diverse contexts and with various media characters, from news presenters to fictional movie heroes. A popular character trope in recent productions is the morally ambiguous media character (MAC). MACs disrupt the dichotomy between hero and villain, simultaneously exhibiting moral and immoral behavior. MACs attracted the attention of researchers, but little is known about parasocial relationships with them. This study examines these relationships by applying a multidimensional morality approach. The five moral domains of care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity are considered for the media character and the viewers. The role of these moral domains in parasocial relationships with morally ambiguous media characters was examined through an online survey (N = 250). The results show that moral behavior generally and moral behavior in care, fairness, and loyalty increased the strength of parasocial relationships, regardless of the viewer’s moral foundations. The characters’ behavior in authority and purity did not influence the viewers’ general morality perception nor their parasocial relationships with them. The study contributes to the existing literature about MACs by considering viewers’ parasocial relationships, their moral foundations, and the perceived morality in each of the five moral domains.

Хтоническая космология в эпитафии Георгия Акрополита на смерть императора Иоанна III Дуки Ватаца

Introduction. The article critically examines the epitaph of George Akropolites on the death of Emperor Johannes III Ducas Vatatzes. The Epitaph of George Akropolites is a remarkable example of Byzantine rhetoric. The highly educated Byzantine author, proud of his splendid education and skillful rhetorician, fully expressed in this work his knowledge of ancient topics and biblical aesthetics. Methods and materials. The article is written in the context of hermeneutic methodology. We assume that the epitaph of George Akropolites requires a deeper interpretation, which will help to reveal the implicit meanings hidden in the text of George Akropolites. Analysis. First, in the epitaph of George Akropolites, Charon is synonymous with death. This is not an ancient reminiscence, as it may seem, but a popular character of the Acritic folklore of the 9th – 11th centuries, popular among the military class. Akropolites would soon become acquainted with this class, becoming praetor in 1256, when he would be extremely unsuccessful in commanding an army in western Macedonia. Secondly, it is worthwhile to look closely, following K. Praechter, at the expression of George Akropolites “the emperor became the paranáloma of Charon”. In our opinion, paranáloma is an extremely interesting word that takes us into the archaic and chthonic world and presents George Akropolites as a remarkable connoisseur of a wide variety of philosophical and medical texts, particularly the Neoplatonic writings of John Philoponus (c. 480–570) and Simplicianus of Cilicia (c. 490–560). Results. In summary, we have before us a whole literary tradition revolving around a natural-philosophical reading of the folkloric underworld and Charon, which gives for George Akropolites a large stock of metaphors and an opportunity to show his education.

From Harleen Quinzel to Harley Quinn: science, symmetry and transformation

ABSTRACT Harley Quinn has become an important and popular character in the DC Universe, especially for representations of women scientists in comics and the associated cinematic and TV adaptations. Understandably, much of the analysis of this character has tended to focus on her relationship with the Joker and the gender-based dimensions of this dynamic. However, to distill her identity to these dimensions would be unnecessarily, even unfairly, reductionist, and would narrow our understandings of a rich and complex character. By focussing on her identity as a scientist, this article offers a different analytical lens through which to understand Harley Quinn. Drawing primarily from Stjepan Šejić’s Harleen (2020), with supporting insights from appearances in other DC comics, we examine the ways in which her scientific training and aspirations shape her transformation from Harleen Quinzel to Harley Quinn. Specifically, we demonstrate how symmetry, as an orienting concept, is useful for analysing how scientific logics and practices inform and enable this transformation. In doing so, we hope to both enrich understandings of Harley Quinn and foreground science as a potentially useful broader lens through which to understand other significant themes and characters in the DC Universe.

The Characteristics and Features of Buddhist Meditation

Today, general meditation is widely practiced around the world. In addition to the history, types and methods of meditation, industries that utilize meditation are also developing. Modern meditation began to have such a popular character in India in the 1950s, when it was introduced to the United States and Europe in the 1960s. There are many reasons why modern people meditate. The basis of meditation is to maintain and improve the function of the body and mind. Furthermore, meditation is used to pursue physical and psychological tranquility and relaxation, and furthermore to promote overall health and well-being. On the other hand, Buddhist meditation emphasizes that you are always awake. In particular, meditation on the sitting type of Buddhist meditation aims at the achievement of enlightenment, for example, solving problems of oneself. Self-problem solving is to know oneself clearly and to achieve oneself. This kind of meditation began with the meditation of the Buddha. Meditation in general focuses on relieving stress. Sitting meditation, on the other hand, focuses on calming stress and moving toward enlightenment. In this respect, there is a difference between general meditation and sitting meditation. In this thesis, the characteristics of general meditation and Sitting meditatin are examined and some differences are examined. As a result, first, there was a difference in the ultimate goal of general meditation and Sitting Meditatin. Second, there was a difference in the subject, Thirdly, the methods, Fourth, the effects, Fifth, the characteristics, and Sixth, the Features.

Rabbit, Rabbit: Analysing the Hare/Rabbit Characters in Ukrainian and English Fairy Tales

Artistic images of animal characters in beast stories studied through the prism of national mentality reveal specific animal-human concepts rooted in the readers’ mindsets. This essay focuses on the hare/rabbit as a popular character in animal tales, with an attempt to enhance intercultural relations in the Ukrainian/English world by explaining the peculiarities of the surrounding reality present in beast stories. The paper discloses similar and distinctive characteristics of animal stories on two levels, that is, by contrasting the author’s literary tale with the folk-tale, and by studying the collective image of hare in Ukrainian folk-tales against the background of Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter’s stories. The research does not dwell on the zoological peculiarities of the chosen animals or the Aesop fables, but highlights the psychological characteristics of the animals under study in the context of their “national identities”. The work results in disclosing a deep connection between games and animal tales; since both the storyteller’s and the audience’s mental work is based on the game-like perception of the virtual world of the story. The literary images of the hare/rabbit in Ukrainian and British tales differ radically. Ukrainian animals are presented as meek and subdued creatures relying on outside help and rarely (ranking sixth amongst animal protagonists) becoming the leading characters. In contrast, British bunnies are energetic and boisterous, trying their best to overcome any difficulties. The authors explain this fact by references to differences in the historical development of the two cultures under analysis.

Juliet, I Prosume? or Shakespeare and the Social Network

Though it may come as little surprise that Juliet is a popular character on Facebook, it may surprise how popular she is: in late 2013, there were at least 3,500 of her populating the social media platform. This essay inquires into what is being said about Juliet on Facebook. How is she being represented? Are there patterns to be found? If so, what might those patterns suggest about whether scholarly understandings of the character are shared in the broader culture? Like the sheer number of Facebook Juliets, the answers to these questions are surprising. Although some Juliets on Facebook may be phoned-in, disengaged, or just plain silly, even their silliness reveals individual account holders who are engaged in some way with Shakespeare and reveals how those account holders have come to understand him and his works. Through a complex intersection of negotiation, resistance, and prosumption, we see not just reconfigurations of the character Juliet, but a reconfiguration of Juliet as what Leisha Jones calls the "digital collective subject" (2011, 448), as well as a reconfiguration of Juliet's relationship with the world. This process happens not through the actions of an individual (like Shakespeare) but through the actions of thousands of individuals operating independently of each other; at the same time, many of these individuals are remaking themselves and others as Juliet. Facebook Juliet participates in Romeo and Juliet's already-long history of adaptation as well as in long-established debates over what constitutes the essential, authentic Shakespeare; she demonstrates new ways of thinking about the character Juliet, including ways in which individuals relate to authorities of various stripes and relate Juliet to themselves; she reveals the workings of a variety of aspects of our culture; and she models how to think about identity, identity construction, even reality itself in a social media world.

ANALISIS PERUBAHAN VISUAL KARAKTER PADA GIM COOKIE RUN KINGDOM

Cookies Character Design Development Analysis in Cookie Run Kingdom When viewed statistically on the play store, City-building Simulation Role Playing Games such as Cookie Run Kingdom are a type of game that is quite popular among players. The visualization is interesting, especially in the character design which uses an anthropomorphic style from the basic shape of the GingerBread Man cookie, which is one of the aspects that sells even though it uses an unusual style like anime and cartoon styles in general games. However, this popular character design can actually experience significant changes from visualization to character stories (lore) when it gets the influence of mixing from other elements and still gets a good response from the players. These changes to the character design will be further dissected to explore the elements that are mixed and removed in the character to create a new design. The shape matrix of the manga matrix technique will be used to dissect the elements that become the mix of cookie character designs, so that the results of the research can be used as reference material for character designers to use the manga matrix approach, which is reinforced by anthropomorphism techniques in creating new characters or redesigning them. unique, using a style that is not common but still captivates players. Keywords: character design, antropohomorfism, game, manga matrix

Regulating Gambling Use through the Overton Window: From an Addictive Behavior to a Social and Epidemiological Problem

During the last decade, gambling (online and offline) regulation has become a social and epidemiological problem all around Europe. The aftermaths of this addiction have increased since the so-called "responsible gambling law", in the second decade of the 21st century. The Overton window (OW) strategy is a political theory that describes how the perception of public opinion can be modified so that ideas that are inconceivable for society become accepted over time. The objective of this study is to identify whether an OW has been used to bias the adequacy of the gambling debate, as well as its scientific, legal, and political bases and the main consequences for both the general population and the major risk groups, especially the consequences in social and health contexts. The study was conducted by the application of the historical-logical method as the central axis of analysis and reflection, and the technique of qualitative research content analysis as a procedure in the process of execution of the scientific task, related to a historical trend study of the research object. The main consequences found were: the political acceptance of gambling for economical causes and taxes benefits, the use of popular characters to increase the acceptance of the pattern of behavior, the inclusion of the gambling operators as agents in the risks control, and the absence of intervention until the main consequences have been transformed into an epidemiological problem (with social aftermaths higher than the previously identified related to the gambling problems). Furthermore, the results suggest the need to implement prevention and health promotion strategies and the adoption of specific legal measures that regulate the access and the marketing of gambling operators' activities.

PROPAGANDA AND AGITATION WORK IN CHUVASHIA DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

The purpose of this study is the organization and implementation of political and mass agitation work among the population of the Chuvash Republic during the Great Patriotic War. The study of this problem is relevant due to the need to rethink the daily life and public consciousness of the population during the war years, the introduction of new sources into scientific circulation, has a popular character at the present stage and practical significance. This topic has not been widely covered in regional historical work. Materials and methods. The work was carried out using the method of historical analysis, which allows us to comprehensively consider the situation and show the features and difficulties of carrying out ideological work during the war years on the territory of Chuvashia. The research is based on archival sources, as well as memoirs and publications in the media. The results of the study. The article examines the activities of the party and Soviet bodies of Chuvashia to establish propaganda and agitation work during the Great Patriotic War, forms and methods of work with the population, the role of the mass media in patriotic education and mobilization of the population. The main thesis of the restructuring of ideological work was its translation into a military way. A brief analysis of the work of lecturers, agitators is given, the sources on which mass political work was based are indicated. A common, and one of the new forms of ideological work, was the exchange of letters between the front and the rear. At the same time, attention was paid to methods of persuasion, taking into account national traditions: friendship of peoples, mutual assistance and the use of native languages. Conclusions. The main tasks facing the party and state authorities, agitators and propagandists, the formation and maintenance of the patriotic and spiritual impulse of the population of the republic have been achieved. Despite the complex and ambiguous socio-political situation, a lot of organizational work to implement the basic forms and methods of political and mass work in the harsh war years in the republic have become effective mechanisms of persuasion and mobilization of the population. The research materials can be used in scientific and teaching activities, patriotic education of young people.

‘Gimme a Hell Yeah!’ Stone Cold Steve Austin and the WWF’s Soundscapes of Rage

In the late 1990s, the Word Wrestling Federation (WWF) reached the height of its global popularity thanks to its “Attitude” re-branding. From 1997 to 2001, the company targeted an audience of teenagers and 18- to 34-year-old men with programming emphasizing adult themes and rebellious anti-heroes. The company’s most popular character at the time was “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, a beer-drinking Texas “redneck” who refused to conform and feuded on screen with a villainous corporate CEO. His iconic entrance music, “Hell Frozen Over,” was closely modeled on Rage Against the Machine’s 1996 hit song “Bulls on Parade” and played a crucial role in establishing the character’s credentials as a blue collar rebel whose actions channeled the desires of the WWF’s core audience of young white men. Highlighting both the specific idiomatic conventions of professional wrestling entrance themes and the numerous similarities between “Bulls on Parade” and Austin’s entrance music, this article argues that Austin’s music leveraged sonic tropes of masculine anti-corporate rebellion that were legible as such in the late 1990s due largely to the soundscapes of rage popularized by RATM and the numerous rap-rock “nü metal” bands they inspired. It shows how Austin’s music and its RATM connection exemplify not only the capacity for popular entertainment to commodify rebellion, but also the agency of audiences in forging meaningful personal and interpersonal relationships with and through mass-mediated entertainment as sonic signifiers become disentangled from specific political movements and made available to a broad range of economic and political projects.

"Phil always did the castrating": Repression and Cowboy Masculinity in Thomas Savage's The Power of the Dog

Abstract: This article offers a reading of Savage's novel that explores the relationship between queerness and the Western. It contextualizes the novel within the shifting social mores of the sixties and shows how the popular character archetype of the "doomed homosexual" aligns with a vision of the "doomed West." It charts how Savage queers familiar Western signifiers—hands (barometers of manliness), the ambivalent symbol of the dog, and a rawhide rope (a symbol of control turned emblem of gay love). The argument is scaffolded by psychoanalytical readings, particularly Jung's concept of the "persona" and the "shadow" as a means of exploring repression and projection; Lacan's mirror stage as a source of confusion between the Ideal and the Horrifying; and Kristeva's work on abjection and visual trauma. It explores the importance of family in the shaping of identity; the despairingly limited role for women on the ranch; and how the masculine model of the cowboy might be inverted and challenged. References to Campion's recent movie of the book are included and offer alternative readings of key scenes.