Forty-two by LASA Ezine

fortytwo

The Shire Takes a Visit to New Zealand A Walk Around Hobbiton

From Lois Lane to Princess Leia

Pages vs. Wages

May the Scores be With You

Which Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. are you?

The Evolution of Female Characters in Sci-fi

A History of Original Scores in Film and Television

The Art of Adaptation

Take the Quiz and Find Out

GAME OF

THRONES

entire series box set available now Found at your local bookstore Cover photo by Tara Hunt

Table of Contents Middle Earth Takes a Visit to New Zealand

Photo by Jeff Hitchcock

From Hundreds of Pages to Millions in Wages

Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation

From Lois Lane to Princess Leia

Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Letter From the Editors

Staff Biographies

Ten Things You Never Knew About Sci-fi

May the Scores be With You

Quiz: Who Are You From “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Future Film Favorites

Photos in order of appearance by

Jeremy Brinker (2), Summit Entertainment, Wikipedia, and Marvel Studios (2)

a season a day keeps the homework away

for less than $8 a month

Letter

Photo by

Jeremy Brinker

from the

Editors “Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection,” said acclaimed science fiction actor and writer Simon Pegg. “It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something... Being a geek is extremely liberating.” This quote perfectly encompasses the purpose of Forty-two. In our opinion, being a geek doesn’t mean being socially awkward. It means having the freedom to express your obsessions without giving a second thought to others reactions. In this magazine, we aimed to portray such an atmosphere about geekdom for the genres of science fiction and fantasy (our personal favorites). Through our articles, we exhibit our love for this world of impossibilities and hope that you can share it with us. Simply the genres of science fiction and fantasy open up so many possibilities. They give authors, producers, actors, composers and even muggles a chance to explore a myriad of universes beyond belief. Science fiction and fantasy also provides a veil, or mask, for the sometimes horrifying realities (whether political, environmental, social or otherwise) of life without repercussion. These two genres also allow us to push the boundaries of reality and explore futuristic possibilities without having to worry about the limits of today’s technology or physics. The universe, even to a galaxy far, far away, is the limit. It is for this reason we chose to focus on them, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Of course, it also could come from our love of science fiction and fantasy. Even the name of our magazine, “Forty-two,” is stemmed from this affection. It is a tribute to Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” in which the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything (spoilers) is revealed to be the number 42. We had our own personal adventures creating this magazine. Everyday in Ezine, we faced individual trials and tribulations. Erin made sure to always arrive first to stake our claim on the computers so we would not have to battle the Frost Giants known as “EcoAustin,” the neighboring magazine. 6 Dayln would always be the last to log out with Jessica

watching over her shoulder, imploring her to leave. Jessica was a little isolated from the group at times, as she often left to explore the far reaches of InDesign and mingle with the Frost Giants. Hardly a day went by without a song being softly, or loudly, hummed, whether it was from “Frozen” or the “Game of Thrones” theme song. These adventures, culminating after many months of work, resulted in our magazine Forty-two. We sincerely hope you enjoy the magazine as much as we enjoyed making it. Ultimately, we hope you’ll remember this: Winter is coming. Sincerely,

Contributor Confessions Dayln Gillentine Dayln Gillentine sinks to the floor with a book, trying to simultaneously untie her soccer cleats while reading. She fumbles blindly at the laces, engrossed in her current novel. This happens often to her, as she is hardly ever found without a fiction book in hand. She loves the genres of science fiction and fantasy, whether it be for books, television shows, or movies. A self-proclaimed “geek,” Dayln rushes to the theatres to see every new Marvel movie. Her weekends are entirely composed of playing soccer with the River City Rangers, running cross country, and Netflix. Dayln can usually be found at Bookpeople in Austin, Texas, or the Waterloo Records across the street. Her deep love of music is a decade and a half in the making, with experience and appreciation for all genres, especially indie music and New Orleans jazz. Dayln also aspires to travel throughout the globe, craving the sort of adventure she often reads about, but for now she’s stuck in Austin.

Jessica Gitre Jessica Gitre presses the snooze button as the alarm goes off every morning, tired from her late night reading the night before. Over the years, she has worked her way through a plethora of novels, from “The Night Circus,” by Erin Morgenstern, to “The Chronicles of Narnia” in Spanish. Jessica has a knack for learning new languages, favoring the unusual language of Swedish. Her dream is to visit and live there, loving their culture, environment, and how progressive their politics are. Over the last couple months, Jessica has been working on adding movies to her repertoire, most notably “Star Wars.” However, her favorite overall movie is a two-way draw between “Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “The Princess Bride.” Jessica’s weekends are spent sitting at home, thankful she doesn’t have lacrosse practice. She fills this time with Netflix, along with knitting. Despite all of this, she almost always manages to complete her homework before lunch.

Erin Teal Erin Teal walks through the halls, armed with her flute and piccolo, turning her flute into a lightsaber. Band is pretty much her entire life these days, but she somehow still manages to be a geek. With her recent discovery of Netflix, Erin spends her time watching “Doctor Who” and reading the latest sci-fi and fantasy books. She’s currently into “The Expanse” series by James S. A. Corey, which is the tale of some guy from Earth who unintentionally started a war with Mars. Such futuristic and impossible books also get Erin looking to the sky, dreaming of lands far beyond the horizon, which is probably why she wants to be a pilot. Erin also enjoys singing along to the radio or The Script, which is an alternative/pop British band. Since she discovered them, she has been listening to their music while reading and completely not avoiding her homework. It gets done in the end, but Erin would rather be having nerdy conversations with her friends. Photos by

Jeremy Brinker

What You Never Knew About Sci-fi Ten facts that take a look at today’s favorite books Story by Erin Teal

Photo by Summit Entertainment

The story of a young wizard with a lightning scar is known far and wide among the younger, and older, generations of today. Written by J.K. Rowling, the seven book series following the adventures of Harry Potter was made into eight full-length films. In theaters, alternate realities and dystopian societies take to the screens. However, most of these science fiction tales were first written in novels. While the film versions may be interesting and help to visualize the ideas presented, the books have a few bits of intriguing information associated with them. Photo by Warner Bros.

Harry Potter

Ender’s Game

J. K. Rowling In the U.S. and U.K., 11 million copies of “Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows” were sold on its release date. There are 450 million Harry Potter books printed worldwide.

A Song of Ice and Fire

Photo by HBO

George R. R. Martin

“Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card has been translated into 29 different languages.

11 follow-up novels to “Ender’s

Game” were written after it was first released.

The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien

In a “Song of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin, there has been a combined total of 284 deaths, with 97 deaths in “A Storm of Swords” alone.

There are 473k words in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. Over 150 million copies of the Lord of the Rings sold in 1937.

2.7 million copies were sold

between “A Game of Thrones,” “A Clash of Kings” and “A Storm of Swords” in 2012.

The Hunger Games

Orson Scott Card

Photo by New Line Cinema

Photo by Lionsgate

Suzanne Collins

Over 23.5 million copies of “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins have been sold in the United States. “The Hunger Games” has spent over 160 weeks on the “New York Times” Bestseller list. 8

Sources: Luke Lewis, buzzfeed.com; Daisy Maryles, Publisher’s Weekly; loopingworld.com; statisticbrain.com; TIMEs staff, entertainment.time.com.; Annie Schutte, yalsa. ala.org; Christian Blauvelt, hollywood.com.

Hundreds of Pages to Millions in Wages The Art of Adaptation

Story by Jessica Gitre

Photos courtesy of

New Line Cinema, Summit Entertainment, Warner Brothers Entertainment and Lionsgate Productions

Photo courtesy of

Flickr user Kafka4prez

Graphic by

20th Century Fox Film Corporation

The “Star Wars” series was not originally based off of any book series, but the book adaptations were often a good way to pass the time in between movie releases for excited fans, according to interviewee James Gitre.

magine walking into a movie theater and knowing exactly what’s going to happen on opening night. Envision holding an expectation for plot twists, character development, and setting, without having seen a single trailer or preview. This is now becoming a common experience, especially because book to movie adaptations have gained so much popularity in the past couple of years. James Gitre was an excited fan of the Star Wars books, despite the facts that the books came after the movies. He remembers reading “The Empire Strikes Back” in novel form the day before seeing the movie. “When I read [the book], I had a visual picture in my mind of what it was like, but when I saw [the movie], it made it come alive,” Gitre said. “It was like watching something in black and white, and then seeing it in color.” This is an experience that many people have come to know as the movie industry picks up more books as inspiration for screenplay, according to the Internet Movie Database website. With new technology advances comes a new film-watching experience. Enhanced set design, costumes, CGI and other post-processing has allowed what was once only a vision in an avid reader’s mind to become an author’s dream world; their own creation 10 of fantasy and impossible science

The “Star Wars” movie series features many characters that have extensive back stories, most of which are not easily told cinematically. The novel adaptations allow fans who want to know more about their favorite characters an option to expand their knowledge.

fiction turned into a reality, allowing them to portray their book exactly as they want others to see it, which a large pre-existing fanbase may or may not agree with. When talking about the special effects of the original “Star Wars” movies, according to Gitre, if they were released today people wouldn’t be particularly impressed, but at the time, the technology used and the effects accomplished were ground breaking. “It seemed so realistic then and I mean nowadays you watch it and you’re like ‘Woah that’s hokey’ compared to what they can do now with the computers,”

Gitre said about “The Empire Strikes Back.” Often, readers such as Gitre have an idea of what certain characters or scenes look like, and seeing a movie version of something they only had an idea of can be really eye-opening and exciting. “I remember specifically that I read ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ right before I saw the movie, and I think that was actually one of the first [‘Star Wars’ books] I read,” Gitre said. “I remember finishing it, and that same day my dad took me to see the movie, and I was really fired up

Photo courtesy of

Kendra Miller (KendraMillerPhotography)

The mockingjay is an important symbol in the “Hunger Games” series, which has recently been adapted into film. How this pin came into the protagonist’s possession was altered in the film version, changing the plot slightly.

about it…I remember the big walkers, I had in my mind what they looked like when I read the book, but then when I saw the movie it was just like, ‘Oh man that is awesome!’” From a younger generation’s perspective, seeing movies from books can be an inspiration to keep reading, especially because it helps readers visualize pre-existing characters and scenes, according to Ruth Ann Edison, student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. She is an avid reader who said that she loves watching movie adaptations. The popular book series “The Hunger Games” has recently been adapted into film, and many fans were happy with the outcome in areas like visualization and casting, including Edison.

“I loved the Hunger Games books,” Edison said, “They were kind of the books that brought me back into hardcore reading…because I saw the Hunger Games movie before I read the books, I was satisfied with the cast, but I also really liked the way they portrayed a lot of the scenes, it was a lot like what happened in my head.” Despite many successes in turning movies into books, Edison said there have been so many failures in this process, that sometimes readers are skeptical. Edison holds a much lower expectation for movies than she does for books. “I can’t honestly expect that much because it’s a movie,” She said. “And it’ll never really be [exactly] what I thought it could be, or what goes on in my head, but I expect it to at least be a decent representation.” However, this problem is inverted when filmmakers open up the possibility of creating a book series, as the “Star Wars” films decided to do. The material can be expanded

and added to, with new details and more of a backstory that you can’t get from the movies, according to Gitre. “Because it was a science fiction, and concept of the book was so broad, they could take these characters and do a lot of different situations,” Gitre said. “Because you had the idea of this evil empire that had big themes, they could create a bunch of little stories and so the

Because it was a science fiction, and concept of the book was so broad, they could take these characters and do a lot of different situations. -James Gitre 11

You had to find the things about it that were visually interesting, and figure out how to link those together to tell the story. -Orman stories did take the characters that you knew, and put them in different situations, and continue different adventures that they would be in…They took like Han Solo and maybe gave you some story from his background, or Luke Skywalker back on Tatooine, and some interaction there, so you learn stuff about the different characters.” Because of this certain pressure of fan bases on their adaptations, filmmakers often shy away from this option. Adam Orman studied film at Haverford, and talks about how the adaptation process works, despite not having created an adaptation himself. “There was definitely a class in graduate school about [film] adaptation. You had to find the things about it that were visually interesting, and figure out how to link those together to tell the story,” Orman said. “You [have] to break the story down into its visual elements and then put it back together basically…Any time that I’ve written the screenplay from scratch, that all happens at the same time…it’s more like a puzzle if you’re adapting.”

don’t have that much time, and you can’t have as many characters in a movie generally as you can in a book, and most importantly, you just can’t show what’s happening inside somebody’s head,” Orman said. Another frequent gap between what fans want in a movie adaptation and what filmmakers can deliver is the cast. More often than not, the actors of a movie adaptation represent their respective book characters well enough, sometimes even phenomenally according to Orman, but that doesn’t take any pressure off of the people in charge of casting. Fans often have a specific idea of what they wanted the characters to look like, and when that goes wrong, the filmmakers take a hard hit. “When I go in with something I’ve written, I’m only dealing with who I pictured,” Orman said. “but [if] you’re casting somebody for a movie of, you know, ‘The Hunger Games,’ there has already been a description of her, in the book, so that’s one thing that you have to fight with. It could be that somebody shows up who is amazing, and who you think is going to bring a lot to the role, but she has to be a certain height and she has to have a certain color hair, or millions of fans are going to say, ‘How could you cast a tan, blonde, green-eyed Katniss, that’s ridiculous!’”

Some of this can be helped by the handful of fans who decide to watch the movie before they read the books. Edison read the popular book series “The Hunger Games” after having Photo courtesy of

Flickr user Mingle MediaTV

This puzzle of adaptation often has some extra pieces that don’t fit, such as certain characters or scenes that fans might have enjoyed, but filmmakers can’t always include, Orman said. “You can’t possibly put a whole book on film, because you just usually

Jennifer Lawrence, pictured above, was cast as the protagonist of the “Hunger Games” series. This was slightly controversial because of her appearance, despite the fact that her indie film acting was already Oscar-nominee worthy. However, the arguments were settled when her appearance was altered for the sake of filming the movies.

Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Photo by Summit Entertainment

The two protagonists of the “Divergent” movie, Four and Tris, were cast different than fans expected. Theo James, who plays Four, is British and had to hide his accent. Shailene Woodley, who plays the main character Tris, has never starred in an action movie. Photo by Warner Bros.

The movie adaptation of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” has a cast that many were not happy with. They were said to be too old, which was upsetting because of the important role age plays in the plot. A few of the main characters looked the exact opposite of their book counterparts, including Annabeth Chase, pictured above.

watched the movie. “I had a better visual representation when I read the book after watching the movie because I could see the characters the way that the directors portrayed them, and the cast,” Edison said. “And then I didn’t really have as many problems with the cast, I was just kind of like, ‘This is how it is, this is how it should be.’”

to more than the people who’ve actually read the books,” Edison said. Orman agrees, but on a slightly different level. From his perspective, there is more of a struggle to add originality to pre-existing material, while still upholding the finite details (the things fans look for) of the original material.

Filmmakers and fans often have conflicting opinions, but ultimately, they both have the other’s values in mind.

“You don’t want to disappoint the people that love the thing that you’re adapting, but you also just want to bring yourself and your own vision and your own ideas to it,” Orman said.

“[Filmmakers] look for something that the audience, [no matter whether] they’ve read the book or not, will enjoy, because even people who don’t read the books go and see the movies, just because everyone’s talking about it, and they want to make it visually pleasing

This is the filmmaker’s dilemma: finding a way to make a true-to-thebook adaptation with an original twist. In the end, more often than not, viewers are satisfied, and can see something tangible from what was once only an idea perceived from reading a book.

The cast of the “Harry Potter” movie series has been around for almost as long as the books themselves, so many fans are familiar with their character portrayals.

“ I think [reading the books] added to [the movie experience] because I already kind of had in mind what I thought was gonna happen,” Gitre said. “but then seeing how they actually did it enhanced it.”

May the Scores Be With You

A History of Original Scores in Film and Television Story by Dayln Gillentine A large space station enters the screen of “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” This space station is the Death Star, ruled by the evil Empire and its imperial forces of the galaxy. As the Death Star moves closer, the anthem “The Imperial March,” plays, bringing a new dimension to film music. Since the first film publicly graced the screens, music has played a heavy part in production. Originally used to mask the loud noise the projector made, film music has evolved into a completely new concept. Now the background music in a film, or the score, reflects the atmosphere of the film, and even individual scenes. Scores add interest, excitement, tension and suspense, and are now an integral part of movies and television.

1895: A paid pianist accompanies the first showing of a film by the

Lumière brothers in Paris, effectively becoming the first instance of film music. He was supposedly hired in order to mask the sound of the handcranked projector used to show the movie.

1908: The first original film score ever to accompany a narrative film

is composed by Camille Saint-Saëns to be used in a movie for the Paris Societé Film d’Art. However, recent research says that this may not truly be the first original score.

1933: Silent films climb in popularity, using scores from composers such as Gershwin, Porter, and Rodgers, helping with the rise of movie music to prominence.

1935: The London Symphony Orchestra records the first orchestral

film score for the movie “Things to Come,” based on the novel by H.G. Wells, starting a revolution in movie music. This also helped the London Symphony Orchestra to start its legacy as the primary orchestra used in film.

1938: “Gone with the Wind” is released, along with its acclaimed

soundtrack, written by Max Steiner. Max Steiner later composed over 200 film scores total, becoming a globally renowned composer.

1939: Film music takes a huge leap and becomes an integral and

prominent element of movies in what is often known as “The Golden Era of Documentaries.”

1948: Spare orchestration, less sound, and simpler compositions become popular in film, echoing a return to the silent era.

1962: “Lawrence of

Arabia,” composed by David Lean, and the third best original score of all time is released.

1959: Scores and

soundtracks are introduced to television, possibly for the first time. The first television scores include that for the series “Peter Gunn,” written by Henry Mancini, who also wrote the theme in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “The Pink Panther.” 1951: “A Streetcar Named Desire,” written by Alex North, introduces jazz to the film industry in the score and soundtrack of the movie. This genre quickly became very popular in movie music.

1949: Along with the rise

of Westerns in American film, the Eastern European music often accompanying them also got more popular. A prominent composer of the time was Dmitri Tiomkin, from Russia, who wrote scores for films such as “High Noon.”

Photo by

Wikipedia

Top 10 Best Original Scores

According to the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Lists 1 “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” by John Williams

2 “Gone With the Wind” by Max Steiner 3 “Lawrence of Arabia” by Maurice Jarre 4 “Psycho” by Bernard Herrmann 5 “The Godfather” by Nino Rota 6 “Jaws” by John Williams 7 “Laura” by David Raksin 8 “The Magnificent Seven” by Elmer

1964: “A Fistfull of

Dollars,” only one of hundreds of soundtracks written by Ennio Morricone, is released. In total, this composer released over 450 film scores, accompanying six decades worth of films.

Bernstein

1975: “Jaws” is released,

introducing movie audiences to John Williams, possibly the most acclaimed score composer ever. Williams, and contemporaries, set a new standard for film scores.

Photo by

Wikipedia

1977: The “Star Wars”

score, often considered one of the best, is recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. Written by John Williams, it won an Oscar for best original score within the next year.

1981: The analogue

synthesizer is used in place of an orchestra for the score of “Chariots of Fire,” starting a revolution in movie soundtracks. This concept is still used by Hans Zimmer today.

2013: Stephen Price

wins the Oscar for best original score in the movie “Gravity” at the 86th Academy Awards.

Top: Pictured above is the London Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1904, one of the most renowned orchestras in the world, having done film scores such as “The King’s Speech,” “Braveheart” and “Star Wars.” Bottom: John Williams, born in 1932, has been nominated and won more Oscars than any other composers for his scores. His has won a total of five Oscars, starting in 1971.

9 “Chinatown” by Jerry Goldsmith 10 “High Noon” by Dimitri Tiomkin

Top 10 Score Composers

According to the Academy of Motion Pictures number of Oscar nominations 1 John Williams (44 nominations) 2 Alfred Newman (41 nominations) 3 Max Steiner (20 nominations) 4 Victor Young (19 nominations) 5 Jerry Goldsmith (17 nominations) 6 Ray Heindorf (17 nominations) 7 Morris Stoloff (17 nominations) 8 Miklos Rozsa (16 nominations) 9 Alex North (14 nominations) 10 Dimitri Tiomkin (14 nominations) Sources: London Symphony Orchestra (lso.co.uk); American Composers Orchestra (www.americancomposers.org); “Film Music- A History” by James Wierzbicki; “A Fistful of Music Scores” by Robert Ito from the New York Times (www.nytimes.com); The American Film Institute (www.afi.com); The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (awardsdatabase.oscars.org) 15

Middle Earth Takes a Visit to New Zealand A Walk Around Hobbiton Story by Erin Teal

This is the small town of Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand. Photo by Jeff Hitchcock

he sun rises over a small village that blends into its surroundings, with its rolling hills and babbling river. Gardens and ornate doors set into the landscape are bathed in the morning light. At last, the sun illuminates a single oak tree perched upon a hillock. This is the small town of Hobbiton. “It [looked] like the place had just been abandoned and that the hobbits would come back any moment telling us big folk to get off their land,” former resident of New Zealand Madison Barchas said after she visited Hobbiton. In a small town in New Zealand called Matamata, the New Zealand seen is far from skyscrapers and highrises. Instead, the landscape is peppered with the underground homes commonly referred to as hobbit holes. This was the original set used to film both the Shire from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which is home to the hobbits created by J. R. R. Tolkien, author of both “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” After filming was completed for “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,”

the set was preserved as a tourist attraction. Today, fans may visit and immerse themselves in the world of Tolkien, learning about the hobbits who reside in each individual home. “The houses along the banks of the river were home to the fishermen. They lived there to get better access to the water. You could see some of their nets lying about waiting to be mended,” Barchas said. “There was [also] a house that had the washing still hung up. The old lady that lived there had just finished doing her laundry.” The laundry added the desired effect. The laundry and fishing nets were added to provide a homely look to the Shire and its hobbit holes, representing the hobbits who resided in them. This was all part of a plan to make the Shire as lifelike as it could be. When the Shire was being constructed in Matamata, great care was also taken to reshape the land so that it would represent Tolkien’s image as closely as possible. According to the New Zealand Tourism Board, it took nine months alone to remake the landscape so that the hobbit holes would blend in. New Zealand

It [looked] like the place had just been abandoned and that the hobbits would come back any moment telling us big folk to get off their land. -Barchas already looked very similar to Tolkien’s descriptions of Middle Earth and only a few renovations were required to make them the same. “I love the books, and I thought the area they got for the Shire really did show it like I thought it should be shown,” said avid fan of “The Lord of the Rings” Elizabeth Boulet. Everyone has different opinions on

Photo by Jeff Hitchcock

The Green Dragon Inn and mill are common tourist spots for Lord of the Rings fans when visiting Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand. “The Geen Dragon was attached to a working mill,” said Barchas. The mill can be accessed by a stone bridge.

what they thought of the Shire and how it should have been portrayed in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Bernard Lagan, writer for The Global Mail, pointed out that it was director Peter Jackson, flying over New Zealand in a helicopter to find the perfect Middle Earth, who got to have the final say in how the Shire was adapted from Tolkien’s books. BagEnd, the hobbit hole of “The Hobbit” main character Bilbo Baggins, was one of Jackson’s main points of focus when he was overseeing the creation of the Shire. Jackson wanted to make Bag-End as close to Tolkien’s descriptions as he could, as it was such an integral part of “The Hobbit.”

Photo by Madison Barchas

The hobbit holes along the lake are home to the fishermen and are accented by the ornate and circular doors that are commonly found in hobbit holes. Nets lying around waiting to be mended add an authentic look.

“I never actually imagined the entire Shire, just Bilbo’s house,” Barchas said. “His front door looked out over the river and he was always smoking one of his pipes on a bench outside of it. It was always bright and sunny in my mind.” Readers have images created in their head from descriptions in a book, and when it is being transferred into a movie, a director’s adaptation may cause some dispute. “The Hobbit” is no exception. While Tolkien might never have had any idea that his books would be transformed into films shown on a screen, the possibility of any disagreements over film adaptations was decreased by the great detail he wrote with. Of course, this also could have been to ensure that readers would see the same world and the same Shire that he did, with the exception of a few minor details. “I think I imagined maybe a few more trees than [the Shire] had, and the Party Tree in a different place entirely,” Boulet said. “However, that doesn’t bother me. How could anyone go about moving a fully-grown tree?” While it is a mite difficult to move a tree, it could be done. The Party Tree was left in its original position, but according to Lagan, the single oak tree perched upon Bad-End was picked out just so that it could be placed on top of a hobbit hole. The oak was found on a nearby farm and was cut down

Photo by Jeff Hitchcock

Bag-End, or the house of Bilbo Baggins, a main character from “The Hobbit” by J. R. R. Tolkien, has a single oak perched upon its roof. According to The Global Mail, the oak was transported from a neighboring town to be placed on top of Bag-End and had thousands of artificial leaves wired into its branches.

into large pieces. Reassembled in the Shire, the oak was given hundreds of thousands of artificial leaves that were wired on to replace the leaves lost when the oak was cut down for transportation to Hobbiton, where it still stands overlooking the various other hobbit holes and rolling landscape. “I knew that ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was set in New Zealand, so I imagined these foothills that I’ve seen in in New Zealand that are super green,” J. R. R. Tolkien enthusiast and freshman student at LASA High School Laurie

Photo by Madison Barchas

The creators of Hobbiton tried to make the Shire as life-like as possible and went as far as to include laundry drying on a line to portray a lived-in look.

MacQueen said.

Photo by Madison Barchas

When the Shire was being prepared to debut on film, Jackson took great care to make the Shire as convincing and as true to the book as he could. Turning the Shire into a permanent addition to the New Zealand countryside helped to make such a feat possible. With the landscape already taken care of with its green hills and nearby river, all that was required were the hobbits. Yet when the green hills were remodeled to accommodate the numerous hobbit holes, the Shire didn’t quite fit Tolkien’s descriptions. It still needed something more. Thus, gardens were added, along with wheelbarrows and fishing supplies for the hobbits to use. An axe was even stuck in a tree stump to make the Shire more lifelike until it seemed as if the hobbits had only gone away on a holiday. “They really did a good job of showing the Shire as Tolkien described it. But also, Tolkien gave tons of detail,” said Theo Lavier, who has been reading Tolkien’s works from a young age. “It couldn’t have been that hard to imitate it. The grass was this shade of green, and you’re like, ‘Okay, paint the grass this color.’” The grass in Matamata, however, was not painted when the Shire was constructed. The landscape, on the other hand, was a

[It is] that embodiment of Tolkien’s childhood dreams and he put everything...a child would want in a place: freedom [and] nice people. -Lavier 20

As the Shire is a happy place, the creators of Hobbiton added gardens full of flowers to convey the carefree feeling one experiences in the Shire. Numerous butterflies were attracted to the flowers. “[The butterflies] were all flying around the gardens and made the place have a magical feel,” said Barchas.

different story and was completely reconstructed so that it could house the 37 hobbit holes it does today. The New Zealand Tourism Board mentioned that the crew who was remodeling the farm on which the Shire was built also worked through the winter to nurture gardens that would flower in the spring and play home to a variety of fauna, such as butterflies. “I loved that the birds and the butterflies looked like they were on the payroll,” Barchas said. “They were all flying around the gardens and made the place have a magical feel, especially because outside of the Shire you couldn’t find butterflies for a couple of miles. They were there for the flowers.” Tolkien readers know the Shire to be a place of good food and kind people. In “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” Lavier thought that the sun and bright green flora helped to contribute to the contented and pleasant feeling that goes along with it. However, Barchas pointed out that New Zealand is a bit temperamental when

it comes to weather. It can be sunny one day and overcast the next, which is why it worked out well that “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” were filmed on a sunny day, making sure that the happy feeling found in the Shire was present in both films. “[New Zealand] was a really good set choice and they did a really good job [with the Shire]. They got the right feel for the rolling hills and the sun,” Lavier said. “I’m surprised it was even sunny... it was amazing.” New Zealand was not chosen because of its variations in sunny days. The town of Matamata was picked because of the way it embodied Middle Earth. When the location was being picked to film the Shire from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” Lagan mentioned that the directors were searching for a green land filled with small hills with a stream nearby that would be able to house the hobbit holes and buildings from Tolkien’s Shire. Matamata had

all of these requirements and the New Zealand Tourism Board stated that nine months later, the small town of Hobbiton settled down in New Zealand to stay.

Tolkien’s childhood dreams, and how he put everything he wanted, kind of everything that a child would want, in a place,” Lavier said. “Freedom [and] nice people.”

“It did [the Shire] justice, because it is beautiful. It was really green and healthy, and I think that it fit into New Zealand really well,” MacQueen said. “It did both the Shire and New Zealand justice.”

Lavier believes that children grow up wanting to be loved, living a carefree life where everything is right in the world. The Shire, with its open fields and gardens, appeals to the rollicking nature of children and offers them freedom. That freedom gained from frolicking over hills allows the children to experience that carefree life. Tolkien may have remembered this feeling when creating the Shire, reminiscing on his own childhood. Growing up in the English countryside also influenced his writings.

Tolkien likely used his descriptive writings for that exact purpose. He wanted the world to see through his eyes, so that the Shire would receive the justice it deserved. Although, he might have had other reasons for why he was so descriptive in his writings. Tolkien may have been referring to the English countryside he grew up in, and transforming his childhood into the Shire would have kept it alive forever. “I [think] the Shire to Tolkien was kind of like his boyhood home dream... like where he wished he’d grown up. There’s a babbling river the kids could run and play, it’s safe from danger, it’s very isolated, and everyone’s kind of nice,” Lavier said. “In the Shire, the way Tolkien describes it and the way the movie shows it, there’s almost no anguish or sorrow or any form of despair.” The lack of sorrow is explained by Tolkien’s past. John Ezard, writer for The Guardian, brought up the fact that Tolkien grew up in Sarehole, a small town outside of Birmingham, England. Sarehole had a mill, a pond, and a few old-fashioned village houses. This is very similar to how Tolkien described the Shire. The Shire had a mill, a pond, and hobbit holes. With the similarities seen between Sarehole and the Shire, Tolkien likely based the rest of Middle Earth off of his experiences as well. For example, the hobbits were the nice people who surrounded him as he grew up in the countryside, an independent child enjoying his freedom like the young hobbits in the Shire. “My favorite thing about it is the fact that [it is] that embodiment of

“He might have just wanted to create the most idyllic, innocent scenery he could think of, and the Shire embodied that vision,” Boulet said. “It may have stemmed from his having grown up in the country.”

Photo by Madison Barchas

The Shire plays home to a working mill located across the lake and can be accessed by a stone bridge. The farmland behind the mill also represents an English countryside similar to the one Tolkien grew up in. Photo by Madison Barchas

In the end, the Shire looked as if it had stepped right out of the pages from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” The rolling hills and babbling brook of Matamata had convinced Middle Earth to take a visit to New Zealand, and it was there to stay. Tolkien’s hobbits will stay alive for years to come. “It is that childhood dream home. Like, it’s the place. That’s what I like about it. That’s my favorite thing about it,” Lavier said. “And also the fact that there are hobbits there.”

There are signs of hobbit life scattered around the Shire. “There was even this spot where there was a tiny little ax in a huge tree stump,” said Barchas. “That was my favorite part of Hobbiton.” Photo by Madison Barchas

The numerous hobbit holes in the Shire each have their own hobbits and back story. This hobbit hole with the blue door is home to a gardener, as represented through the rake leaning against the door and the various fauna surrounding it.

Level Seven Security Access Granted

Who are you from “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Story by Erin Teal

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D, was created by Marvel Studios. This organization investigates supernatural events and occurrences in the Marvel Universe and is directed by Agent Nick Fury. In late 2013, S.H.I.E.L.D. took to the screens as its own T.V. show on ABC called “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Featuring Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, who returned from the dead after “The Avengers,” Coulson has assembled a team of five agents to explore anomalies and track down a villain called “The Clairvoyant.” Follow the chart and find out which of Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. agents you are, or if you’re Director Fury.

START Are you one to follow rules?

They’re only guidelines.

Yes, there must be order.

How good are your hacking skills?

Are you a convincing liar?

That’s not my job.

Source: IMDb.com Photos courtesy of Marvel Studios

Are you an alien from outer space?

I’d rather not risk killing anyone. Can you shoot a gun?

Yes.

Darn good.

It’s quicker to blow up the computers.

Oh, completely.

Do you know how to fly an airplane?

I could probably guess your password.

I can shoot a bulls-eye from 100 feet away.

Would you ever betray your friend?

Of course.

If you were told to arrest a seductive Asgardian, would you?

Agent Coulson

Yes. Don’t touch Lola.

A quiet and polite man, Agent Coulson loves his red convertible called Lola and assembled a small team of agents to track down the Clairvoyant, who was causing S.H.I.E.L.D. trouble. As a leader, he has a strong influence on others, but will listen to good ideas when he hears them.

Black is so much better. Agent Skye Do you like red convertibles?

As a level one S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Skye is restricted access to much of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s classified information. However, her curiosity and expert hacking skills allow her to get into places she shouldn’t be, usually places requiring a level 7 security clearance.

Yes, I just look human. Agents Fitz and Simmons

Sadly not.

Agent Ward

Nope. I am far too loyal for my own good.

Highly trained in combat like co-agent Melinda May, Ward is fiercely loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. and prefers to avoid improvisation when he can. Usually soft spoken, Ward is straightforward when he speaks, only saying what needs to be said.

It depends... why? Is that worng?

Agent May Ace pilot and weapons expert, Agent May pilots Coulson’s team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in a luxury jet referred to as the “Bus.” Fitz, Simmons, and Skye also call May “the cavalry,” as her skills in martial arts have been known to help the team out of a few tricky situations.

If it was for their own sake.

Sure thing. No one tells me what to do.

As scientific experts, Fitz and Simmons are always working together to figure out how the supernatural occurrences they happen upon are possible. Their imaginations have allowed the pair to create various devices that can be used to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s advantage.

Director Fury The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury is the driving force behind S.H.I.E.L.D.’s actions. Fury is the one who keeps the secrets of the secrets in S.H.I.E.L.D. and decides what his agents need to know and when.

Future Film Favorites

Story by Jessica Gitre

A Basic Summary of Six Upcoming Blockbusters With exciting new movies coming out every day, it can be overwhelming to try to keep track of which of them you want to see and when they are coming out. There are sequels being made constantly, and scripts being written and revised solely for the enjoyment of the viewers. So, when these movies come out, seize the opportunity to watch the stories unfold on the big screen. To help you on this endeavor, here are six upcoming releases and a bit of information on their plots.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox Film Productions

The Maze Runner Wes Ball Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Will Poulter

Directed by Starring

Prospective Release Date

September 19th, 2014

In a futuristic, dystopian society, a group of 50 teenage boys are put into a maze, one with supposedly no way out. With the help of the first girl ever to arrive, they attempt to escape the dangerous maze. This movie is based on the bestselling novel by James Dashner. Photo courtesy of As Is Productions

The Giver Phillip Noyce Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Brenton Thwaites, and Meryl Streep Directed by

Prospective Release Date

August 15, 2014

Based on the award-winning novel by Lois Lowry, “The Giver” takes place in a virtually perfect society; one with no pain, no predjudice and, consequently, no freedom of choice. This teenager, Jonas, works to find out how the world used to operate, with emotion, suffering, and liveliness through the eyes of the town “Giver” who transmits memories of the past directly to Jonas.

Avengers: Age of Ultron Joss Whedon Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo. Directed by Starring

Prospective Release Date

May 1, 2015

The Avengers convene to defeat the robot Ultron. Not much detail has been released about the plot of this movie, however, the comic books are indicative of what might be to come. In the comic books in which Ultron appears, he is a criminally insane robot created by the evil genius Dr. Henry Pym, otherwise known as “the Ant-Man”. In the comic series, Ultron follows in his creator’s footsteps and strives to engineer an artificial lifeform of his own. This detail may or may not 24 be featured in the upcoming movie.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios

Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn Starring Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana Directed by

Prospective Release Date

August 1, 2014

American pilot Peter Quill finds a mysterious orb in space and becomes an object of search himself, as the guardians of the galaxy join forces with him to try to protect the orb before the evil opposing force (Ronan) can reach it. The crew of “guardians” consists of Groot, a tree-like humaniod, Rocket, a fiesty racoon, “Drax the Destroyer,” the revenge-seeking superhuman and Gamora, an equivocative and deadly warrior. Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm

Star Wars : Episode VII J. J. Abrams Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammil (confirmed) Directed by Starring

Prospective Release Date

December 18, 2015

The continuation of the “Star Wars” story will be told from a younger generation’s perspective alongside the wisdom of the original trilogy’s main characters, and will be the first installment of a new trilogy. Filming of the movie will officially begin in May 2014.

In the far future Movies to be released after late 2015

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Cristoph

Directed by Starring

Waltz

Prospective Release Date

2016

No official synopsis has been released to the public yet, but Jack Sparrow, the main character of all four previous movies, is rumored to be featured with a new love interest (a witch). This will be the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Carribbean series that follows the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, and will be filming in Puerto Rico and New Orleans by December 2014. Sources: IMDb.com (IMDb Website), marvel.com/universe/ultron (Official Marvel website)

SHERLOCK

DID YOU MISS ME?

Series 4

Sherlock Series 4. The game is on.

Coming to BBC one in 2017* *

Coming to BBC America and PBS in late 2019

Photo by

20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Ellen Ripley (pictured above) is often considered one of the first strong female characters in science fiction. She is played by Sigourney Weaver in the “Alien” series. This character, however strong, is also often objectified by her body, and shown in very little clothing. She is a prime example of the skewed representation of women in this genre.

From Lois Lane to Princess Leia The Evolution of Female Characters in Sci-fi Story by Dayln Gillentine

oftly humming the song “Prince Charming,” Ryan Gillentine, a film teacher at The Kinkaid School in Houston, walked into the film workshop. Oblivious to the seminar, he was busy conceptualizing a fantasy story based on the song stuck in his head. The leaders soon got his, and everyone else’s, attention and announced that in the workshop they would be making a short film. Inspired by the song, Gillentine wrote a short film featuring a girl reading a book in a coffee shop. She’s working up the courage to go talk to the barista behind the counter, picturing herself kissing the frog prince. The female protagonist walks up to him, empowered, and bends him into a passionate kiss, taking control of her own destiny. 27 Afterward, she drops him to the ground, and leaves the shop, winking at him on the way out.

Photo by

“What I did was I took that concept and I had this girl in a coffee shop, and took the male gaze and emphasis and flipped it on its head, and gave the camera the woman’s view and the woman’s point of view,” Gillentine said. In most science fiction and fantasy, women are not portrayed as powerfully and realistically as they were in the short film written by Gillentine. He said that there is a long history of damsels in distress, focus on the female body, loss of femininity and power, and overall extremely unrealistic views of women in these genres. According to Gillentine, these depictions also affect the treatment of women in future of these genres, and reflect the current views of society. Many people, including William Garcia, an AP English teacher with a master’s degree in literature, believes that when science fiction was beginning in the early 20th century, there was an extremely misogynistic view of women, partially reflecting the treatment of women at the time. “In the Victorian English mode, you’ve got women that are childlike and innocent and are incapable of dealing with emotions or anything difficult at all,” Garcia said. However, this type of female character was not the only portrayal of women in this genre, Garcia pointed out. In fact, he considers the true beginning of science fiction to be “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. “And even though it’s main characters are men, the fact that it was written

They are in a situation where they are easily capable of saving themselves and they don’t. 28 -Garcia

Paramount Pictures

“War of the Worlds” is one of H. G. Well’s most famous novels. The picture above is a poster from a movie adaptaion. In the first book, much of the plot revolves around him saving his wife, showing how little power women had.

by a woman, and is about the kind of discrimination that “inferior” classes deal with in the world, it had a lot to say about gender,” Garcia said. According to Garcia, this view of women was lost when more men began writing in this genre, a couple of decades later. Male authors, including Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, pushed Victorian views of women onto female characters, molding them to the ideals of the time. “They just stand around, waiting for someone to save them,” Garcia said. “And they are in a situation where they are easily capable of saving themselves and they don’t.” It is evident, said Garcia, that this view of women drastically changed after World War II, when they started appearing as sidekicks in the science fiction and fantasy genres. This portrayal of women was an extreme change from the original views. “Now, that seems to be where the

pendulum swung,” Garcia said. “When science fiction authors as a community began figuring out that that was boring, they swung the complete opposite direction to a ludicrous and also equally awkward extreme of bombshell killers all the way.” Examples of characters like this are dispersed throughout almost all of science fiction, from Robert Heinlein’s novel “Friday,” where the main character is a female genetically engineered to be better than other humans yet still faces prejudice, to George R. R. Martin’s female characters in “Game of Thrones,” such as Cersei Lannister. Cersei Lannister is known for using her body and beauty to manipulate and seduce men in the series. This is a very prominent portrayal that is found in literature spanning through decades. “In ‘Friday,’ Friday is the main character. In today’s world we would look at this main character as really kind of creepy. Alright?” Garcia said. “She’s beautiful, highly intelligent and sexy. She’s written

The best example of that is regularly in a movie you’ll see the camera look a woman up and down. -Gillentine very sexy. And she’s kind of this assassin type character.” Despite the fact that the view of women brought about by that change is often considered very misogynistic and male oriented, it is still found in a lot of science fiction and fantasy today. Furthermore, this portrayal is still incredibly common, as Gillentine points out. He sees it in many action movies today, including “The Avengers,” where the only female hero is the Black Widow, a very beautiful assassin. “And [Black Widow’s] absolutely amazing, but at the same time everyone else has her outfits zipped all the way up to [their chin or throat] and hers is unzipped to her mid-chest,” Gillentine said.

yet in society.

Photo by

Marvel Studios

“In ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ for instance, there is a first officer who is a woman long before there was actually one in the American Armed Forces, probably,” El Kouri said. However, according to Garcia, this female character, Captain Kathryn Janeway, is often considered to be treated like a man, not like a woman. Her femininity was hidden in the show. “Seven seasons, never dated anyone,” Garcia said. This exemplifies the hidden femininity often found in these characters for Garcia. When women were main characters they pretending to be men, or even crossdressing. He considers this a problem, because women are losing their femininity in order to gain respect. “It seems to be a choice right now that a woman can be powerful, but only if

The character Black Widow, from Joss Whedon’d “The Avengers,” played by Scarlett Johanssen, was the only main female chracter in the movie. This alone, in addition to the display of her body, show the sexism present in the movie. Photo by

United Paramount Network

In addition, Gillentine believes the evolution of film contributed to the objectifying of womens bodies concerning these roles. By simply watching movies, evidence for this opinion can be seen, and in great quantity. “The best example of that is regularly in a movie you’ll see the camera look a woman up and down,” Gillentine said. The evolution of female characters continued, and in the ‘80s it became a lot more common to find female protagonists, Garcia said. According to him, this was the first time characters like this existed on a widespread scale. In addition, Zahie El Kouri, an author on infertility for women and immigrant cultures, believes that these characters also made leaps that hadn’t been made

Captain Katherine Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, was a lead character in “Star Trek: Voyager” from 1995. The character commanded the Intrepid-class USS Voyager, and was often known to be intellegent, thoughtful, tough, and dedicated. Janeway was also skilled in diplomacy, as well as being a very scientific persona. The character is often considered to be one fo the strongest female characters ever to be seen on television.

Photo by

NBC Universal Television

that led to these much more equal portrayals, mostly starting in the ‘70s and ‘80s. In fact, Garcia called attention to many crucial authors of the time that acted as the catalyst for characters and portrayals like this. “Ursula Le Guin is huge. She is really the first famous, female, science fiction writer,” Garcia said. “She’s who really got people going on that.” Le Guin, along with authors such as Gene Roddenberry and John Skullsey, was the impetus for these much more realistic and equal characters. This depiction of women is already evident in many ways. There is more variety in roles for women, and these roles are often considered much more realistic. “You get real people that are motivated, you get women that are motivated to do things and not because they’re women,” Garcia said. El Kouri also believes that in addition to not objectifying women, this portrayal also allowed for the expanse and exploration of more intricacy and elaboration in female characters. In her opinion, this allowed the characters to become even more realistic.

Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, played by Katee Sackhoff, from SciFi’ Channels’s “Battlestar Galactica,” is pictured far left. She is often considered one of the most equal female charcters in science fiction, being a favorite of Zahie EL Kouri.

she pretends not to be a woman,” Garcia said. Garcia believes that all portrayals of women reflect the current views of society. The original views mirrored the ways women were treated in Victorian England, where many of the most famous science fiction authors were from. This depiction of women is no different, and emphasizes belief about strong women at the time. “It’s just an interesting question of what it means to be feminine and what it means to do her job,” El Kouri said. “How much of that do you have to sacrifice for the sake of credibility?.”

So far, Garcia believes that

science fiction mirrors society, only slightly after. Hopefully, as the treatment of women in society evolves, so will the treatment and portrayal of women in science fiction. The goal is to end up writing about, and living in, a truly equal society. Alternatively, television shows and books with equal societies have already started appearing. “Where being a man and being a woman does not matter to you or have any effect on your character and what you’re doing in the story, in any way shape or form,” Garcia said. “‘Battlestar Galactica,’ I think, is the prime example of a society where men and women are totally equal and still men and women.” There were a lot of contributing factors

“There’s not this black and white, feminine, super competent person that is in power or is not in power,” El Kouri said. “I think there’s more room now to explore the emotional complexity and femininity of a woman in power.” This expansion of feminine portrayals has led to more complexity of female characters as a whole. Despite the fact that women still receive misogynistic roles, it’s becoming more and more rare as time goes on. There is now a wider range found in literature, film and television. “It’s good to see women getting those roles, instead of just being the Jezebel, and just being the femme fatale, which still very much exists out there,” Gillentine said.

The

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