Summary
I have watched Gravity Falls multiple times, and every times I watch it, I learn something new about the message of this series. I was amazed by the deep connections of all the characters in the shows, they are all relatable to each other in someway. But, the relationship between the mischievous demon with omnipotent power, Bill Cipher, and the rest of the citizens of Gravity Falls fascinate me the most. On my research, I will focus on finding type of misfits and try to understand their thoughts. Also, I will dig into the concept of Autocracy and Nihilism in order to interpret the figure of Bill Cipher and the protagonists in the real world. Furthermore, I look at how people are vulnerable in dreams to illustrate the power of Bill Cipher. I look at the definition of heroism and examples of hero to demonstrate the teamwork is the key of heroism, and only work together brings success. Last but not least, I investigate the conformity and creativity to further explain the connection between the society and the misfits.
“Hikikomania: existential horror or national malaise?”*
This article investigates Hikikomania, a phenomenon that is increasing exponentially in Japan, considering differents social and cultural elements. The articles opposes an urgent solution to bring the youths that withdrawn from the society back to the community of Japan. When defining Hikikomori, Todd Kathleen notes that,
Hikikomori are generally perceived as lazy, incompetent, mentally diseased, or socially oppressed. Officially, a hikikomori is defined as a person in "a state of social withdrawal of more than six months in duration without psychotic symptoms" (Hattori 2006, 192). In reality, hikikomori are more like canaries in a coalmine: sensitive individuals searching for identity in a society that frowns on deviations from the norm.
Todd’s explanation on Hikikomori illustrates a misconception that the society makes on these isolated individual. This concept will help me represents the idea of sometimes a person tries to act and look differently because he has his own reasons. These actions cause the others to misjudge him and treat that person poorly. In the end, when people find out that person purpose of doing abnormal stuffs, they will need to justify themselves for unable to interpret the him correctly.
“Autocratic directives fail to spark creativity”*
This article takes a look at China’s technology developments and analyzes the quality of China’s products. The results is significantly disastrous because China is urgently lacking of inventiveness. Jamil Anderlini writes that, “In other words, China is leading the world in the quantity but not the quality of its innovation” indicates that China, one of the most developed countries in the world, produces based on quantity and exterminates creativities in their products. This idea opposes that in order to get the dominant power, you must get rid of creativity. This is an example of autocracy: an individual with absolute power rules over the weaker people and forces everyone to follow the ruler order no matter what. I want to use this concept of autocracy in order to apply it to my antagonist of the adaptation, Bill Cipher. He is a perfect fit for autocracy because he desires to take control over the world and causes destruction everywhere. In reality, however, autocracy can never last for too long, which symbolizes the bad, evil can never outplay the good in the final fight.
“The Sadness of Conformity”
The blog discusses about the disadvantage of conformity and how it is still exists nowaday even though there has been a movement in the thought process about conformity. The articles brings a lot of examples and interesting topics that is really intriguing to read. For examples, Kriston Houghton implies that,
Society, whoever and whatever it is, is forever scrutinizing us and unforgiving of differences. Individuality comes in many different forms, shapes, sizes, and choices. To be intolerant of one person's differences is to be intolerant of anything with which we don't agree or readily understand. That's not only sad but extremely dangerous.
The quote will reinforce my message about being yourself is better than trying to become someone else. In our society nowaday, people will not stop criticizing and they will try to force you to do what they feel like doing, without concerning about the individual’s thoughts about. I want to create the image of the society through Bill Cipher and the misfits through the residents of Gravity Falls. When you try to resist the conformity, people will start to stay away from you because they are not comfortable with how you look and act. This action can cause an significant consequence on the isolated individual.
“The Power of Night”
The article explains how our mind accepts more emotions at night and why thoughts flow more freely when we start to sleep. Andrew Marvin notes that,
But at night, when the world slows down, and everyone is asleep but you, the only company you have is your mind. Your emotions become much bigger and more powerful because they’re being amplified by solitude. It’s hard to ignore them when everything else is so quiet.
When our emotions start invading our brain, the fear of solitude will grow along with the emotions. We become more vulnerable at nights because the chaotic thoughts at night can cause confusions and anxieties. I want to set this idea in my adaptation to talk about how the monster, Bill Cipher, gains his power: He becomes much stronger in the dreamscape, a realm of dreams and imaginations. Through our fears, he can take the advantage of that and drag the people into his trap more easily. We cannot control the nightmares and Bill is the nightmare himself. Therefore, it is frightening to think about going to bed when we know there will be a monster is waiting for you in your dreams.
“Monstrous Nihilism: An Analysis of Bill Cipher and His Effects on the Characters of Gravity Falls”
The article demonstrates the influences of Bill Cipher, the main antagonist of Gravity Falls, on Dipper Pines, one of the main protagonists of the show. The blog shows that Bill is omniscient with all the knowledge he possesses which appears to be Dipper’s desire to solve all the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Natali says that
It is in our nature to desire perfection, and we hold the idea that striving toward said perfection will create a better world. But, to the Nihilists, these ideals of the absolute are beyond the realm of the possible because it is impossible to obtain a single, objective definition of ultimate goodness, knowledge, etc.
The article tackles on Nihilism illustrates the limitation of a human can achieve. I want to bring that into my adaptation where Dipper Pine disbelieve the Nihilism and tries to obtain the absolute knowledge but that only causes the fall of Dipper. He will then realizes that there is limitation to thing and human cannot accomplish all the things in the world.
“What makes a hero”
The article goes through many elements that create a hero. One of them is teamwork. Philip writes that “Heroes are most effective not alone but in a network. It’s through forming a network that people have the resources to bring their heroic impulses to life.” This idea of a group of people unite together and fight a same enemy together will make my adaptation even better. I want to bring this element to my adaptation as Dipper will try to defeat Bill on his own but it is impossible, Bill can only be defeated when everyone works together and defeats Bill as a unity community. From this image I want to illustrates a point that in order to changes the society, everyone has to do some contribution, an individual will never be able to changes the whole world on his own.
I have watched Gravity Falls multiple times, and every times I watch it, I learn something new about the message of this series. I was amazed by the deep connections of all the characters in the shows, they are all relatable to each other in someway. But, the relationship between the mischievous demon with omnipotent power, Bill Cipher, and the rest of the citizens of Gravity Falls fascinate me the most. On my research, I will focus on finding type of misfits and try to understand their thoughts. Also, I will dig into the concept of Autocracy and Nihilism in order to interpret the figure of Bill Cipher and the protagonists in the real world. Furthermore, I look at how people are vulnerable in dreams to illustrate the power of Bill Cipher. I look at the definition of heroism and examples of hero to demonstrate the teamwork is the key of heroism, and only work together brings success. Last but not least, I investigate the conformity and creativity to further explain the connection between the society and the misfits.
“Hikikomania: existential horror or national malaise?”*
This article investigates Hikikomania, a phenomenon that is increasing exponentially in Japan, considering differents social and cultural elements. The articles opposes an urgent solution to bring the youths that withdrawn from the society back to the community of Japan. When defining Hikikomori, Todd Kathleen notes that,
Hikikomori are generally perceived as lazy, incompetent, mentally diseased, or socially oppressed. Officially, a hikikomori is defined as a person in "a state of social withdrawal of more than six months in duration without psychotic symptoms" (Hattori 2006, 192). In reality, hikikomori are more like canaries in a coalmine: sensitive individuals searching for identity in a society that frowns on deviations from the norm.
Todd’s explanation on Hikikomori illustrates a misconception that the society makes on these isolated individual. This concept will help me represents the idea of sometimes a person tries to act and look differently because he has his own reasons. These actions cause the others to misjudge him and treat that person poorly. In the end, when people find out that person purpose of doing abnormal stuffs, they will need to justify themselves for unable to interpret the him correctly.
“Autocratic directives fail to spark creativity”*
This article takes a look at China’s technology developments and analyzes the quality of China’s products. The results is significantly disastrous because China is urgently lacking of inventiveness. Jamil Anderlini writes that, “In other words, China is leading the world in the quantity but not the quality of its innovation” indicates that China, one of the most developed countries in the world, produces based on quantity and exterminates creativities in their products. This idea opposes that in order to get the dominant power, you must get rid of creativity. This is an example of autocracy: an individual with absolute power rules over the weaker people and forces everyone to follow the ruler order no matter what. I want to use this concept of autocracy in order to apply it to my antagonist of the adaptation, Bill Cipher. He is a perfect fit for autocracy because he desires to take control over the world and causes destruction everywhere. In reality, however, autocracy can never last for too long, which symbolizes the bad, evil can never outplay the good in the final fight.
“The Sadness of Conformity”
The blog discusses about the disadvantage of conformity and how it is still exists nowaday even though there has been a movement in the thought process about conformity. The articles brings a lot of examples and interesting topics that is really intriguing to read. For examples, Kriston Houghton implies that,
Society, whoever and whatever it is, is forever scrutinizing us and unforgiving of differences. Individuality comes in many different forms, shapes, sizes, and choices. To be intolerant of one person's differences is to be intolerant of anything with which we don't agree or readily understand. That's not only sad but extremely dangerous.
The quote will reinforce my message about being yourself is better than trying to become someone else. In our society nowaday, people will not stop criticizing and they will try to force you to do what they feel like doing, without concerning about the individual’s thoughts about. I want to create the image of the society through Bill Cipher and the misfits through the residents of Gravity Falls. When you try to resist the conformity, people will start to stay away from you because they are not comfortable with how you look and act. This action can cause an significant consequence on the isolated individual.
“The Power of Night”
The article explains how our mind accepts more emotions at night and why thoughts flow more freely when we start to sleep. Andrew Marvin notes that,
But at night, when the world slows down, and everyone is asleep but you, the only company you have is your mind. Your emotions become much bigger and more powerful because they’re being amplified by solitude. It’s hard to ignore them when everything else is so quiet.
When our emotions start invading our brain, the fear of solitude will grow along with the emotions. We become more vulnerable at nights because the chaotic thoughts at night can cause confusions and anxieties. I want to set this idea in my adaptation to talk about how the monster, Bill Cipher, gains his power: He becomes much stronger in the dreamscape, a realm of dreams and imaginations. Through our fears, he can take the advantage of that and drag the people into his trap more easily. We cannot control the nightmares and Bill is the nightmare himself. Therefore, it is frightening to think about going to bed when we know there will be a monster is waiting for you in your dreams.
“Monstrous Nihilism: An Analysis of Bill Cipher and His Effects on the Characters of Gravity Falls”
The article demonstrates the influences of Bill Cipher, the main antagonist of Gravity Falls, on Dipper Pines, one of the main protagonists of the show. The blog shows that Bill is omniscient with all the knowledge he possesses which appears to be Dipper’s desire to solve all the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Natali says that
It is in our nature to desire perfection, and we hold the idea that striving toward said perfection will create a better world. But, to the Nihilists, these ideals of the absolute are beyond the realm of the possible because it is impossible to obtain a single, objective definition of ultimate goodness, knowledge, etc.
The article tackles on Nihilism illustrates the limitation of a human can achieve. I want to bring that into my adaptation where Dipper Pine disbelieve the Nihilism and tries to obtain the absolute knowledge but that only causes the fall of Dipper. He will then realizes that there is limitation to thing and human cannot accomplish all the things in the world.
“What makes a hero”
The article goes through many elements that create a hero. One of them is teamwork. Philip writes that “Heroes are most effective not alone but in a network. It’s through forming a network that people have the resources to bring their heroic impulses to life.” This idea of a group of people unite together and fight a same enemy together will make my adaptation even better. I want to bring this element to my adaptation as Dipper will try to defeat Bill on his own but it is impossible, Bill can only be defeated when everyone works together and defeats Bill as a unity community. From this image I want to illustrates a point that in order to changes the society, everyone has to do some contribution, an individual will never be able to changes the whole world on his own.
CITATION
Todd, Kathleen Hunter Lea. "Hikikomania: existential horror or national malaise?"
Southeast Review of Asian Studies, vol. 33, 2011, p. 135+. Academic OneFile, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A293544467/GPS?u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=489a17a7. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.
Anderlini, Jamil. "Autocratic directives fail to spark creativity." Financial Times, 26
Oct. 2011,p. 2. Business Collection, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A270779960/GPS?u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=f8bcfb59. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.
Houghton, Kristen. “The Sadness of Conformity.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 26 Oct. 2010,
www.huffpost.com/entry/being-different-the-sadne_b_766626.
Marvin, Andrew. “The Power of Night.” Andrew Marvin, 23 Jan. 2012,
andrewmarvin.net/writing/2012/1/23/the-power-of-night.html.
Cavanagh, Natali. “Monstrous Nihilism: An Analysis of Bill Cipher and His
Effects on the Characters of Gravity Falls.” Bsudlr, 5 Dec. 2016, bsudlr.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/monstrous-nihilism-an-analysis-of-bill-cipher-and-his-effects-on-the-characters-of-gravity-falls/.
Zimbardo, Philip.“What Makes a Hero?” Greater Good, 18 Jan. 2011,
greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_a_hero
Southeast Review of Asian Studies, vol. 33, 2011, p. 135+. Academic OneFile, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A293544467/GPS?u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=489a17a7. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.
Anderlini, Jamil. "Autocratic directives fail to spark creativity." Financial Times, 26
Oct. 2011,p. 2. Business Collection, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A270779960/GPS?u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=f8bcfb59. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.
Houghton, Kristen. “The Sadness of Conformity.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 26 Oct. 2010,
www.huffpost.com/entry/being-different-the-sadne_b_766626.
Marvin, Andrew. “The Power of Night.” Andrew Marvin, 23 Jan. 2012,
andrewmarvin.net/writing/2012/1/23/the-power-of-night.html.
Cavanagh, Natali. “Monstrous Nihilism: An Analysis of Bill Cipher and His
Effects on the Characters of Gravity Falls.” Bsudlr, 5 Dec. 2016, bsudlr.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/monstrous-nihilism-an-analysis-of-bill-cipher-and-his-effects-on-the-characters-of-gravity-falls/.
Zimbardo, Philip.“What Makes a Hero?” Greater Good, 18 Jan. 2011,
greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_a_hero