Women's roles in The Wizard of Oz

1. As almost everyone else has already stated, waiting until the last minute will not get you far, it also adds stress; so try to avoid it. The most important thing I would recommend is to pace yourself, don't try to complete the whole research paper in one day. Spread it out little by little. Also take advantage of the reference desk in the library, they are very helful in finding useful sources such as books and peer reviewed articles. They are also great at finding different key words to use in the search box. Another helpful tip is to not settle with one or two sources right away, they may be good but the more the merrier. So, look for as many books or articles that you can find. Even though some of the sources you find may not be helpful towards your topic, atleast you have a variety of sources to choose from. Lastly, if you are having trouble with the research make sure to get help right away, again, don't wait until the last minute.


2. My topic is on the roles of women in "The Wizard of Oz" and if there was any special purpose for Dorothy being a female protagonist in the story.


Useful Sources:

McReynolds, J. Douglas, Barbara J. Lips, "A Girl in the Game: The Wizard of Oz as Analog for               the Female Experience in America". 54 (2). 1986. 86-93. Print.

Rahn, Suzanne. ed. L. Frank Baum's World of Oz: A classic Series at 100. Lanham, Maryland,                  and Oxford: The Children's Literature Association and the Scarecrow Press, Inc.  2003.                  Print.

 Rogers, M. Katherine. L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002. Print.

The Infamous Apple

When beginning the research process, you want to make sure that you start early. You want to make sure that you manage your time well so that you have enough time to analyze the information you have gathered. In doing so, this will help you undertsand which information is useful and which is one that does not have much meaning. Surprisingly for me, I was able to find a good amout of useful information. Looking back, I realize that to improve my essay I could have organized my information a little better.

My topic was based on the meaning of apples in fairy tales, mythology, and folklore. I wanted to know why it is that apples are constantly portrayed as a source of evil. A lot, if not most of my information came from the library's data base. They provide a lot of journal articles and some books as well. The only thing is, like I said, you have to start early because a lot of the best information the library does not have, therefore, you must submit a request with ILLIAD (which usually takes about 3-4 days). Although this is a fairly easy assingment, it is crucial that you get a good start.

Disney and Racism


The topic I chose to do for my researched paper was Disney and Racism. I also decided to tie this topic with the effects it had on its main audience or children. So therefore my question was:

"In what ways do Disney movies show racism and how does it affect children?"

Some advice that is already been said is starting early and begining to find sources and gathering information soon. Although it may seen that there is lots of time left to complete the paper, there is much to be done and time goes by fast. The paper may also seem overwhelming and large but it isnt so bad once you have all your information and begin typing it all out. Just take it "bird by bird", "piece by piece". Also, choose a topic that you will enjoy and one that has enough information to complete. That way there will be enough sources to use, enough to fill your paper, to keep you interested, and to find out what you want to know.   

In searching for information, start as soon as possible because sometimes, orders may need to be made since some sources may not be available. Also, not every source or available source can be found in the database. I had a problem with finding sources in the database because a lot of it was unavailable or needed to be ordered. Instead,  I used google to find more sources, though digging around is needed to find what you can use. I googled "Disney" and "racism" and I got results and found a lot of information, but not appropriate enough to use on an academic paper. I googled "Disney and "racism" and "effects" or "scholar" and I did find some good results. I used websites with .edu or .org and checked them out to see where they were from and whether I could use them on my paper or not. Searching in the library or finding books to check out can also help. I found articles that cited books that were based on my topic and I could have used as sources had I checked them out beforehand.

Cited Sources:


 1) Hurley, Dorothy L. "Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess The Journal of Negro Education" (1932-2008): 223-228 JSTOR web
2) Faherty, Vincent E. "Is the Mouse Sensitive? A Study of Race, Gender, and Social Vulnerability in Disney Animated Films" Smile: Studies in Media and Information Literacy Education (2001) MLA International Bibliography web  
3) Giroux, Henry "Breaking in to the Movies: Film and the Culture of Politics" Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, Inc. (2002): 121


google: "disney" "racism" "scholar" or "effects"
1) Rabison, Rebecca "Devience in Disney Representation of crime in Disney Films: A Qualitative Analysis" Wesleyan University (2008): 71-79
2) Wingfield, Marvin, Karaman, Bushra "Arab stereotypes and American Educators" American Arab-Anti Discrimination Committee Web. March 1995


This film could be viewed on youtube:
 The Mickey Mouse Monopoly Documentary (2001)

Zombie's Recent Rise in Popularity in Film

My research was around the question, "Why has there been a sudden increase in the number of zombie films?"

Like many other students have said, it would be wise to start early and gather as much information as you can.  There can be a ton of articles and readings out there and it may take you a while to read through and sort out the useful information.  The library might also not have certain articles in stock so you might have to do an Interlibrary loan which may take a few days to receive.  I would also suggest not to miss any classes because the peer reviews and workshops can be very helpful and is useful in keeping you on track with your research.  If you have any questions, the research help desk at the library can be very helpful. 

From what I learned at the library workshop, I searched the databases listed under the "Articles" link from the school library website.  Here are some useful articles I've found and used:

Bishop, Kyle. "Raising The Dead." Journal Of Popular Film And Television 33.4 (2006): 196-205.     Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Print. 21 Feb. 2012.

Bishop, Kyle. "Dead Man Still Walking: Explaining The Zombie Renaissance." Journal Of Popular Film And Television 37.1 (2009): 16-25. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Print. 21 Feb. 2012.

Bishop, Kyle. "The Sub-Subaltern Monster: Imperialist Hegemony And The Cinematic Voodoo Zombie." Journal Of American Culture 31.2 (2008): 141-152. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Print. 21 Feb. 2012.

Worland, Rick. "OWI Meets the Monsters: Hollywood Horror Films and War Propaganda, 1942 to 1945"  Cinema Journal (1997): 47-65 Vol. 37, No. 1. Print. 

Comaroff, Jean, and Comaroff, John. "Alien-Nation: Zombie, Immigrants, and Millennial Capitalism. " The South Atlantic Quarterly 101.4 (2002): 779-800. Print

Boluk, Stephanie, and Lenz, Wylie. "Infection, Media, and Capitalism: From Early Modern Plagues to  Postmodern Zombies." The Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 10.2 (2011): 126-147. Print

Psychoanalysis of "Bluebeard"

1. Of course, most people have probably stated that you should start early or else you will slave away regretting that you didn't start any time sooner! But now that that's out of the way... You should really research ahead of time because some great sources are not available right away so you will have to request for them. I also advise that you make a visit (or several visits) to the library so that you can get quality books on your topic. I wish I would have done more visits directly to the library rather than just the online database.

2. My topic is if the psychoanalysis of "Bluebeard" is similar among various versions across the globe.

Useful sources:

Hamid, Saima, Eva Johansson, and Birgitta Rubenson. "Security lies in obedience - Voices of young women of a slum in Pakistan." BMC Public Health. BioMed Central Ltd. , 06 03 2010. <http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/164>.

Purinton, Marjean. "George Colman's “The Iron Chest” and “Blue-Beard” and the Pseudoscience of Curiosity Cabinets." Victorian Studies 49.2 (2007): 250-7. 

Hermansson, Casie. "Found in Translation: Charles Perrault's ‘Blue Beard’ in the English Eighteenth Century." University of Toronto Quarterly 76.2 (2007): 796-807. 

Zombies in Popular Culuture

Zombies, the Living Dead.

My research question is why essentially why zombies. If you take a step back and look at the media, you can see that zombies are everywhere. If you are planning to do a topic on zombies, my best advice to you is start early. Zombies is a big topic so you should really narrow down your focus. If not you could be stuck with reading hundreds of articles. Make sure when doing research on the school database that you choose your "keywords" and "specific databases" carefully.

All of the sources that I found for my paper were from the CSULA library database. Some sources that I found most useful are:

"World War Z and the End of Religion As We Know It" by Baldwin, Gayle R.

"The Return of the Paranoid Style" by Ross Douthat

"Zombies are the New Vampires" by Lev Grossman

"Might of the Living Dead" by Stefan Dziemianowicz

Books: These can be useful but there are a lot of zombie books published.

"World War Z" by Max Brooks

"The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks

These are just a few sources that I used but there is still so much out there. Some of these are sources are pretty long but if you enjoy zombies as much as I do then these wont be as bad.

Tip: If you are going to use the same exact articles, make sure you choose "all the databases" when you are using "Academic Search Premier" in the CSULA library database. You may not find the articles if you are not looking in the place.

Stepfamilies in Fairytales

If you are reading this post, then it means that you have been assigned a researched paper from Professor Jennifer Hicks. Congratulations, you have made it this far. This post consists of step families in fairy tales- mostly Cinderella. The reason why I did this topic is because I can connect it to my own life since my parents are divorced and my father remarried. Overall I enjoyed doing the research because I was able to learn so much than my experience and I hope that you do to.
If I had one form of advice to give to future students in her class is  "Do not under any circumstances procrastinate this paper." I learned this from experience. A good thing is that the Professor will help you out in research and the assignments she will have to give out will pertain to the researched paper. But remember to do them in parts because that is probably the only way you will complete this without having to stress out immensely the night before.
Now as for the research itself there are a lot of sources on step-families. However, it is now your job to tie it into Fairy Tales and our theme of Myth America. Good luck to all of you.
Some sources that I used are:
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 11th ed.- In Chapter twelve, it does mention about Cinderella's stepmother and leads you to other documents. Use them if they pertain to your research question.
Families and Law- This book can be found in the CSULA library. This book is its name sake and it has sections on Step-family laws both around modern times and during the nineteenth century, which was when the fairytale were being written by the Grimm Brothers.
Are Stepsiblings Bad, Stepmothers Wicked, and Stepfathers Evil? An Assessment of Australian Stepfamily Stereotypes-It's found in the library online database. This is basically a case study of children affected by step-families.
Reconstructing the Step-family: Old Myths, New Stories-This is found in the database as well. This source has in explicit details what the myth of step-families are. This is helpful to pinpoint specific flaws with the myths instead of going with what is widely known because it varies.

Fairy tale discrimination and children

This research paper is not as terrible as it seems. When you have a topic question that you are interested in, the paper is just like any other essay, only using outside sources. An important thing you need to do before starting is make sure you understand EXACTLY what you are trying to find out. The topic I researched was on the child's mind against the discrimination in fairytales. This is an interesting topic if you are a psychology, sociology, or child and family studies major. Waiting to do your research is not a good idea because the research is not as simple as it looks. You have to do a few days of researching to get the best information possible. If you like to work with others, collaborating might not be a bad idea. I feel i would have worked slightly harder if i would have collaborated. Plus you only have to do half of the work. You'll probably have a very successful if you do so. My research question was  "How is the discrimination in Disney affecting children?" Articles from the library databases were the most helpful, so i would recommend searching there. JSTOR is a great place to start. Here are two of the articles i used:
-"The Many Manipulations of Morty Mouse"
-"The Ethics of Subliminal Communications"

Be sure to search for child experiments to prove your point also. The best advice I can give is to stay on topic. Hope this helped. Good Luck.

Batman Beyond the Mask

Ok. my topic is about Batman and I started to search for articles about Batman, but I wasn’t sure about what exactly I want to know about him. So, my first search was Batman and Hollywood. I realized that these words were too wide and have a lot of information; furthermore I needed to be more specific about what I was looking for. So, this is why we must take our time to write a research paper.  Finally, I decided to search Batman’s history, and what this story wants to teach us. Some advice, Be specific about what you want to know, choose a research question, and as everybody says, " No Procrastinate." 


Here are some resources that everyone might use. 


“Batman unmasked: analyzing a cultural icon,” by Will Brooker(book)
“Cape of fear” by Newman, Kim.(article)
Why the world needs Batman” by Nicolas van der Leek.(article)

secret societies

I did my research paper on the incresing popularity of secret societies and their influence on us. i suggest you dont procrastinate because it makes the assignment way harder then it has to be. I found alot of information in the CSULA library data base which helped me greatly on completing the assignment. I learned there are a wide variety of secret societies and i also learned the definition of what a secret society is.  This topic has interested me ever since i was in middle school and this asssignment really clarified things for me and it also answer many questions that i had about the topic. I actually enjoyed doing it. I was really scared about the amount of pages it had to be but i took a deep breath and just started writing and it got better.

Good luck to everyone

Beauty Stereotypes in Disney

There was a lot of information that could be used for this topic. I recommend doing the paper piece by piece and not to procrastinate. Finding a topic that interests you helps a lot because writing and researching actually becomes interesting and fun. For this specific topic about beauty i was able to connect it with obedience since children in a way do obey the stereotypes they see. One suggestion i would make is not to look so much online but also on books. There were a lot of books on the subject. A book i would recommend not just for this subject but for many other as well is The Witch Must Die by Sheldon Cashdan. Another one is Fairy Tales and Society by Ruth B. Bottigheimer. They have a lot of useful information. Overall writing the paper isn't as painful as it sounds.

Disney Racism

How Disney portrays certain races in their films and the influence it has on the audience?

Like many of my classmates said DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!! get started early, that way you'll have more time to review your work and add more information if needed.

And like others from this class and previous classes I wrote on Disney and Racism. A good starting point for anyone writing about Disney is to watch the film "Mickey Mouse Monopoly" this film covers many areas of which you might want to write your report on. The film covers beauty, sexism, and of course racism. This film also gives you other resources such that can aid you with the research and save you some time trying to find sources.

Here are some sources that might help you out.

Sun, C.-F. (Director). (2002). Mickey Mouse Monopoly [Motion Picture].

Hurley, D. L. (2005). Seeing white: Children of color and the Disney fairy tale princess. The Journal of Negro Education, 74(3), pp. 221-232.

Ciha, K., Joseph, J., & Martin, T. J. (1994). Racism in Walt Disney the jungle book. Popular Culture Review, 5(1), 23-35.

GOOD LUCK

go clippers

-kirbe