Imagination: Invented Memories, Suspense, and Made Up Languages
Fantasy and Fandom
School’s out for summer! It’s June, and that means soon we’ll be heading on summer vacations, spending more time outside, and getting opportunities to tap into creative endeavors. When we were young, we longed for summer to get away from routines and spend the next few months following our whims if we could. Summer blockbuster movie-going on hot afternoons, playing make-believe with friends, discovering new places on trips that inspired us to build new stories. Into adulthood, even if we don’t get a specific summer vacation per se, we still feel that pull towards a bit more freedom to explore when the season changes.
Before we get into what June has in store here at rmrk*st Magazine, let’s take a look back at what you missed in May.
Our theme was Curiosity, and we explored the analytical spirit that can come with being a fan. We did a deep dive on plot holes and what they really mean for fans who love the stories that occasionally gloss over some details that we notice. We took a look at what happens when we obsessively rewatch old favorite series’ and movies that we’ve seen multiple times before, and how this practice deepens our appreciation of the stories we love. We published a defense of unpopular opinions. And we examined the role of pop culture in academia from the 1980s to today.
In June, we are looking forward to that summer vacation spirit: our theme is Imagination! We are excited to think about some of the ways imagination fuels creativity and informs fandoms. Our topics include the Mandela effect in fandom (like when an entire fandom remembers a line in a movie incorrectly), and we’ll look at stories where the author has inserted themselves into the fiction. We’ll examine why horror and suspense thrill us when our imagination of what we aren’t seeing scares us more than what we do see on screen. And finally, we’ll talk about imagined languages and invented communication in the stories we love.
So come on the journey with us! We look forward to examining the role of fantasy when it comes to creative pursuits.
Our Table of Contents is below. Follow us on Instagram, and also make sure to give John Cabrera a follow to make sure you don’t miss special announcements and reflections. Find more information about the Remarkist ecosystem at our website and on our Discord, where we post regular updates!
The Mandela Effect in Fandom
By Diana Franco
The Narrator Becomes the Story
By Diana Franco
Imagining the Worst: Horror and Suspense
By: Diana Franco
What Does an Alien Rock Sound Like? And Other Imagined Languages
By: Diana Franco
