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Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Joss Whedon creator - producerBuffy Summers appears to be a typical cheerleader at high school, but one day she needs to accept her destiny as a Slayer of Vamypres and other demonic entities. Joined by her best friend Willow who dabbles in witchcraft and her other friends and led by the school librarian Giles who is their mentor and "Watcher". Episodes are varied and usually not connected very much to each other. The first big continous plot line not directly related to hunting vampyres is the problematic love story between the Slayer and a Vampyre named Angel.
genres action comedy drama fantasy keywords addiction - torture - vampyres - magic - coming of age - girl power content warnings profanity: no - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 144 episodes at about 45 minutes each source material related works A spin off TV Show Angel was produced. Buffy is one the most referenced non Video Game character in Video Games, which is a small hint as the influence the series had. availability of fanfiction Between 50,000 and 100,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes Buffy the Vampyre Slayer is, in hindsight, probably one of the most influential TV shows of the 1990s. It could be called a Feminist Manifesto of its time especially because the series itself never makes a big deal out of the female empowerment it portrays in a light and often humorous tone. It was one of the first mainstream TV shows, maybe even the first, where one of the main characters engages in a positive homosexual relationship. The creativity by the team around Joss Whedon was in full display and some episodes, like "Once More, with Feeling" from season 6 which is a musical for all intents and purposes, have become cult classics since. The biggest challenge for the teacher will be to present this series as something timeless that is not specific to the time of its creation. But considering how successful and beloved the series still is among younger first time viewers this challenge should not be overestimated. -
How I Met Your Mother by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays creators
Ted Mosby tells his teenage kids about his search for love and how he finally met their mother. The series depicts Ted and his friends Robin, Lily, Marshall, and Barney on their various adventures. Even though every plotline is connected to Ted's search for a wife, we get to know the other characters in their own quest for happiness. The whole (detailed) story leading up to the moment of meeting the love of his life is told throughout the nine seasons.
genres comedy romance keywords divorce - sexism - friendship - search for love - dating - "life happens now" - "it will never be perfect - make it work" - young adults finding their place in the world content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: yes languages English length 208 episodes à 22 minutes source material related works Friends (tv-series/sitcom), Scrubs (tv-series/sitcom) notes How I Met Your Mother is interesting in terms of storytelling, because it sort of tells a story backwards (it's been called "a love story in reverse"). Every episode is a flashback, and there are flashbacks, flash forwards and other time-jumping within those flashbacks. -
The Stanley Parable by Davey Wreden designer, writerThe Stanley Parable is a humorous yet in-depth exploration of the relation of player and story-teller in video games. The player controls the office worker Stanley while the narrator tells the player what tasks to do, "At this point Stanley left the room", expecting the player to follow the instructions. Everything works out fine (and boring) for as long as the player follows the narrators instructions. When the player disobeys the narrator the narrator actually reacts and changes the game on the fly. It becomes a power struggle between story teller and audience as to whom has control over the plot of a video game.
genres comedy keywords suicide - subversion - playfulness - awareness content warnings profanity: no - violence: no - sex: no languages English length 30+ minutes source material related works The Beginner's Guide is the follow up "game" by Davey Wreden and it explores the relationship of author and critique as well as deep psychological issues of projection and introjection. Very worthwile to explore but for the context matter unsuitable for most teenagers under 16. availability of fanfiction Less than 100 entries on FanFiction.net notes The Stanley Parable is a work of genius both in its humor and its exploration and deconstruction of the player/author relationship. The only limiting factor is really only the language level of the pupils. Its value for the ELFC is immediate. A single playthrough can be done in a couple of minutes, it can easily be played in a group and it offers a wealth of discussion topics. Especially when so much of the media consumed today is interactive, a game that deconstructs how that interactivity is pretty much just facade, can be very enlightening. (As no matter how open-world, sandbox or simulationist a game is, if its not Dwarf Fortress, everything that happens in the game has been decided by the creators not the players and their emergent gameplay.) (Also the suicide tag has been selected because the player can commit suicide in the game by jumping of ledges and the game aknowledges that)
Digital stories from fans in the multilingual classroom
