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Assassin's Creed by Ubisoft developer, publisherThe Assassin's Creed series tells the story of the war between two secret societies, Templars and Assassins, throughout time. The actual story takes place in the future where through technological magic (ie magic) people have the ability to relive experiences of their ancient ancestors by using virtual reality machines. These Science Fiction elements are underdeveloped and get gradually dropped over the course of the series. The gameplay centers around being an Assassin during different time periods, finding targets and murdering them.
genres science fiction fantasy action keywords imaginary history - conspiracies - secret wars content warnings profanity: mild - violence: graphic - sex: no languages English length NA related works The Assassin's Creed movie of 2016 shares all of the flaws of the game series but without the interactivity of gameplay. It can be ignored. availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes The AC series was hugely successful and had many possibilities to engage the players in fantastic stories within an historical context. Sadly the historical context is often lacking or downright wrong and thus the historical environments feel more like Disney movies in their complete ignorance of history.So even though the series plays in interesting times like the Crusades, Renaissance Italy, the American War for Indepence or Victorian England, the historical background is so flimsy and badly researched that there is no historical value with the exception of the Architecture which has to be commended. As for the EFLC this series offers very little. Character development is lacking and the stories are too far out to foster serious discussions. Though there is potential and a teacher who wants to delve deep into specific games of the series might find useful material. -
Maze Runner by James Dashner writerAfter a solar flare results in an extinction level catastrophe on earth the last of humanity tries to survive. Teenagers are put in a place called the Glade, a walled off settlement. On the other side of the walls lies a gigantic maze inhabited by monsters. Every month a new teenager is sent to the Glade, but that then stops. The first book follows Thomas and his attempt to escape the maze and the surrounding events.
genres young adult science fiction mystery keywords dystopia content warnings profanity: no - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 6 Books, the first is 375 pages long source material related works To me it appears almost like a child friendly version of the horror film "The Cube". availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes Three main books, two prequel books and a side story are the full range of the Maze Runner novel series. -
Star Wars film series by George Lucas director, later Disney roleEpisodes 1 to 3 tell the story of Obi Wan Kenobi and his pupil Anakin Skywalker. They are part of the Jedi Order a group of monastic mystical warriors that can use the Force, a type of magical power. The films depict the fall of Anakin Skywalker from a hero to the most powerful servant of the evil overlord. Episodes 4-6 tell the story of Luke Skywalker as he is thrown into a galactic civil war. Young Luke meets the aged Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi and learns the way of the force from him. Ultimately defeating the evil Empire in Episode 6. Episodes 7-? tell the story of Rey a young survivalist on a desert planet who joins the the Resistance to fight against the First Order. At time of this writing (March, 2018) there is no clear direction in which this is going.
genres fantasy science fiction action keywords major character death - family content warnings profanity: no - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length about 120 minutes per film source material related works Joseph Campbell's book Hero's Journey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey served as guiding factor and inspiration for the original film which it follows very closely. FDebris' documentary series Hero's Journey http://sfdebris.com/videos/special/herosjourney.php delves deep into the creation of the original films, both in terms production and inception. A great resource for teachers who want to do some creative writing with their class or discuss film making. Warning: There is some profanity in the series. availability of fanfiction More than 100,000 entries on FanFictiontheForce.net notes These movies can hardly be considered cohesive. The original trilogy of 1977-1983 have clear themes of Rebellion, Coming of Age, Buddhism and were meant as an allegory for the Vietnam War. The second trilogy created around twenty years later struggle to have strong themes more concerned with re-telling a Citizen Kane style rise-and-fall narrative. The current run of films has no involvement of the original creators and is even weaker on themes and messages. Though it is still unfinished so that might change. -
Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers creatorsIn the fictional town of Hawkins during the 1980s a young boy disappears during a series of supernatural events. The friends of the boy search for him and are joined by a girl with psychokinetic powers. They find out that the nearby government research station is conducting experiments with human beings. These experiments lead to a dimensional rift opening and pouring super natural elements into our reality.
genres drama mystery science fiction keywords substance abuse - human experiments - conspiracy theories (in a wider sense) content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 17 episodes at about 50 minutes each source material related works The 2011 film Super 8 by J. J. Abrams does a much better job in emulating 80s style films and sensibilities. Also a good source for fanfiction writing though the film is more focused on Science Fiction and filmmaking. availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on Archive of Our Own notes Part 1980s nostalgia shot in a way taht is not qite right for those who lived through the 80s but still distinct enough from modern color grading that it makes the series visually distinct. The premise makes it a good source for creative fanfiction, though it may be hard for teenagers today to write in a 1980s setting. Maybe adapting it to modern day could be a good premise for a class project.
Digital stories from fans in the multilingual classroom
