In my experience as a reader, depictions of depression or suicidal ideation in fiction are most often conveyed through social realism or otherwise realistically grounded writing. This makes sense given the subject matter, as one would intuitively think to depict mental or emotional trauma in a very sobering way, but I felt that one could merge the topic with a more absurdist, magical realist-inspired style while staying reverent to the emotional experience. I also find that stories that approach their subtext too seriously can stray very easily into plain didacticism, as opposed to a work that tries to entertain first. I concluded that conveying the experience of isolation and depression through metaphor would be the most emotionally rewarding or enlightening experience for the reader. The central premise of the story is, to me, a metaphor; a young man isolated from society, and haunted by past experiences, who comes to be literally haunted by ghosts with similar experiences. From that starting point I wanted to explore the perspectives of several of the ghosts in a multiple-protagonist format, structuring the present-day storyline around the flashbacks of three of the ghosts. I wanted each of the ghosts' backstories to present a kind of variation on the larger cultural "depression narrative", with some of them perhaps being more recognizable cultural symbols (such as Kryz in the role of the traumatized former soldier), but all being shown in specific, idiosyncratic ways. The content of each ghost's storyline came, again, from thinking of ways to metaphorically represent their particular emotional issues; Sarah, for example, literally has no shadow in a world of people with shadows, while Kryz's job on a film set full of artifice may mirror the artificiality that he sees in everyday interaction. These flashbacks making up the bulk of the narrative puts the ostensible lead character, Officer, in a backseat-narrator position a la Nick in The Great Gatsby, with the ghosts' experiences also working to inform his emotional status. I feel that the form of a work of fiction should reflect the nature of its content in some way, and given that my subject matter is mental illness, it made sense to me to arrange the various stories in a fragmented fashion, taking inspiration from authors like Thomas Pynchon and Irvine Welsh, as well as the non-fiction book A Brief Introduction to Madness. Finally, I wanted to convey a sense of absurdity in the events of the story, again taking influence from these authors. In my experience and observation, depression and mania are often responses to a world that makes little sense, from people unable to cope with the reality around them. I feel this goes hand-in-hand with an absurdist view of the world, and hopefully the unrealistic details of these stories, and the way character treat them as normal, should convey a sense of bafflement for the reader.

This creative project thesis is made up of two components. The main component of this thesis is a feature length screenplay adaptation of The Coquette or, The History of Eliza Wharton by Hannah Webster Foster (retitled Tomorrow, Today: The Life and Times of a Fool in Love). This screenplay aspired to modernize the 18th century novel for a modern audience. This was done by moving the story's time period to the 1950s, changing the location of the story from high society Connecticut to the more rural Yuba City, and most significantly changing the main characters to either be Hispanic or Sikh Indian. The intended result was to make a film that was culturally diverse but to also make a commentary on the religious, social, and gender issues that play a big part in Hispanic culture. The second component of this thesis is a paper that discusses the reasoning behind my adaptation choices but also on how I would actually make and release the film if I was an actual producer in Hollywood. More specifically, the first section of this paper focuses on my process of adapting the novel into a feature length screenplay, discussing topics such as story changes, scene removals, setting changes, etc. The second section of this paper is a business proposal that focuses on how I would plan to facilitate both the production and distribution/marketing of the film if the movie was actually in the process of being made.

Social media is shaping a new generation of hikers and adventurers, as more and more millennials are finding themselves out on the trails. Are they doing it all for the 'gram? Are they seeking adventure? Or is it a combination of the two? "Social Parks" follows three millennials through national parks like Zion, The Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain in search of an answer.

The primary goal of this paper is to walk the reader through Arizona State University student Alicia Gonzales’ documentary-making process from the early beginnings of her Barrett, the Honors College at ASU creative thesis project all the way through her distribution strategies. The documentary, Fire Strong, was made to inform viewers about the wear and tear of the firefighter career — emotionally, mentally and physically — on the individual and on his or her family. The documentary was made to help raise awareness about the duty these individuals have committed to their city, and what they must deal with after the multitude of incidents they respond to every 24-hour shift. Gonzales provides several sources to help describe the mental, physical and emotional trials that both Phoenix Fire Department members and their families endure. While some sources take the form of a traditional document, others come from a firefighter or family member directly. The pre-production, production and post-production processes are explored in depth. The hurdles Gonzales faced throughout the last year are explained and eventually her solves are revealed at the end of the paper. Additionally, the reader will gain more insight as to what a documentary is and what the overarching purpose of making documentaries is by comparing the works of Bernard (2011) and Hewitt and Vazquez (2014). Gonzales uses Bernard (2011) and Hewitt and Vazquez (2014) to demonstrate her argument that almost every documentarian is usually trying to either inform or entertain the viewers. Quite often, it seems that the he or she aims to do both.

Find the documentary here: https://youtu.be/jSJjdrnfee8

My project focuses on the show swine industry and the different aspects that are involved in the process of raising show swine to be eventually used for breeding or harvested and prepared for meals that end up on people's dinner tables. I address areas of production and give an explanation of: swine genetics, swine breeding, swine show preparation, swine shows and harvesting. For the creative element of my thesis, I created a website with stories in each area of the swine production process. Each story includes personal experiences from various sources, visuals and video packages. The website was created to be engaging and esthetically pleasing to its readers. The intention of this project was to highlight the different elements, processes and stories of people who are involved in the breeding, showing and harvesting of pigs. The website can be found at thatpiggirl.weebly.com Keywords: show swine, breeding, genetics, pigs, swine industry, artificial insemination, harvesting, pig showing

A Tale of Two Deserts: Examining Food Deserts in Downtown Phoenix is a 26 minute 46 second documentary by Kaly Nasiff. Link to documentary: https://youtu.be/4pRBIwHb2qM. The documentary starts by explaining what a food desert is, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, and how the problem is compacted in downtown Phoenix. The USDA defines food deserts as, "parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets and healthy food providers." There are over 40 food deserts in the city of Phoenix and two of them are in the heart of downtown. The documentary goes on to explain how food deserts can negatively affect the health of residents, who are most likely getting food from convenience stores in order to supplement the lack of grocery stores. The project also addresses how the city of Phoenix currently works to help residents and what its plans are for the future. There are several community initiatives that are fighting food deserts. Discovery Triangle's Fresh Express Bus makes weekly stops in the community to sell fresh produce at a discounted rate out of a refurbished city bus. The open air market at Phoenix Public Market is a farmers market that was established in 2005 to connect consumers with farmers, ranchers and food producers. Members of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church set up a mobile food pantry every fourth Saturday of the month for people to come and take an assortment of food, free of charge. Lastly, Roosevelt Growhouse is an urban farm that shows volunteers how to grow their own vegetables, along with supplying nonprofits and local restaurants with fresh produce. Downtown Phoenix won't be a food desert for much longer. RED Development is planning a multi-use project called Block 23, which will include a Fry's Food Store. The project doesn't open until 2019, so residents of downtown will have to continue utilizing the resources they have to keep themselves fed.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has provided a challenge for educators to create virtual learning materials that are engaging and impactful during times of high stress and isolation. In this creative project, I explore the variety of virtual tools and web applications from Esri by creating a Story Map on the Verde River Watershed. This Story Map is intended for an audience of students in late middle school and early high school but can be a resource to teachers for a wider age range. The integration of interactive technology and virtual tools in educational practices is likely to continue past the immediate circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this Story Map is to showcase one of the many uses for geospatial web applications beyond the immediate realm of GIS.

A playwright behind the scenes of my personal struggle with PTSD, experience that caused it, and journey to healing from it. The playwright consists of deeper causes of PTSD and its effects, more than the average textbook can teach anyone. With the help of a couple people and Russ, a famous artist, I was able to grow and become stronger and show it all within my playwright. Enjoy the journey to healing of a person, a warrior who wanted to fight and made it through the night.

Whispers from Above is a creative project that aims to normalize the conversation and validate the emotional experience of grief, through the use of art therapies. Art therapy can be expressive in which someone creates their own work, such as visual art, poetry, performance, music, movement, etc. Art therapy can also be receptive in which someone analyzes and understands someone else's artwork. This project was released on SoundCloud in order to make grief resources more accessible to all and to build an online community.<br/><br/>Whispers from Above worked with twelve poets, fifteen artists, six different interviewees, and multiple musicians to create a month of grief support. The finale piece of Whispers from Above was devised from the twenty-nine poems used within this month-long healing journey. All the individual poems were woven into a single devised poem to be presented as the final piece symbolizing that no one is alone in grief.<br/><br/>Whispers from Above is creative community exploration of grief, loss, and death in which we hope contributors, and listeners find solace and support. This series will exist on SoundCloud after March 27th, 2021 with a monthly release of a poem or interview accompanied by art, and music.