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A philosophical paradox–Are there truths?

May 9, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

James, when he took his turn as the weekly editor, assigned everyone the task of writing to the theme Philosophy. Now, it’s his turn to weigh in.

By James Zheng

Generally, during our everyday life, the following questions of “really?” or “is that true?” appear in a usual conversation in response to crazy facts. People always  respond to those questions with something like, “I just know…,” or “Yeah, because I heard it from….” When you ask these questions, you normally accept the ideas given by others or online sources. But, should you believe these ideas? Are they true?

Regarding philosophy, some people say that the nature of philosophy is making a simple fact sound ridiculously complex. I would not disagree with that because philosophical questions make things sound entirely different and new. In my mind, philosophy is a way of comprehending our lives better and extracting the essence of everything.

But, as the study and discussion around philosophy develops, more questions arrive that are nearly impossible to answer. “Are there truths?” is one of these questions. Well, what is a truth? Going by the explanation from Google, truth is “the quality or state of being true.” Before going into this too deeply, there is one important factor I must mention called common knowledge. This type of knowledge is that of the majority and can be anything. Common knowledge can be things like humans need oxygen to be alive or Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States. Most of what we call common knowledge has also been verified as much as possible, like the idea that there are seven days in a week. We often define that kind of stuff as the truth. But, in philosophy, truth is not just simply a fact authorized by the public or a widespread claim. On the contrary, truth is more of a correct understanding of objective things and their laws. Currently, I think science is probably one of the most essential displays of truth.

In my mind, there must be more truths. Our thought and cognition is constituted by truths. The way that we can think is based on vast amounts of truth. If there is no truth, our ideas and thoughts would collapse because truth is the basis of our thinking. In other words, our thoughts are based on cardinal truths. Here is one example: when you are saying, “I want to eat something,” you are realizing the truth that you are hungry and you have the aspiration to eat, which sounds more like logic, but they are quite similar. Critically speaking, even in the circumstance that I say there is no truth, I have already accepted the truth that “there is no truth.” And, what are some examples of a truth? I would say that nature itself is a representation of truth. Nature represents two of the most reasonable phenomena, time and life. I cannot question the authenticity of these two things. It is not because I do not want to. I simply could not.

Still, in the philosophical region, I ask myself why philosophers bring up incomprehensible questions. It may due to the conflicts they had with their religious beliefs or they feel questionable about the world. Perhaps they were suddenly inspired by something. To not make this post too tedious, I found some interesting responses from a forum in regards to the question “Is there truth?”

  • “Absolute truth is incognizable in terms of a human being’s low compelling perspective. At most, human beings can only exclude a handful of things that are absolutely not truths.” – Blogger Liu Yang
  • “The truth is that I know that I know nothing at all.” – Blogger Passenger
  • “The truth that is said by my girlfriend is the only truth I know.” – Blogger YIIYG
  • “Dongfeng Ballistic Missile, Julang Submarine-Launched Missile, Tsar Bomba” – Blogger Xiang Long Deng Dai ing
  • “Love” – Blogger I Think You Lost Your Mind
  • “Truth is a described fact that is not contrary to objective facts such as the following things:

People will die if they don’t eat.

Nothing lasts forever.

Even the universe will perish. All things existing in the universe will naturally disappear.” – Blogger Ye Ban You Ren

  • “The world is always changing, changing is always definite, eternity is relative.” – Blogger Guang Ming Lei Luo

I still insist on my opinion of saying there must be truth. But, this post is not telling you to follow my idea or make some simple things sound really complicated. I personally just think that this question is interesting to explore. Is there such a thing as truth? If you are interested, please show me what you think about this question/paradox in the comments!

Editor: Luke Langlois

Filed Under: Op-Ed, Philosophy Tagged With: A philosophical paradox-Are there truths?, James Zheng

Holden Rants About a Topic Does Anyone Still Read This Title Part 5

April 18, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

What is Gaming Disorder?

By Holden Hartle, who has played video games

In our pursuit this week of everything gaming, Holden uncovers a surprising disorder.

Image result for gaming disorder

I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t think this was real when I first heard about it. But, it’s a real mental disorder that the World Health Organization (WHO) added to the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and that the American Psychology Association (APA) added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) .

What does Gaming Disorder look like? Some of the symptoms according to psychiatry.org include, “preoccupation with gaming, withdrawal symptoms when gaming is taken away (sadness, anxiety, irritability), inability to reduce playing, unsuccessful attempts to quit gaming,  and the use of gaming to relieve negative moods, such as guilt or hopelessness.” These are the same symptoms that someone might go through if they were addicted to a drug of some sort, i.e. the inability to stop and the feelings of sadness and anxiety when it is taken away from you.

Now, if you’re an incessant gamer like me, these symptoms scare you. But fear not, only a very small portion of the population actually has the disorder. The criteria is very specific and needs to last for a certain amount of time in order for someone to be diagnosed. A case study in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction states that, ”The diagnosis of IGD is not easy,” and, “[Gaming disorder’s] psychological, social, and health consequences require further study.” The study goes on to explain that little research has been done into the effectiveness of the various types of treatments of Gaming Disorder and which treatment is best.

Another case study, this time from Yale, explains that the dopamine boost in a cocaine addict’s system after a hit is the same dopamine boost from someone who has Gaming Disorder. Furthermore, when a video game addict plays video games, he has conditioned his hypothalamus to reward him every time he plays video games. This makes sense when you consider the fact that a video game addict goes through similar withdrawals to that of a drug addict. When he isn’t playing video games, his body feels empty without the constant string of dopamine flowing through his system

To remind you, a very very very small percentage of the population actually has Gaming Disorder. The screening process is very scrupulous in order for a psychologist to actually diagnose someone. If you feel like you may have this disorder, however, contact your local psychologist, and they may be able to help.

Video Game Editor: AJ Patencio

Filed Under: Advice, Holden Hartle, Op-Ed, Science, Technology, Video Games Tagged With: Holden Hartle, Holden Rants About a Topic Does Anyone Still Read This Title Part 5

Mario v. King Boo? which Boo are you?

April 8, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Makena Behnke

Makena responds to Editor AJ’s Theme of the Week: Video Games.

i am not a video gamer, and my video game knowledge does not extend much further than Mario Kart and Undertale (and my knowledge on that is very limited). Mario Kart is simple, fun, and it lets out my urge to game. i think we all have our favorite characters that are unspokenly ours every time we play; i switch between a handful of characters, but some people will only play as [insert character here]. this list of characters stems from a mix of Mario Kart 8 and normal Mario Kart. i present to you my top five and bottom five Mario Kart characters (not that i only play as these five, but they are my favorites.)

top five:

  • King Boo– the ruler of the Paranormal Dimension, and leader of the Boos and ghosts. need i say more?
  • Bowser– this hardcore turtle-thing does not put up with any funny business. great for bumping little characters out of the way on your way to the top of the leaderboard. he’s not that fast, but he’s Bowser, so it’s fine.
  • Mario– why disregard a classic character like Mario? he’s such a happy little guy.
  • Shy Guy– i like playing as pink or black Shy Guy; the color gives him more character. he’s a pretty zippy character since he’s kind of small in size.
  • Koopa Troopa– i find him pretty fast, and he seems like a nice dude with his sweet smile. plus, his shell comes in red and green.

bottom five:

  • Gold & Silver Mario– i have issues with this specific version of Mario. why do we need a metallic version of him? he just looks weird to me.
  • Pink Gold Peach– i don’t really like Peach to begin with, but i certainly don’t like Pink Gold Peach. i have never once played as Pink Gold Peach, and i don’t intend to play as her in the future.
  • Wendy– is she a baby? how old is she? what is her purpose? needless to say, i don’t play as her.
  • Ludwig– with his cool hair, he’s got kind of a cool look going on, but along with Wendy, i don’t like his character. he doesn’t have much purpose.
  • Lakitu– this specific character is the one that lifts you back on to the course when you drive off the track in Mario Kart…. i have encountered him too many times to not bear ill will against him. i don’t like him because i only see him when i’m losing.

Video Games Editor: AJ Patencio

Filed Under: driving dirt roads, Entertainment, Media, Op-Ed, Technology, Video Games Tagged With: Makena Behnke, Mario v. King Boo? which Boo are you?

A Review of “This War of Mine”–Those Behind the War

April 5, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

By James Zheng, Blogger & Gaming Critic

Are games just games? Are games just for entertainment? That’s what I used to think. But now I have a completely different answer ever since I found This War of Mine. People say that you can see the nature of yourself when you are playing games because your mind is fully involved in the gaming. This War of Mine (TWOM) is a reflection of yourself.

TWOM was developed and published by 11 Bit Studios, a game company located in Poland. It’s not a commonly known gaming company, and currently they have just reached about 100 employees, but this game was released five years ago. It was quickly nominated as the Game of the Year on Steam. I was impressed by this small but growing company.

Game critic Johnny Durn writes, “For soldiers, war is about victory. For us, war is about getting through.” TWOM is a realistic survival game. In this game, the background is set during a period of war, and you get to select a group of people to control in order to survive as long as you can in a shelter. Depending on the group, each character will have different abilities or professions–such as runner, scavenger, chief, etc., which determines their advantages and disadvantages. There are two time periods in the game. During the daytime, you get to organize everything in your shelter and make some useful tools. The most necessary thing to prepare is food for everyone, as well as making sure everyone has enough rest. During the night, characters have three actions to take: scavenge, sleep, or guard.

So, that’s a brief description of the gameplay. But why do I say TWOM is a reflection of yourself? Well… this game is really close to reality. Everything that could happen during a time of war in real life could happen in this game, but since most of us have never experienced a life in war, TWOM will give you a fresh taste of that.

More like a test of morality and humanity, this game exposes everything about war and tries its best to make the player become a part of it. In the game, your psychological state becomes the essential element. Many factors could lead to the collapse of your character’s psychological state; for example, they could become sad. When a player does not deal with this emotion properly, it will lead to negative actions and obstacles. For example, if a survivor steals private items from other shelters or kills someone, it could greatly affect their psychological state. But, here is something that could happen: food and medicines are important in this game, and they are extremely rare, so a player has to use them scrupulously. If the player is in a difficult survival situation and facing the choice to steal in order to save a teammate or kill someone in order to rob their shelter to keep your own shelter running, will you still adhere to your morality and humanity? Whether you choose to or not, your teammates will blame you for many reasons (survivors could start a quarrel or fight), and suddenly this builds pressure on you. However, there is never a right choice in this game since it’s a war after all, and you are either doing this for yourself or your team and you have to take the ultimate risk and pray for a good result.

The difficulty of this game is intermediate. Most of the time it depends on how many survivors you’re managing. Different from the common survival game, This War of Mine can really stress the player out because resources are so limited. A situation could become destitute any time, and there is always a dilemma in making decisions.

I STRONGLY suggest that you do not look at any walk-through to help you conquer this game. I want you to feel this game by yourself, completely. In the whole process of the game, you will learn many things that you could never learn from other games. It’s going to be a crucible for any player. The game borrows the words of Ernest Hemingway as its theme:

In the modern war, you will just die like a dog for no good reason.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Sources Reference: https://www.zhihu.com/question/26834036/answer/34292120

Filed Under: Entertainment, Op-Ed, Review, The World, Video Games, Visual Arts Tagged With: James Zheng

Scandal in the Universities

April 3, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Holden Hartle

Editor Hannah challenges bloggers to write on the topic of Conspiracy. Holden goes to the conspiracy in the news . . . the College Admissions Scandal!

As I’m sure most of you know, there has been a big scandal within some of the big name universities. Parents of high school seniors are bribing admissions officers in order to guarantee a spot for their child. In addition, there have been cases in which parents have bribed standardized test proctors to practically take the test for their children, ensuring that they get a higher score. There are even cases of parents bribing coaches of various universities in order for their child to get an admissions offer via fulfilling a team spot.  

Before I become too subjective, let’s begin with the facts. Fifty students from six different states were guaranteed a spot into a big-name university due to bribes from their parents. These aren’t cheap bribes. Most of them are hundreds of thousands of dollars allocated towards a single individual. Note: this money isn’t going to a school. These weren’t donations to the university. If they were donations, the money could go towards constructing a new building or hiring more professors. Rather, hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent to admissions officers, proctors, and coaches.

Some of the colleges involved in the scandal include Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, University of San Diego, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and recently, University of California Irvine.  

And now, to get subjective. If you are planning on applying to these universities, still apply. Though this scandal does put a bad name on the university, not the whole university is at fault.  Rather, the bribed individuals should take the blame.

I interviewed Jake Mulé, who applied to UCLA, and asked him if this scandal was a big deal to him and if this scandal affected his perceptions of the school. He said that “it doesn’t deter me from the colleges I am looking at. The problem is within the system. It is hard to be what colleges want us to be. [Bribery] is how people are willing to get ahead.”

Most of the people I interviewed generally agree that the universities aren’t to blame. Asher Mai, who applied to UCLA, USC, and Stanford, said that “It’s not the university’s fault.” Amanda Laule agreed adding that “the universities should make sure their admissions officers aren’t accepting bribes.”

Personally, I agree with Jake that this scandal points out the obvious flaws in the college admissions system. I also agree that colleges should be more attentive to potential bribes that their admissions representatives and coaches may be receiving. But the whole conspiracy affects me on a more personal level. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, the prosecuting attorney, said that “for every student admitted through fraud, an honest and genuinely talented student was rejected.” From someone who has felt the pain of a rejection email, it is so difficult for me to watch these people have their path to college paid for by their parents, and at the same time, have to watch my talented friends get denied from their dream universities. And consider this: even though there are only fifty cases that have surfaced, this is something that has happened in years past, and something that doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon.

Conspiracy Editor: Hannah Hall

Filed Under: Conspiracy, Controversy, Op-Ed Tagged With: Holden Hartle

Don’t be a GAMER SHAMER

March 29, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

By Luke Langlois

This post is the first to come out of AJ’s week of editing, where the theme for posts is video games. In the following week, you will see more posts coming out in this theme as well.

When you hear the word “gamer,” what does your imagination picture? If my prediction is correct, it probably is not a pretty picture. Perhaps this “gamer” is in a room with closed blinds, no lights, and a locked door. Perhaps this gamer has untold quantities of empty soda cans sprawled out on the floor, not a bottle of water in sight. Perhaps this gamer’s keyboard is more dust than keyboard. This dust is not the typical brand of dust. No, it’s worse: Dorito dust. Whatever the picture may be, I’m sure it’s not positive. When industries rise, so do their critics. The rise of the gaming industry has followed this historical trend.

The term “gamer” does not carry a positive connotation; it is actually quite the opposite. Many media outlets are quick to jump the gun and mount an opposition against the newest gaming phenomenons, like “Fortnite,” calling them addicting, brain-melting, too violent, and detrimental to the overall health of the world. Gaming is almost always connected to being lazy or chronically unhealthy. But gaming should be recognized as a valid hobby, just like any other pastime such as golfing, moviegoing, fishing, or even knitting. After all, gaming is a juggernaut industry, and a “gamer” is not just someone who locks themselves in a dark room playing video games.

What would you consider to be the larger industry: movies or video games? Judging by the sheer influence that movies have on our popular culture, you might be guessing MOVIES! Indeed, the film industry pulls in large chunks of change. Last year, the international film industry pulled in a whopping forty-one billion dollars. That’s an impressive number. I personally would enjoy having forty billion dollars in my bank account. But, I would also enjoy having a bit more than double that amount. Oh, maybe ninety billion would be better? The gaming industry pulled in a bit more than that, at ninety billion dollars. That number represents the international revenue pulled in by the gaming industry. Not convinced that gaming is for more than just the hermit crabs of the world? GameSpot estimates, China has more people who play video games than the entire population of the United States. That’s over three hundred million people in just one nation who play video games. China is not the only video game haven; the United States has an estimated 211 million gamers (Variety).

Gaming is one of the premier hobbies of the world, and it should be recognized as such. There’s no reason to feel ashamed for really diving into a game, whether it be on your mobile device or your Xbox. Conversely, if you don’t play some type of video game, there’s no reason to spite those who do. After all, the non-gaming may soon be a global minority, if they aren’t already. Gaming is for everyone, and the numbers show it. So, don’t be a gamer shamer because gaming is not just a niche hobby anymore.

Fortnite may look goofy, but maybe it’s not so bad.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Sources

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/08/25/worlds-top-5-video-game-markets-generate-98-b-revenue-2018/37544189//
U.S. Film Industry Topped $43 Billion In Revenue Last Year, Study Finds, But It’s Not All Good News
https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/how-many-people-play-games-in-the-u-s-1202936332/
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-number-of-chinese-gamers-surpasses-the-number-of-american-citizens/1100-6419166/

Filed Under: Op-Ed, Technology, The World, Video Games Tagged With: Don’t be a GAMER SHAMER, Luke Langlois

Holden Rants About a Topic That Isn’t Really Relevant But Still Kinda Interesting Part 4

March 13, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Here at thebirdonfire.org, we’re trying something new. Rather than chasing down any “sophisticated schoolyard shenanigan” (our site’s tagline), we’ve embued our Student Editor of the Week with the power to NAME A THEME. Junior Luke Langlois is up first as Student Editor. He claims as his theme Aquatic. So, our student bloggers submit to you subjects and posts that fall under this week’s theme: Aquatic. Holden answers with . . . Sharks.

Sharks Deserve More Love

By Holden Hartle

Since the release of Jaws in 1975, sharks have become one of the top fears among Americans. The thought of a Great White clamping down on a leg is a terrifying thought. In 2017, Chapman University conducted a survey that showed that about 25% of people are afraid of sharks. More people are afraid of sharks than of hurricanes, public speaking, and everyday crimes like a mugging. The fear of sharks is even more prevalent than the existential fear of dying.

But, consider this, in 2018, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were a total of 130 shark attacks worldwide. Of those 130, 66 were unprovoked and 34 were provoked. The other 30 attacks were due to things like boat attacks or attacks that happened post-mortem. With all of this in mind, there are predictions that somewhere around 70 million people went to a beach in 2018. Some quick division will tell you that you have a 0.000185714% chance of being a victim of a shark attack. This number drops by almost 20% if you don’t provoke the shark.

Let’s look at things from the shark’s perspective. Out of the 375 different species of sharks, only about 10 have been known to eat humans. Because sharks have not lived around humans for most of their lineage, sharks have not evolved in a way that allows them to digest human flesh. Sharks eating humans is similar to a lactose intolerant person eating ice cream. It’s possible, but sharks choose to ignore humans for their own good. Sperm and Killer Whales are much more capable of eating a human than a shark is.

If you look at the behavior of sharks, most sharks approach a human out of sheer curiosity. This curiosity leads to a terrified human, which leads to a terrified shark, which leads to a shark attack. A shark most often will bite a human out of self-defense, not because it is hungry for a human thigh. And, occasionally, a shark mistakes a human for a sea turtle or a seal.

We shouldn’t be scared of sharks; we should be helping them. The shark population has dropped dramatically in the past few years, and this isn’t just bad for the sharks; this affects the whole ecosystem. With the sharks gone, the whole aquatic ecosystem is thrown off. There are no sharks to eat the mesopredators, which are next in the food chain. And, because there is an increase in mesopredators (for example, stingrays), the amount of smaller fish decrease. If we were to stop fearing sharks and stop fishing them for their meats and their fins, the ecosystem would be balanced.

Editor: Luke Langlois

Filed Under: Op-Ed, Science, The Outdoors Tagged With: Aquatic, Holden Rants About a Topic That Isn't Really Relevant But Still Kinda Interesting Part 4, Sharks Deserve More Love

Dead By Daylight Game Review–A Legion of Glitches

February 25, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment


By Dayton Kennard

If you’ve been playing Dead by Daylight recently, you’ve definitely been hearing about the new Darkness Among Us downloadable content (DLC) and all of its problems, and if you actually bought it, you’ve been experiencing those problems firsthand. The sad part is you don’t have to download the DLC to experience the problems. Note: it should be taken with a grain of salt– not all of these problems are actually glitches. Through this post, I’ll cover four problems that have been reported by the community and problems that I’ve experienced firsthand. Just a heads up, if you haven’t heard of this game before, it’s basically a multiplayer game where four survivors try to fix five generators in order to escape before a killer finds them and–you guessed it–kills them.

Problem 1: Random Legion Chase Music

Some people have described that while they’re playing as a survivor against the Legion (one of the killers you can play as), they’ll randomly hear the Legion’s chase music (something that occurs when you are about to be attacked) for a few seconds before it suddenly disappears with no explanation. This has even happened to me! However, this is not a glitch. While playing as the Legion, a killer can bring in an add-on to their unique power that causes all survivors to temporarily hear chase music when the killer successfully lands an attack on a survivor.

Problem 2: Red Highlights After Chase Ends

When the Legion successfully lands an attack on a survivor while in their Feral Frenzy mode (their unique power that makes them faster for a short period of time), they will see nearby survivors highlighted in red temporarily so that they can easily attack them as well, but this highlight ends once the Feral Frenzy times out. Or at least, it’s supposed to. Sometimes the red highlight will persist if you continue to chase a survivor after Feral Frenzy times out, only going away if you either down the survivor or your chase with the survivor ends. This is most certainly a glitch, as nothing like this is mentioned in Feral Frenzy’s official description or any of the Legion’s add-ons.

Problem 3: Loss of Previously Purchased Characters

When players first load up the game after purchasing and installing the Darkness Among Us DLC, they may see that some of the characters they had previously purchased are now missing, and even be told that they have to purchase these characters again. This may be alarming to hear, and even more alarming to see, but it seems to only happen with characters purchased using Auric Cells (an in-game currency) rather than characters purchased with real money. This is a known glitch that’s already being worked on, and it’s easily fixed by closing and re-opening the game.

Problem 4: Two Killers vs. Three Survivors

This may seem impossible given the game’s unchangeable format of one killer versus four survivors, but it’s actually something that can happen. While this is a legitimate glitch, it is quite rare to see on accident, and it’s more likely someone causing this glitch on purpose. This is because the game will sometimes attribute the wrong character ID to a character that you are playing. So, while you joined a game as a survivor, you will load in as whatever character that ID truly belongs to, allowing you to join the game as a second killer rather than a survivor. Being that this problem only happens when a character ID is swapped, it’s fairly easy to replicate this glitch by editing the game files, which is usually what’s happening if you do see two killers in a match.

Editor: Holden Hartle

Filed Under: Media, Op-Ed, Review, Technology Tagged With: Dayton Kennard, Dead By Daylight Game Review -- A Legion of Glitches

Seniors Who Lunch

February 15, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Harlow Berny

Hello! I’d like to share one of Palm Valley School’s older traditions with you, the Senior Lunch! This is a tradition that started six years ago under the (benevolent rule of the Overlord) administration of the former Head of Upper School, Ms. Susie Zachik. Six years ago, the tradition of Senior Lunch was actually Senior Breakfast. It was created to encourage Seniors, who didn’t have a first period class, to come to school on Friday mornings and attend the Friday assembly. It was only four years ago that the tradition became Wednesday Senior Lunch, as Seniors no longer had a free period/study hall for their first period classes.

Throughout this, the Senior families have provided the breakfasts/lunches for the Seniors. Sometimes school administrators, such as Ms. Zachik, Ms. Steinman (current Head of Upper School), and Ms. Rice (current Head of School) would bring food for the first and/or last Senior Lunch. After this, it would be one Senior’s duty to bring lunch for all of the Seniors on one Wednesday of the school year, and this would continue until all of the Seniors have brought a Senior Lunch. In addition to this, the Seniors control the student lounge during a Senior Lunch. While Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshman can come in to get their lunch and heat it up in the microwaves, they are encouraged to eat at the courtyard tables so that Seniors may eat with their fellow Seniors. This is a tradition that should be respected in order to preserve the experience for future Senior classes. Let’s be honest here, it is nice to hang out with your Senior class with the little time you have left before you all go off to different colleges.

Editor: Luke Langlois

Filed Under: History, Op-Ed, School Events, Uncategorized Tagged With: Harlow Berny, Seniors Who Lunch

The Three Best Villains in Anime

February 6, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By James Zheng, Blog Anime Correspondent

Most anime reviewers or watchers hardly ever talk about villains. Speaking of villains, the majority of us are under the impression that they deserve the audience’s hatred all the time. But, we never get to know them deeply or even analyze them from several aspects. You might ask the question, “Why do we need to know these villains?” Well, to make a great heroic figure or a whole anime that earns popularity, a villain actually plays an indispensable role.

No.1 “Akatsuki (Dawn)” from Naruto: The ten dreams of human beings

Akatsuki is not a single character. It’s one of the most powerful organizations in Naruto. Each member in Akatsuki represents a dream of humanity (peace, friendship, love, power, etc.). However, the Akatsuki didn’t start out representing peace, friendship, love, etc. In the beginning of the anime, every single character had a goal to destroy every independent country. There were so many fans that hated them at the beginning because fans bought into the concept that any villain would be the “bad guy” forever. When the Naruto Company dedicated episodes to introducing the Akatsuki background, the Akatsuki gradually gained sympathy and popularity from the audience. However, plenty of fans said that “their Naruto” had finished after the antagonistic Akatsuki was gone. Undoubtedly, those characters had a huge impact on the storyline. Villains are as important as heroes, especially if they’re well “shaped.”


No.2 “Yagami Light” from Death Note: How supremacy could change an ordinary person

Some of the people may not recognize Yagami Light as a villain because he is the hero in the entire story of “Death Note,” but I personally think that he played both hero and villain. In the story, the Death Note gives any kind of person the power to execute anyone; you just need to write down their name to do so. Light, who considers that his life is too boring, accidentally obtains this dreaded notebook. Then he starts to use this notebook to execute the criminals to achieve his “justice.” But, soon, he was obsessed with this power, with the result that he had the ambition to be the God of the world. This path is like an abyss to him; the Death Note entirely changed him. Everything he regards as obstacles he eliminates, including his family and friends and investigative authorities.

No.3 “Aizen Sosuke” from Bleach: The fanatic pursuit of perfection

Aizen is the biggest boss in the world of Bleach ever. His behavior and thoughts interpret the extreme concept of “perfection.” Because he believes that he is too successful as a scientist, there is nearly nothing that could satisfy him except for the innovation that has never been done before, except for creating something that has never been created before. So, he starts to engage in projects which are essentially inhumane.

Editor: Holden Hartle

Filed Under: Advice, Fiction, Op-Ed, The World, Visual Arts Tagged With: James Zheng, Three best villains in anime

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About

We are the Palm Valley Firebirds of Rancho Mirage, California. Join us in our endeavors. Venture through the school year with us, perusing the artwork of our students, community, and staff. Our goal is to share the poems, stories, drawings and photographs, essays and parodies that come out of our school. Welcome aboard!