Character Development

Snow White 2025: Balancing Woke Themes with Classic Storytelling – A Review
The 2025 version of Snow White, to be fair, Disney's live-action remake of its first animated picture, has received mixed reviews from the audience. The remake tried its best to be accepted as a feminist film and one that promotes woman empowerment while balancing the old and the new. I watched the film with a grain of salt and kept my logical mind aside—at least, I tried to! However, I could only fathom the discourse of its nurture to a certain extent. In this review, I go deeper into the intricacies of empowerment, fantasy and the performances the film encompasses.
By Hridya Sharma10 months ago in Critique
Chapter II: The Optics of the Soul
The gallery smelled of varnish and dust, a kind of hideout for creative things. Ivan Nikolayevich stood still in front of the Magritte painting, *The False Mirror*. He felt like his fingers had been unwittingly strumming some invisible instrument. The eye in the painting was huge and never blinked. The swirling blue iris seemed like the sky overhead filled with clouds and completely unsure about answering questions. Encapsulated in the glass was Ivan's whirling stream of consciousness; he couldn't help but wonder if this eye was a portal, or if just the opposite was true, another trap entangling him in another dubious reality. He cycled through the question- is it more advantageous to know a real sheeple world, or to wish it to be something else entirely? Did it really even matter? He could see his own tired, bloodshot eyes in the glass and questioned what person he was in relation to the artwork engulfed in both separate mirrors. There lay two Ivans, one searching for dream awareness and another person desperate to meet the day, the absolute vacant spirit.
By LUCCIAN LAYTH10 months ago in Critique
Anuja Netflix Short Film Ending Explained: A Cliffhanger That Leaves You Thinking
Directed by Adam J. Graves, Anuja is the story of a very talented girl who, despite thousands of difficulties, dared to come out of a deep, dark world where nothing like hope existed.
By Ayush Verma10 months ago in Critique
turning a piece of coal into a diamond. Runner-Up in Self-Editing Epiphany Challenge. Content Warning.
This idea has been floating around my head for a week, but considering the topic, I've been hesitant to type it into existence.
By Alexandria Stanwyck10 months ago in Critique
Professor Andrew's Self-Editing Epiphany Experience
Professor Andrews left the gothic artistic designed lecture hall whose sole delegated epiphany task instructed, ‘remind the future about being sincere and trustworthy’. Stepping outside the collegiate building, adjusting the trench coat, making sure the overbearing jacket representing adulthood respect, could handle engaging the elements.
By Marc OBrien10 months ago in Critique
His Feet Are Mine
Morality is a fickle beast. People like to act like it’s simple, like there’s a clear line between right and wrong, like we all just know which side we’re on. But that's a lie. No one really knows. Not deep down.
By P.B 10 months ago in Critique
“What about Nicole?”. Honorable Mention in Self-Editing Epiphany Challenge.
My graduate thesis is a memoir. The epigraph reads, "For me and you." It's the story and backstory of my marriage and divorce and its aftermath, offered as raw data, in case my kids want to analyze it some day.
By Nicky Frankly10 months ago in Critique
Feeling a God Cry. Runner-Up in Self-Editing Epiphany Challenge.
In the excerpt below the enslaved servant of the Goddess Elyria, the warrior-scholar Baj Expatrianis asks the Goddess why she would not accept a mortal female as an acolyte nor take one as a forced servant.
By Everyday Junglist10 months ago in Critique
The Diplomat (2025) Movie Ending Explained – John Abraham’s Spy Thriller Breakdown
There are still many questions in The Diplomat movie which have been smartly left in the movie and have not been fully explained, such as Tahir traps Uzma and takes her to Pakistan, but what was the strong reason behind luring Uzma and taking her to Pakistan, which was not explored properly in the movie.
By Ayush Verma10 months ago in Critique
Nuanced Shades. Top Story - March 2025.
I literally stink at delving into the personal sides of myself where others can see the real me. I don't think that I can actually put pen to paper and let the monster out. Although I believe the liberation would be great for my creativity.
By Antoni De'Leon10 months ago in Critique
Unconscious bias… uncomfortable prejudice: a character study
I wrote this short story four years ago. Here is the link to the original story. I have chosen this particular story because it has been one of my least popular, most criticized and more controversial.
By Melissa Ingoldsby10 months ago in Critique
Getting Legless With Drunk Aliens - Editing A Winning Poem
For this entry into the Self-Editing Epiphany, I wanted to do something a little strange. It’s easy, in some ways, to look back at pieces we know were flawed because they didn’t get well received or didn’t place in a challenge or competition. But what about those pieces that did have success—ones that not only placed in a challenge but came first place? Could any editing, especially with time passed and experience gained since the piece was published, improve upon a winning poem?
By Paul Stewart10 months ago in Critique