Ender's Story Behind Ender's Game

From the first short story published under a magazine titled Analog Science: Fiction and Fact, the story Ender's Game began to take the world, and those inhabiting it, by storm in a number of ways. Later published as a novel in 1985, the original description was that of a "military science novel" which was later used as suggested reading military material for various branches, including the United States Marine Corps. It wasn't until a number of sequels were produced that the Ender's Game series. Then, in the year 2013, this story of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin and his experience in a military camp that would provide training on the impending alien invasion, came to the big screen.

The original author of the story, Orson Scott Card, had a hand in producing his work of art from the late twentieth century and was able to then see it bring a magnificent display to some of the most populated audiences of movie theaters. The box office income topped out at well over 54 billion dollars within the first days of it's release, and the numbers were not showing any sign of decline as the days turned into a week and Ender's Game entered it's second week of showings.

The style of this movie is captivating, to say the least. As a good friend of mine and an avid movie lover stated, "There are poignant examples of how our government could trick gifted children into committing genocide." And he wasn't wrong. In the beginning of the story, our protagonist, "Ender", battles a fellow student at an interactive video game and wins with impressive standings. He later is recruited after his victory was viewed with hidden cameras by Colonel Hyrum Graff and Major Gwen Anderson of the International Fleet. He is the last to arrive, but the most anticipated, aboard the bus that will take him to Battle School, which is just the first in many stops along the way for this character.

Backtracking just a bit, the idea of the "Battle School" is used to involve those who are only the brightest and most gifted. Here, they undergo a rigorous schedule, a military-type exercise routine, and the memorization of numerous military tactics and strategies that can be used against those known as the Formics or, "Buggers" who are quickly approaching Earth and putting all humanity at risk. There are numerous armies that young students are circulated in and out of, including such as Ender's own "Salamanders", as well as "Asps", "Badgers", "Tides" and "Tigers". Each army focuses on a certain speciality, a certain grade of integrity from each of it's own soldiers, and a certain method of attack that the young boys and girls will use when they face the upcoming battle between their armies and the Formics.

In the past, a movie that has such a unique quality in each and every page (such as Ender's) there have been some slight misconceptions from the pages of a book onto the pages of a script. For example, those who enjoyed Ender's Game as a read may be recommended back to J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" and the several books that complete that series. However, as any director would, there were some complications transferring every single detail of the book into that of the movie, this lead to the fans of said books to be disappointed, exclaiming an all-too-commonly heard, "The book was better." However, the director of Ender's Game, written and directed by a Mr. Gavin Hood (also known for his work with X-Men Origins: Wolverine) there were significant strides taken to include all of the various changes in what may be considered "everyday life" to us, into a world only known by those who have read of and those who fictionally lived in the world that our protagonist, Ender, did.

As previously stated, this movie was written and portrayed just as the book was meant to be... in a way that captures the attention of it's audience and impels you into the world where an alien race is quickly taking over the inhabitants of the Earth, and the government's efforts have landed on the help of it's youngest and possibly most gifted residents... their own children. All in all, Ender's Game is a wonderful read, and a wonderful film that can show it's true colors with surround sound and a big screen to suck you in and leave you asking for another ticket to the next showing.

The Sympathy Behind a Good Ad

Over time, ads have gone from risque, to safe, to daring, and back to risque, all within in a number of years. Whether it be an ad shown during a Super Bowl commercial that had the image of a man punching a glasses-sporting koala because he "needed a new job" that made us laugh while also intrigued us because of the "What the heck" factor, or the more recent Cheerio's commercial that showed a young boy discussing the possibility that the mother's (assumed) deceased mother is "eating breakfast with them" because that's what the two of them used to do in her own youth. Commercials have been known to draw our interest, intrigue our curiosity, and more often than not, pull at our heart strings in the best and worst ways possible.

For me, the ads that have stood out among the rest as of lately have been ads for Subaru car company. The ones that stood out most are listed below.

Subaru: Best Friend

Subaru: First Day of School

In the first ad, the rural setting ads a realistic effect. Aside from the brand new and seemingly spotless car that is sitting off-centered, you assume that it is a fairly day-to-day sort of scenery. Then, the camera cuts to the driver of the car, who is smiling at his passenger seat as cheerful and uplifting music plays quietly in the background. As the commercial goes on, you witness a puppy, who is first seen staring curiously out of the window, and that same puppy steadily grows, as does the driver of the Subaru. This commercial particularly caught my interest because, as a child, I was gifted with a puppy for Christmas and I have since, watched her as she grew and as I grew into the person that I am today. Now, the image that this ad was going for was that "Grow old with our Subaru because they'll last that long" but the message was partially overplayed by the story of the owner and the dog, and the two of them growing old together.

The second ad is the one that truly tugged at those heart strings of mine. The initial image is nostalgic and the music is encouragingly cheery, however, this is canceled out by the young girl's worried expression which is then soothed by the father's encouraging squeeze of the hand before she boards the bus to what we believe is her first full day of school. Now, this is the part that I was lost at, when the father climbs in the car and is driving next to the bus, he eventually catches up and sees that his daughter is in fact having a good time already and the last line of the ad is, "I'm protective, that's why I got a Subaru." But this doesn't serve much purpose to me other than the idea that one could keep up a good speed with a Subaru, or did it have to do with the safety of the interior? I mean, his daughter was on a bus, he's the one speeding... However, if you don't look at it like this, and you see the story for what it is, I can see why Subaru's sales have gone up since the release of this nostalgic and enticing commercials.

There are many other ads of this sort that can be found on Subaru's YouTube channel that provide the same sort of emotional feeling... I believe that this series of ads is not only effective, but it is also something that one could reference when it comes to explaining just why they chose to make a certain purchase, in this case, that purchase being a Subaru vehicle.

Lastly, if you want thirty seconds of a "feel good moment", I suggest watching these commercials. However, if you're not prepared to get misty eyed, I suggest cat videos instead.