Praveen Jayakumar

Mrs. Eaker
UWRT 1103
7 December 2014
Author's Statement

Dreams. It's something almost all of us have experienced, possibly as recently as a couple
of hours ago. Dreams are one of the brain's most interesting and confusing functions. Dreams
have been looked into for ages, but more in depth, the past two centuries. Research studies
continue to be done, but one question, remains unanswered, why do we dream. That is why I
chose that topic to do inquire, in order to see where our theories stand today. A great source in
aiding me and guiding me with direction was Dr. Domhoff's dream FAQ, published on his
website. It provided me with concise answers, as well as places, where I could find and
understand the specifics. With a basic understanding of the current view of the question, I
thought I could better comprehend why we haven't been able to get an answer as well as what
direction scientists are headed in, in terms of research. The most recent theory, and what
becoming the most prominent, is the consolidation of memories. If this is the case, it would be
greatly to our advantage to research dreams, as we could find ways to improve and better this
consolidation process.
In order to convey my research, I chose a combination of a couple of genres. Both of
my projects, are presented in video forms, the first is a rap battle between two "kings" of
psychology and the other a story told with the aid of a magic trick. Video is practically analogous
with presenting in real life. It provides the presenter, the opportunity to make errors and correct

them and redo it, until the work meets expectations. Videos are something I have been passionate
about especially considering how much of a voice they provide me. I specifically also chose two
subjects of the video the first a rap battle. Poems and/or raps are amazing ways of conveying a
message in unique and creative way. It provides the author the ability to send the message, while
also making the information entertaining. A rap battle, allows me to present two vantage points
on a topic in the same entertaining way. Of course the way rap battles and raps are presented
have changed over time. I chose to stick along a certain format as used by "Epic Rap Battles of
History". They have conventionally had two people in the videos, and switch between the
characters for the rap battle. I am choosing to follow this method, due to its effectiveness, as the
channel has millions of views of each of their videos. This also aids the appeal to the teenage and
young adult audience, as I am referencing a current trend, which allows for information and the
message to better resonate with them. Although I am using their videos as a foundation for mine.
I am altering it a bit. Conventionally the character would rap a whole verse then they would
switch. In order to create more tension, and more of a back and forth conversation, I chose to
repeatedly change back and forth between the two. Magic tricks are not really thought to be any
what of a story telling method. However there is one certain trick where each card has an
assigned part of the story, and every card in the deck is placed down when its corresponding part
in the story is mentioned. This allows a story with a message and information to be told while
also providing some sort of visual aid. I did use a different method to do the trick then
conventionally done, and used different messages for each card so that they would apply directly
to my story. The magic trick appeals to broader audience. I would classify it as high school and
up as mostly everyone is always fascinated with magic in itself. But to understand what I am
saying, requires some knowledge and vocabulary. The primary research I incorporated into the

rap comes from Dr. Domhoff's paper on Jung and Freud's theories. That paper was a great aid for
me to understand what Freud and Jung were attempting to say in their respective published
papers. Domhoff's FAQ was my greatest source throughout the inquiry blog, as it provided me
with a great deal of information, and gave me access to other fantastic sources. It also showed
me the ideas of different psychologists and progression in the change in ideologies. The magic
trick was a culmination of all of my research together. I was attempting to fit everything
important into one trick. This required a lot of constant shifting around and changing things up
so that I could include something from everything, while also making it fit to the genre I chose.
The genres convey both my interests and what I believe are good ways of conveying
messages. The work I put into them and the creativity I had in order to not confine myself to the
literal box of genres we were provided, I think are exemplified in the work by itself. They appeal
to different audiences and have their strengths in portraying the message intelligently while also
"fun". I hope that double tone comes across when viewing the videos.

Works Cited

Domhoff, G. W. (2000). Moving Dream Theory Beyond Freud and Jung. Paper presented
to the symposium "Beyond Freud and Jung?", Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA,
9/23/2000.
Domhoff, William, and Adam Schneider. "Dreams: FAQ." Dreams: FAQ. UCSC, 2014. Web. 20
Oct. 2014. <http://www2.ucsc.edu/dreams/FAQ/>.

"ERB." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/user/ERB>.