Christian Madlansacay
Major: Mathematics and Computer & Information Sciences with a minor in Film and Television
Bio: Christian Madlansacay is proud to be from Jersey City, New Jersey, which is also home to one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Ms. Marvel. He is heavily involved with the University, as he is also a member of the Editorial Board for the Fordham Observer, and the Coordinator for the Commuter First Year Mentor program. Christian plans to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, and use his skills in STEM and Media to further develop the landscape.
Title of Research: With Great Power: A Study on The Importance of STEM in Spider-Man Stories
Faculty Mentor: Matthew Hockenberry, Department of Communication and Media Studies
Abstract: Throughout society, many people interact with media as a means of entertainment. What many do not realize is that components of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math make media a reality. Ever since I was young, the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man, helped me understand that importance since the character’s narratives and appearances in the media revolved around STEM. The character has also helped shape my life, in which I became interested in STEM throughout my educational career. In particular, the character’s stories and lessons that I learned throughout the years inspired me to pursue multidisciplinary studies in STEM and Media for my undergraduate career. In my project, I explore how different adaptations of Spider-Man use different fields in STEM to develop their narrative. To conduct the research, I collected and analyzed comic books, films, television shows, and video games about the character. Each adaptation would explore different situations of STEM for Spider-Man, focusing on the character’s identity, problems, and or solutions within the narrative. Ultimately, I learned that each adaptation reinforces my claim since the multidisciplinary fields determine the character’s journey within the narrative. The adaptations also show that Marvel wanted the character to be an inspiration to many, as the stories emphasized that an interest in STEM can help anyone achieve a certain goal, as long as enough effort is put into it. By using these various sources to complete the study, the findings culminated into a report and video.