Further Definition
My project idea could work either as a short book/zine or a webpage/app. Essentially, I’d like to create a collection of tributes — so to speak — of pieces of media I feel ascend past their standard boundaries. The best comparison I can think of are the books that are titled 1000 books to read before you die on the more complex end, and your basic top 10 lists on sites like Buzzfeed etc. Ideally I’d like a strike a balance somewhere between the two, with more in depth writing, perhaps with a longer form analytical element than a throw away article, but with more of a visual option than a purely text based book.
If this project were in physical form, I’d imagine it as a classy coffee table/art book. The visuals would ideally be mostly if not all my personal creation/interpretation that I feel best represents each piece of media. I spent the entirety of last semester creating a mock print publication, specifically about social justice issues pertaining to Native Americans. This piece contained my own original writings and original/heavily edited images of others in conjunction, and it’s a medium I have built some confidence in, but would like to explore more. I’d like to make something that’s approachable and digestible, and adds value beyond what media pieces I’m talking about already provide, by either creating something visually or textually engaging.
Effect I’d Like My Project to Have
I’d like people to walk away after viewing my project a bit more open minded about media, and being less discriminatory about medium or genre. For example, some view films as an entirely passive experience — they sit in front of a screen, it talks at them for two hours, and they leave.
Often, a certain subset of audiences will leave that theater dissatisfied if that movie didn’t directly and unsubtly explain every plot point and theme. This often disqualifies many more unconventional films as enjoyable for a large portion of the population. I’m not so arrogant to think that I’m going to revolutionize the way people watch movies, especially when the least amount of people in years are actually seeing movies in theaters, but I would be totally satisfied to give a few people an expanded view. I’d like to use the visual aspect of my project to further reinforce this interest. If I can create something visually engaging to partner with (hopefully) convincing writing, then the likelihood of a person making the effort to check out that piece of media is greater.
Once again, I realize how pretentious this goal may sound, and I’d strive to keep the writing as un-condescending as possible — essentially I’d like this project to be equivalent to saying, “Hey, check this out! I saw it the other day and think you might like it because of x, y, or z”. In other words, I’d like it to be a gentle nudge from a peer’s perspective towards something potentially unappreciated.