Social Binds In Media

It took me about 2 weeks to actually get rolling with an idea for the essay but once I had that idea, it took next to no time to write!
If I had more than 2,000 words I would really like to look into the more socially impacting events so I could gain a wider understanding but as I did only have 2,000 three/four would have to do.

I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t venture deeper into these events (there is so much more to read into than what I covered) but I wouldn’t have been able to go as far with them as I would like and still keep into the 2,000 words.

But I now have the digital archive saved and (in my free time) will do the extra leg work that I could not do in the essay for more events in history, perhaps even looking at other branches of media and possibly expand my essay and re-evaluate my conclusion, when I am more informed. Why? Because I did find this really interesting!

Anyway, here is my essay:

Social Binds in Media by Luke Sutton.

Hmm…

I’m beginning to think that the idea of comparing a magazine cover to an event in history may be a bit tricky. For one, the magazine cover generally (at first look) have nothing to do with any really significant things happening [for example, Barrack Obama’s most significant cover was a person of the year.. year being a very long time to analyse influences it might have had].
Also, in 89 years there are 1068 months and, with 2 issues a month, 2136 issues to analyse.. Tall order.

A way around this is to perhaps analyse a few issues of the same time frame of significant moments in American history. For example:

Possibilities: First and Latest TIME MAGAZINE

 

Above is Times Magazines First Edition and Latest edition.
It Shows (someone great for their times) Joseph Cannon, a politician. The latest issue has (someone also considered great for our time) Lionel Messi, one of the worlds #1 footballers.
Perhaps discuss what changed between March 1923 and Feb 2012 that lost politicians the honour they had and put sporting stars above them.
Problem with that is that I only have 2000 words to summaries and break up 89 years and a lot has happened since 1923!
Possible Solution could be to just pick out the covers where something drastic changed and then analyse the social, political, economical and environmental issues that happened slightly before.

Essay Ideas

Unclear on what to do for my essay, here are a few ideas to explore:

1. Newspapers > Twitter
2. Lonely Hearts Columns > Match.com
3. Works Such As Da Vinci > Banksy/other modern art
4. Advertising (Choose a campaign that has origins of traditional work [Guinness|Cola|McDonalds|Car] and show the progression)
5. Select a Magazine and compare the first cover to the most recent

Essay Intentions

A progression I can clearly see and find interesting enough to write an essay on is the news.
It used to be a ritual that you would go out and buy a paper in the morning and then watch the 6 o’clock/10 o’clock news  to keep informed. And then it progressed to any-time with the increase in internet popularity. Then even more so with internet phones and now with Twitter it seems that you are never further than a few seconds away from something happening at any corner of the world.

I tried thinking about how essay’s usually put across arguments for and against the topic but I can’t see how anyone can be against this.. Perhaps newspaper chiefs would be, less money being spent on them.. They have to do offers to get people to buy them (The Sun’s £9.50 holidays got people buying the paper again but not for right reasons?)

I will think about the topic and how I can discuss it..

Initial Reaction to Essay

2000 word essay comparing something new that stems from something old. Show how everything has an influence (media).

Must be a reference to Post-Modernism? < Learning about this..

Initial Thoughts:

• Music- Vinyl, Tape, CD, Mp3?
• News- Newspapers, Twitter
• Socialising- Pub/coffee, Facebook
• Movies- Karate Kid (1984), Karate Kid (2010 remake)
• Gaming- Old School Gaming Systems, PS3

Manifesto: Qualifications

Click below to view my manifesto for Qualifications

Manifesto by Luke Sutton

References

I have written my Manifesto and am rather happy with it. It reaches all the points I wanted to, is themed as I intended and I am really happy with the references I used.

“Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking.”
Milton Glaser.

Questions Raised in my Manifesto

I had a few questions I wanted to raise in this declaration of opinion and intent. My question and topic process/structure is below:

Mood and Structure

I’ve been looking into my topics and am fairly comfortable with it, but I still need to decide on how I want to reach the reader. I think humour will be my safest bet, I can (much like the “Wrecked for the Ordinary: Manifesto for Misfits“) use familiar language to almost chat to the reader. My intention for this manifesto is to air my views and, in some cases, even mention the taboo. I believe the best way for me to do this, rather than just bullet pointing my ideas in a dull manner, is to make my text engaging and humourous. A text you want to read.
I’ll establish my mood immediatley with some light hearted banter in the opening paragraph (an insentive to read on, where the more serious points are raised), Constantly slipping in humour to keep a theme.