My final project for convergence consists of a blog which explores youth culture in relation to EDM and Hip-Hop. EDM & Hip-Hop are two of the most controversial forms of music. Although controversial they are the most influential across the world. People all over but especially young people immerse themselves in the culture.
For this Tumblr blog, I incorporated a video that showcases my personal experiences with EDM and raves. The video explains why so many people flock to so many festivals and shows. In regards to the hip-hop world I discuss how innovate rap artists are. From the style of their dress, the way they speak, their actions both good and bad has an influence of youth. The impact that rap music has had over the years cannot go unnoticed. Many people from all over the world try to emulate rappers. I got a majority of my information from documentaries as well as articles which I have link to in the blog. Pictures are also used to showcase some of the most influential artists, and festival environments as well.
My
contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement will be two articles/blog posts
dubbed “Redistributing the Pain” and “Reasons why Bernie Sanders should be
President”. Redistributing the pain is about African Americans banding together
in efforts to withhold their money during the holiday season. The article goes
over all the Black Friday revenue projections and the actual sales results as
well. Also, the article refers to the reasons why blacks have chosen to boycott
Christmas and Black Friday.
My
other article, “Reasons Why Bernie Sanders Should be President” is
self-explanatory. I mention all of the goals he has for his presidency and how
those goals coincide with the Black Lives Matter Movement. From his opening in
the Democratic Presidential Debate where he challenges America’s big institutions,
to the way he answered “do black lives matter or dos all lives matter”, and
even to his dinner with rapper Killer Mike, in which they converse
over soul food.
The piece also mentions why blacks across the country should vote for Senator
Sanders to be commander and chief.
I
will be posting these two articles on my brand’s website www.oneofone.us as well on our convergence blog site.
I hope you all enjoy, and I wish you luck on your projects!
Sometimes, when people look back on what they've accomplished, or more importantly; what they wish they had accomplished, they think, “Aw man, if only I had an opportunity. An opportunity to meet that person, an opportunity to go to that place, to learn that skill, to do that thing. If only I had it, maybe things could be different.” Getting those life changing opportunities is hard enough as it is, but its even harder for those less fortunate than us. Those who are born into the not so nice type of towns, who barely even get the opportunity to leave. But things aren’t all bleak. There are people out there who truly care for their communities and want to bring opportunities to those less fortunate. Dan DeNose is one of those people. He has gone from someone who wasn’t even sure if he would be able to graduate middle school, to someone who is finishing their masters degree at Rutgers University. Dan was fortunate enough to come across a life changing opportunity when he was younger. Now he’s creating a non profit organization who’s mission is to allow those children the same life changing opportunities that he had. https://vimeo.com/148479842
For my final project, I constructed a short documentary style video on the use of Instagram. We are all media users and social media junkies, however I wanted to show how we could use Instagram on a professional level to help market ourselves and push our careers as media makers forward. Instagram is such a power tool, but many people fail to use it to its full potential. With the ability to market oneself for free and to a widespread audience with the click of a button, I interviewed two professional Instagram users who use the app to help market themselves.
My main goal is to show my audience how these social media gurus got started, how they are active on Instagram, and how they to use the app to its full potential when it comes to marketing themselves and boosting their career. I want this to be a guide to potentially open the eyes of unknowledgeable Instagram users to show the true power of the app. In the video, they talk about how Instagram has affected their lives and how they are using it to their advantage. Jeanne Grey and Christina Lau are two Instagram fashionistas who have created a name for themselves and created this sense of "Instagram fame." However, this fame was carefully constructed and in the video, you will see the ins and outs of what its like to be a professional Instagram user.
The blog for my final project in Convergence is an exploration of worship culture, and my own experience as a worshipper. I will utilize pictures, face-to-face interviews,Youtube videos, and analysis to delve into Worship culture. Interviews will be a large part of my research, and I have already interviewed worship leader/musician/composer Paul Paulson on his journey as a worshipper and the importance of worship. Frank Barcelos, a classmate of mine is also included in the blog due to his affiliation with the Powerhouse Worship church, Hillsong.
Taken from itwillbefresh.com/tumblr
This blog is for Christians that feel boxed into a certain mindset. It is also for people that believe that worship music and christian music in general is boring, whack, and "gospelly". I would love to on this journey of interviewing people and understanding more about the power of music, as well as opening the minds of the world to understand that worship music can be anything but boring. It's inclusion into our lives can be beneficial. We are what we listen to, so we should fill ourselves up with power, love, peace, and vision.
I have included artists like Tori Kelly, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, and Elevation Music because all of these artists are listened to by a wide array of people, and many of them are not Christians. They are real, they are pure, and they have raw talent and vision, and that is what sets them a part and brings listeners from all religions to their tracks.
This a track by the Elevation Music worship team. It has autotune, amazing graphics, a light show, and utilizes many forms of media, and talent to showcase their love for God. This art, this assimilation of converging different forms of media is what sets them a part from the gospel legends of the past, and what brings atheists to their shows and Youtube channel.
In the upcoming weeks, I have an interview with a Christian radio station, another Hillsong church member, an interview and day-in-the-life vlog of worship leader, Paul Paulson and ongoing interviews and vlogs on why this music is not more popular.
The link to my blog: It Will Be Fresh
My project is about image/brand management on social media and the judgmental culture that has developed around the act of posting photos online. In my mockumentary-style video I attempt to explain some of the hidden psychological reasons for wanting to maintain a positive image on social media and show that people often do not even realize that there is a deeper reasoning for their daily interactions on social media. The main point I am trying to make through this project is that while maintaining your brand online can be a helpful tool, it is important to make sure that you don't spend so much time worrying about the identity you construct for yourself online that it is your real-life identity that is the most important to build. While the information I convey is meant to be taken seriously, the interviews I conduct are supposed to convey the attitudes of the average user of social media, and are therefore not meant to be taken as seriously.
Bibliography
"Aesthetic Consumerism and the Violence of Photography: What Susan Sontag Teaches Us about Visual Culture and the Social Web." Brain Pickings. N.p., 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
"Managing Yourself: What's Your Personal Social Media Strategy?" Harvard Business Review. N.p., 01 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
"The Psychology Behind Social Media Interactions." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
For my final Convergence project, I curated a tumblr blog
titled Scene to Screen. The blog focuses on the lack of diversity behind the
scenes in the film industry, and how that leads to a lack of diversity in front
of the screen. Being that the blog is hosted on tumblr, it was easy to get
information from other blogs to post to my own. However, on the side are
featured posts, and those are posts researched and written by me, focusing on
three main areas: the statistics in regards to a lack of diversity in
Hollywood, the reasons why women have such issues breaking into Hollywood, and
a third post with updates on what’s occurring in Hollywood to help bring a
shift to the industry and hopefully get more diversity behind the camera.
