Digital Project Proposal
Deciding what I want to do for the digital presentation component of my thesis project has been a bit difficult for me—I really want to engage with the visual nature of the assignment, and coming up with something interactive and engaging has been a bit of a struggle.
After receiving (very helpful and constructive!) feedback on my thesis from Jenny and Lindsey, I’ve realized that I need to better solidify my thesis (that is, my core argument) before proceeding full speed ahead on the digital presentation.
Something that we discussed last semester as a possibility for the presentation was incorporating the TV show Game of Thrones, as it didn’t really make it into my paper and the show is such a huge part of the books’ recent mainstream popularity. I was thinking about comparing the books to the TV show, and looking into the process of adaptation, and any major character/story changes that happened in book-to-TV. Jenny also suggested a discussion of audience (niche, sci-fi/fantasy readers vs. the mainstream TV-watching population) in my digital presentation, and how that could affect adaptation changes and decisions.
Sorry this is so short and nebulous, but I’m trying to better grasp what I want to say before I settle completely on a project!
4 Comments
Jenny
March 4, 2014Kerishma, let’s think of the digital presentation in more visual terms. My suggestions about adaptation and audience can be alluded to without a full-blown discussion, which would probably entail another 30-page paper (!!!).
One thing that comes to mind is a kind of “mapping the body of [say] Sansa”–an annotated deconstruction of the TV image of Sansa, perhaps using quotes from the books. That way you can do a visual comparison of the two Sansas that will imply, if not fully discuss, the changes made for popular consumption.
Just an idea of how you can do some kind of visual, digital project without essentially writing another paper!
Colby Minifie
March 4, 2014I think focusing on adaptation and story shifts between “Game of Thrones” and “The Song of Ice and Fire Series” is really smart. Hopefully you won’t have to do too much more work because you’ve done so much already, but it would be interesting just to note the differences between the TV show and the books– what HBO thinks is marketable could change so much of the original story. I think doing this project would be fascinating! But I think if you narrow it to two or three characters in the beginning, you could present this now and then branch out later! Woohoo!
L. M. Freer
March 4, 2014I completely understand wanting a better grasp on your thesis, and I know you’re going to get there. You are definitely making progress.
What if we considered a sort of annotation or hypertext project, where core passages from either the book or your wonderful descriptions were used as a foundation to which we could add additional material? (Clips from the show, images, etcetera.) This seems to me like it might play to your strengths, and would be something you could grow as you worked on refining your argument–it wouldn’t overwhelm, it would complement.
It’s just an idea, and if it doesn’t appeal to you, we’ll find something else that does. But given the fact that your argument is still in formation, it seems like we should find a project that can enable that growth rather than hinder it.
Laura Ayala
March 4, 2014Totally understandable! It’s tough to start a project meant to expand an argument that isn’t fully realized yet.
Nonetheless, this is a project you can really have fun with! You’re really into pop culture and digital media (or at least Tumblr, which is awesome), so if you want to use the show as a foundation for your project go for it. Make a bitchy blog that’s meant to be run by one of the characters. Something kinda snarky that can act as a commentary on the nature of adaptation. Maybe everything got sexier (unnecessarily so?).
I haven’t watched the show or read the books, so I won’t be able to give very specific ideas….I do watch True Blood though, so I get HBO.