<aside> šŸ’” Assignment: Thesis Presentation + Paper!!!!!

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The Thesis Presentation run-through was super helpful! I was under-prepared and also unwilling to answer some questions, and it showed during the presentation.

  1. If these are not Vietnam, then what is Vietnam?

    Most of my work so far is focused on pointing out what is not Vietnam (for irony/haha purpose) and the wrong or harmful stereotypes of Vietnam that continues to trickle down through generations... so the question is: what is Vietnam?? I don't like the US's presentation of Vietnam but I also don't believe in Vietnam's interpretation of its own history either?? I often try to distance myself from "Vietnam" (I don't like telling people I'm from Vietnam) mostly because it force me to confront the uncomfortable notion of being in-between, of growing up believing (and thriving! I love thinking Iā€™m the winner) in the media/propaganda and now having to dismantle them.

    It's a weird in-between that is can be hard to explore, but it's an important question that I should seriously consider.

    My goal: To highlight and critique the media depiction of Vietnam, and to find a visual language that expresses the state of in-between of Vietnam in 2021.

  2. Who is my target audience? (thank you Todd for asking haha šŸ’Ŗ )

    God I hate this question. I got this question for my undergrad thesis and continued to struggle to answer it for my grad thesis. I think the generic answer is "everyone" because it's the most comfortable answer. But Todd pointed out a really good point about how the images that I'm using represent a specific historical moment in time (Napalm girl, etc.), and I should explore and clarify what point of view I'm coming from. He also suggested [insert book name here] to read on the relationship between the viewer, the subject, the photographer and photography as a medium, which is something I never thought about and am excited to learn more!!! Thanks Todd.

    My goal: To create an interactive installation that challenges the views of audiences who are familiar with the US pop culture and also extend the conversation to Vietnamese and other youths like myself who are navigating the in-between.

Suggested materials/keywords (thank you for the input!)

Rememory

Simulacra ā€“ how we understand the world through media

In-between

Heterotopia ā€“ prototype a new space