This group tutorial was very important in terms of ensuring I was on track – particularly with the recent change in outcome. Also, although I have qualified for an extension, I will not have access to tutors and tutorials as easily in the final month.
I edited my previous presentation to communicate the change in outcome and also included a few extracts of what I was working on. Itai’s feedback was that the outcome was much more suited to me and the extracts sounded good. He said that my Literature review contained lots of theories which were from 50 plus years ago, even though I am dealing with contemporary theories. I said that a big aspect of my work was revisiting these theories in light of present day context, but I will be mindful to include contemporary theories too.
Itai’s main criticism was still that the term ‘Identity’ was too broad and I needed to unpack exactly what I meant by that. I need to define my focus as it is still too general, Itai reminded me that when I first had a tutorial with him 6 months ago, I was interested in ‘the future of’ and that perhaps I could use this as a concluding point or something to work towards. Itai put me in touch with Kelly Dearsley who is the associate Dean of the School of Media and her personal research involves digital social spaces.
- I want to begin with my research question which is currently “How is Identity being constructed through ‘Beauty’ perceptions and Phygital Experiences?” This is still rough and I need to establish a title of the thesis. As you know, I am now doing Outcome one.
- Just to break that down a bit, first looking at the Phygital Experiences aspect, where I am referencing specific instances of using digital media, where the lines of existing virtually and physically are blurred. For example; when we are engaging with AR facial filters, our virtual self is both mirroring our physical self and simultaneously being visually altered. Instances like these interest me.
- In slightly more succinct terms, I’m referencing the immersive future of digital media and projections / constructions of identity.
- This is an extract from my thesis where I am defining phygital experiences.
- So now looking at Identity, as mentioned before I am focusing on exploring fragmented identities and multiple iterations and projections of “self”.
- A sub research question I created as I was breaking this down is ‘How is Identity performed through the concept of beauty?’ When I speak about beauty, I am less focused on the market itself, but rather on how alterations and projections of the physical self in digital realms are assisting with contemporary identity construction. So it could be referencing selfies, AR filters and bitmojis as well as social media profile pages etc
- This is an extract where I ask how identity and beauty are linked to one another.
- As the term beauty is so broad, I drew reference from “systems and classification of dress”, which argued that the “dressed person includes body and all modifications of the body itself’. So, I am Repositioning virtual projections of self as a type of dress which assists with performing the digital self and virtual realms a space to practice this.
- My Scope of Research is a Mixed Methodology, which includes phenomenology-based ethnography and a literature review. I’m looking at Marshall McLuhan, Judith Butler, Angela McRobbie but a main component of my literature review is Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, I am kind of drawing theories from that and almost re-applying them to current digital media and user behaviours – re framing the cyborg as a state which mirrors contemporary virtual practices.
Alongside this, I have been conducting practice-based research, as opposed to the more formal structure of utilising writing as the principle strategy. I have found that through practice, I can utilise a whole range of senses, which aligns with both the way I work best, but also as this study examines the buoyancy between reality and fantasy, virtual and physical etc it works well. I think the smartphone can be a tool in the sense that it allows us to express an idea into physical form immediately, utilising our physical and virtual self in tandem. So, as part of my methodology is practice based, I like to create short format videos or images to explore this further.
- This is why I looked at Affect theory, as a digital communication tool, exploring the effects of a piece of digital content whilst asking how does it make you feel and how does that then translate into the formation of senses and behaviours?
- This was when I was exploring fantasy and reality, taking images of nature and printing them on a backdrop, to make renaissance inspired portraits. I’m holding a yoga mat and a loofa because I was analysing current beauty and wellness practices. And on the right is when I was layering production techniques by recording screens on screens to create multiple fragmented version of the image of myself.
- There seems to be two pillars of this study and I am trying to establish whether they can work in synergy with one another
Number 1: Our fluid virtual self and fragmented digital identity can be looked upon as a type of dress and the smartphone as the piece of technology that allows us to practice this. So, I will examine the experiential aspect of the buoyancy between physical and virtual self-construction.
Number 2: Then the beauty perceptions, which is because this study originated from an observation of a beauty ideal seen mainly in filters that was ethnically ambiguous, gender fluid, alien or animal like and reminded me of the Cyborg Manifesto.
I want to link beauty to the phenomena I am speaking about, particularly in the way I am framing dress as a way of altering oneself to reflect their true selves (this is already relevant in terms of selfies, social media and filters). In a sense, I want to link how people ‘beautify’ themselves in a virtual manner, not unlike the way we dress and beautify our bodies in physical realms to express our true selves.
I thought I would maybe conduct a case study to analyse emojis, memes and gifs? I also spoke to Lucy at perhaps conducting a case study on an artist like fecal matter?
It seems rather mundane and ‘done’ to look exclusively at selfies and filters