Early on in the semester, we were tasked with selecting a poem that we could enhance with visuals. When pondering on a selection, I chose to escape the traditional model for poetry and choose a song. I chose the Intro to my favorite album of my favorite artist, Jermaine Cole. The part of the song that I chose mentions the virtue of happiness which I strongly desire. This project brought life to the poem and allowed me to combine a series of clip to tell a story. I chose a range of clips from familiar movies and tv shows that created a very cool narrative.
Social Media Postings
I found the section of our class that focused on social media to be most interesting. Social media is a large part of my social and professional life. It is not uncommon for me to literally laugh out loud or gain a new perspective on something from things that I see on my timeline. Ironically, Instagram is my favorite social media platform so I was ecstatic to see what I could do! This project reminded me that social media is a gem that allows people to relay a single message in many ways. Before actually creating our projects, we were tasked with reading articles that expanded my knowledge on the science behind social media projects like GIFs and memes.
My first Instagram meme was of a pig in the middle of a road fork with the heading “Pork in the Road”. I chose to play on words to provoke a comical reaction from my audience. Because the phrase “Fork in the road” is commonly used, I anticipated my audience to get the joke immediately. It is safe to assume that most of the class has visited Southpoint mall in Durham. As a native of Durham, this allowed me to somewhat tie in a piece of home. This phrase is boldly stated right above the food court. I wanted to use a phrase that a broad audience could get rather than a select group of “inside” people.
My second Instagram meme was a lot more ambitious and required more technical skill. I took a familiar face, the lady from the Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal commercial and changed her name tag to show that she is an employee for Tinder, the online dating site. She was pictured holding a slab of steak in a meat market. The heading of the meme was “Online Dating Be Like”. I chose these images and titles to create a sense of humor that choosing mates via online sites is like picking out meat in a store. I was able to get help on creating this meme in the Creative Suite of the Undergraduate Library. Anyone that knows me knows that I love Honey Bunches of Oats (unpopular opinion) and I am not fond of online dating which also allowed me to share a sense of self.
My first GIF was of a woman “shouting” at church. Shouting is a traditional act that is often seen in Black churches in which people confess their love and appreciation for God through dancing in a two-step like way. I placed the header “When mom says the food is ready” to create a parallel to the joy that comes from good food.
My second GIF was of an American Airlines airplane. I manipulated the original image of the plane into layers which allowed me to create a continuous shift of daylight and night time skies. As a future flight attendant for American Airlines, I enjoyed bringing this project to life!
My first Instagram story was a puzzle like feel of different forms of denim. The story being told is “Someone once said that denim is a way of life”. Denim is my go to choice of style so I really enjoyed making this project.
My second Instagram story was a compilation of pictures of my siblings and I. The message being shared here is Family: Where life begins and love never ends. As the oldest of four siblings on my maternal side, I take my role as an older sister very seriously so I enjoyed incorporating my family into this project. The two stories that I created are very different than the stories that I typically post in so that they actually had a message.
Audio Essay
Script
I expounded on the topic I chose for my audio essay, digital literacy, for the podcast project. I learned a great deal from the research I conducted. I was able to make many connections to my experience as a scholar that uses many digital platforms. My partner also made great points about the ways in which technology impacts the way we learn.
Overall, I learned a great deal from this course and enjoyed taking it.