TOPIC 1: BANNED BOOKS AND YOUR BOOKSHELF --
When it comes to my own collection, I have a pretty good variety of books. The majority of which are poetry books, classic literature, poetry and literature anthologies, fiction, science fiction, existential philosophy, and writing books.
The books on my desk are: "MaddAddam Triology" by Margaret Atwood, "A Season in Hell" poetry book by Arthur Rimbaud, "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch, "GirlBoss" by Sophia Amoruso, "Love Is A Dog From Hell" by Charles Bukowski, "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature" "Letters To Sartre" by Simone De Beauvoir, "New and Selected Poems" by Mary Oliver, and AP style/ writing books.
These books show I am interested in futuristic stories including post-apocolypitic narratives, self growth and introspection, and an interest in cultural influence in writing.
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| Photo from uglydogbooks.com |
After taking a look at the list of banned and challenged books compiled by the American Library Association, there were a few books on the list I recognized:
- "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
- "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
- "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
- "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
- "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
- "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
- "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
- "Harry Potter (series)" by J.K. Rowling
- "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain
I've read some of the books on this list (some I've only seen the film), and discussing books like many of these in an academic setting not only helps expand student's critical thinking through deep analysis and class discussions, it also encourages them to ask questions that challenge their perception of the world around them. Personally, I think it's sad people want to censor and silence writer's work based on personal beliefs and upbringing.
Turning to books is a way to understand internal emotions by seeing the external world through another person's experience and perspective. I am amazed that even "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" were challenged based on religious viewpoints or violence, because there are important takeaways from those stories like love, strength, growth, friendship, finding where you belong, empathy, compassion etc.
"When your children read books that have been challenged or banned, you have a double opportunity as a parent; you can discuss the books themselves, and the information they provide, and you can also talk about why people might find them troubling." (Also from "The Banned Books Your Child Should Read.)
Turning to books is a way to understand internal emotions by seeing the external world through another person's experience and perspective. I am amazed that even "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" were challenged based on religious viewpoints or violence, because there are important takeaways from those stories like love, strength, growth, friendship, finding where you belong, empathy, compassion etc.
"When your children read books that have been challenged or banned, you have a double opportunity as a parent; you can discuss the books themselves, and the information they provide, and you can also talk about why people might find them troubling." (Also from "The Banned Books Your Child Should Read.)
I would definitely say if one were to go into my room and just glance at the books on my desk, they would be able to tell I am a writer, or aspiring, I love poetry, literature and science fiction.
These books show I am interested in futuristic stories including post-apocolypitic narratives, self growth and introspection, and an interest in cultural influence in writing.
TOPIC 2: DIGITAL MAGAZINES --
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| Photo from www.udemy.com |
Digital magazines have an advantage over print, because there are more opportunities to create compelling story telling through digital media forms that cannot be used for a traditional print style publication. For viewers, story telling through videos can be more intriguing by making the experience more personal and interactive. Showing the environment, movement, attitude, and style of the subject are also some of the advantages. Sound also plays an important part, because the author has to keep in mind the music that is chosen, and the way it's edited, can either be distracting, or build more emotion to support the narrative.
"i-D Magazine" is a British magazine under Vice Media, that was launched in 1980 by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones. Consistently reinventing itself, the magazine is known for its editorial style, and youth culture(art, music, fashion, film, photography) based content.
With an audience aimed towards youth, advertisements displayed (or at least currently) use marketing strategies to promote beauty and skin care. Starting at the top of the website is where a Dermalogica skin serum ad/commercial is currently being played on repeat. I think it's interesting that the sites templates has inserts between content with the same ad playing as you scroll down the site.
The magazine tells unique stories that aren't just about well known celebrities, but introduce creative people on the rise, and side from its print publication, the digital platform is more of a blog style template with large photos, and stories of the day at at the top of the site.
I watched a street style documentary under the "Videos" category called "inside glasgow's illegal after-hours party scene." For this story especially, I definitely think using digital story telling was the best decision, because it really placed the viewer at the scene, and gave a glimpse of this particular culture in Glasgow, Scotland -- creating a stronger, detailed narrative. I loved this documentary, not only was the story unique, but visually it was put together very well from scene and sound placement, choice of music used, people interviewed, and the backstory that is told throughout the video. I would definitely say this documentary showed me something new, made me want to keep watching, and inspired my own interest in exploring more underground scenes.
"In Glasgow, inclusivity, self expression, and grass-roots politics are a way for young Scottish misfits to define their own generation."
When comparing digital and print magazines, interviews are interesting to take a look at. I love reading the actual interview in a print format, and having images to accompany the written work is important for both print and online, to make the overall story more captivating. But, digital magazines allow the publication to also input a video of the artist in action, or in this case: interview with "eva doležalová is all about empowering women," shows a short film. By doing this the reader doesn't have to leave the website -- because they have background information on the artist, the interview, and a video to display the work all on the same page.
The second digital magazine I looked at was "Superior Magazine," an international lifestyle and business magazine founded in Berlin, Germany. Flipping through, the first pages are dedicated to advertisements, background information, a page of the content for this edition, an editorial from the staff, about five pages dedicated to introducing the contributors, and a page on how to submit work for future editions.
The content throughout the magazine is fashion based, with more photos than actual articles. There's interviews and a focus on sustainable fashion. I would definitely say the layout is more modern and helps the photography pop. Especially the colors used, there's pastel and earth tones, that help create a calm, cool feel that compliments the photography, rather than distracting the reader. There are also pages with full photos, and pages with a lot of white space, color blocks, and over lapping photos -- I definitely think by doing this, the design highlights the work, except when there is a full photo in the center, right where the page turns. Other than that, the aesthetic of the magazine is appealing to the eye.
Towards the end of the magazine on pages 120-127 there is a section dedicated to "The Hope Issue." An editorial piece is concluded with an introduction to the editions topic "Hope." Following are a few pages highlighting people in design, marketing, and tech who demonstrate the personal impact of innovative ideas and "small change." Since this was the cover of the edition, I thought the placement should have been more towards the center of the publication, rather than the end. Also, rather than having the photos of the people talked about separate from the descriptions (on the next page), I thought it would have been more impactful to have them together, because as I was reading I wanted to see their faces, without having to click back and forth between pages.
"i-D Magazine" is a British magazine under Vice Media, that was launched in 1980 by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones. Consistently reinventing itself, the magazine is known for its editorial style, and youth culture(art, music, fashion, film, photography) based content.
With an audience aimed towards youth, advertisements displayed (or at least currently) use marketing strategies to promote beauty and skin care. Starting at the top of the website is where a Dermalogica skin serum ad/commercial is currently being played on repeat. I think it's interesting that the sites templates has inserts between content with the same ad playing as you scroll down the site.
The magazine tells unique stories that aren't just about well known celebrities, but introduce creative people on the rise, and side from its print publication, the digital platform is more of a blog style template with large photos, and stories of the day at at the top of the site.
I watched a street style documentary under the "Videos" category called "inside glasgow's illegal after-hours party scene." For this story especially, I definitely think using digital story telling was the best decision, because it really placed the viewer at the scene, and gave a glimpse of this particular culture in Glasgow, Scotland -- creating a stronger, detailed narrative. I loved this documentary, not only was the story unique, but visually it was put together very well from scene and sound placement, choice of music used, people interviewed, and the backstory that is told throughout the video. I would definitely say this documentary showed me something new, made me want to keep watching, and inspired my own interest in exploring more underground scenes.
Comparing digital and print magazines
When comparing digital and print magazines, interviews are interesting to take a look at. I love reading the actual interview in a print format, and having images to accompany the written work is important for both print and online, to make the overall story more captivating. But, digital magazines allow the publication to also input a video of the artist in action, or in this case: interview with "eva doležalová is all about empowering women," shows a short film. By doing this the reader doesn't have to leave the website -- because they have background information on the artist, the interview, and a video to display the work all on the same page.
Superior Magazine
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| Photo from www.superior-magazine.com |
The second digital magazine I looked at was "Superior Magazine," an international lifestyle and business magazine founded in Berlin, Germany. Flipping through, the first pages are dedicated to advertisements, background information, a page of the content for this edition, an editorial from the staff, about five pages dedicated to introducing the contributors, and a page on how to submit work for future editions.
The content throughout the magazine is fashion based, with more photos than actual articles. There's interviews and a focus on sustainable fashion. I would definitely say the layout is more modern and helps the photography pop. Especially the colors used, there's pastel and earth tones, that help create a calm, cool feel that compliments the photography, rather than distracting the reader. There are also pages with full photos, and pages with a lot of white space, color blocks, and over lapping photos -- I definitely think by doing this, the design highlights the work, except when there is a full photo in the center, right where the page turns. Other than that, the aesthetic of the magazine is appealing to the eye.
Towards the end of the magazine on pages 120-127 there is a section dedicated to "The Hope Issue." An editorial piece is concluded with an introduction to the editions topic "Hope." Following are a few pages highlighting people in design, marketing, and tech who demonstrate the personal impact of innovative ideas and "small change." Since this was the cover of the edition, I thought the placement should have been more towards the center of the publication, rather than the end. Also, rather than having the photos of the people talked about separate from the descriptions (on the next page), I thought it would have been more impactful to have them together, because as I was reading I wanted to see their faces, without having to click back and forth between pages.
Print Magazine: Prism
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| Photo from http://www.orangemedianetwork.com/prism/ |
While print magazines don't give you the experience digital magazines give with video story telling, the feeling you get from holding a magazine in your hand and turning the pages physically is something that makes print interactive in a unique way. To compare how the experience with print differs from a digital magazine, I picked up "The Unsung Intrinsic": the latest copy of Oregon State University's Art and Literature Magazine t"Prism."
The texture of paper used for this magazine has a smooth texture, that isn't too thin. After turning the first page, the beauty is really in the details of the page -- from the typography, filled with splashes of red and white, to the layered shades of black blended into the background. With art and photography, the design is similar to the "Superior Magazine" as far as overlapping images and large photos. But, there is a lot more contrasting colors in the background, resembling abstract strokes from a paintbrush.
Since I'm able to hold the publication there's a difference experience from being able to move each page in a different way to see a detail you may not have seen before. Personally, I enjoy this aspect of print better than zooming in on a digital publication.
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