Thesis outline Irma
Introduction outline : What-How-Why
WHAT
I want my thesis to be about the cause and effect of storytelling, the methods of the rhetorics behind the manipulation. The manner that a story is told is very relevant to judge the trustworthiness of the information. But how important is it that a story is true? Is there is such a thing as Plato call's a noble lie? What is noble? Was Edward Bernays intention noble if we would analyze his book organizing Choas? I think I believe there is an ultimate truth, but couldn't you say that the truth is always subjective interpretation? That there would always exist an alternative version of my interpretation of truth and therefore I could never tell the truth?
HOW
The idea is to frame my thesis in a magazine structure, You could think of fictional interviews, small essays, film review, comics, etc. I think it is interesting to shape my thesis story into a form that connects to the target audience I'm aiming for: Interested in art, but doesn't feel they have the time for a pack of A4's. Hereby, I would like to keep in mind the writing "rules" from George Orwell, to shape information in an approachable way. This form is the apple-sauce and the information/knowledge the necessary vegetables you need to eat to be healthy.
CLICK HERE FOR MAGAZINE MOODBOARD PROPOSAL
I would like to ask some help from others, for example:
- I would like a fellow artist to make illustrations by some of the essays.
- I would like to ask a Storyboard Artist to create a scene from one from the movie. example
WHY
With this thesis I want to accomplish several things:
- to give the reader more insight into my work and related subjects.
- Get a clear understanding of theory I'm working with and how it connects to my work.
Preface - So what's the point of this thesis?
In my artistic practice, I like to play with the language of communication and how this influence the interpretation of the audience. My work method, in a nutshell, is to analyze a recipe of a familiar visual communication language, then use these rhetorics to plays with the expectation of the public, often I try to create a tipping point in the project to express my comments or to create awareness on the theme I'm working with.
Rhetoric in communication is used on a day to day bases and does affect us if we like it or not. These often well-known tricks are done in commercial marketing, but the seeds seem to have been spread through politics and mass media communication. Could you say that in every form of information, there is a profit to be made? And if the information is offered for free it is then likely that the receiver is the product? This brings the receiver in a difficult position, they have to judge the intentions of the sender before they can accept the information as the truth. This thesis is representing my own personal struggle: I do believe there is an ultimate truth, an event happens in one way, not multiple ways, but can you ever escape from someone's own interpretation? In my opinion, there is no such thing as an objective point. Believing in a truthful reproduction of an event therefor makes me feel naive.
So where does this interpretation bring us? Should we still aim for the truth, even if we are not capable of bringing across a truthful story? Should the responsibility shift back to the receiver instead of the sender? Should you judge a truthful story on your gut feelings? What is more important the intention of the sender or a truthful story? Is a noble lie acceptable? I'm interested in the difference between presenting the bright side and claiming an alternative fact.
ESSAY : The history of the spindocter
When did the marketing approach penetrate into Mass Media Communication and how this influences our daily view of information? Did politics change when Edward Bernays started advising President John Calvin Coolidge Jr.? Was this the moment marketing tactics entered politics? And what would happen if the gossip around Mark Zuckerberg running for the presidency would be true? How far can he influence our opinion with all the data he collected over the years? Let's assume there are politicians whit good intentions and want to tell the truth and confidence the public with honest facts, what do they have to do to fight back? Does the good guy need a better spindoctor?
- News- The war on facts
- Trump VS Press
- Noam Chomsky VS Press filters
- Is Edward Bernays appearance in politics the tipping point?
Bibliography for this article
- No Is Not Enough, Naomi Klein
- No logo, Naomi Klein
- Requiem for the American Dream- Noam Chomsky
- Moral, Political, Literary by David Haume
- MANUFACTURING CONSENT The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky (1988)
- Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky And The Media-The Companion Book To The Award-Winning Film by Peter Wintonick and Mark Achbar (1994)
- The Propaganda Model: a retrospective by Edward S. Herman
- The Century of the Self -Adam Curtis
- Post-truth by Matthew Dáncona
ESSAY : I'm online, therefore I am
Is it a freedom or a duty to representing yourself as a persona in online media? This article is a research connected to the fictional character Margarita who is a famous social media personality in my graduation film. In this article I what to hit the following topics.
Case studies:
- Rachel Dolezal - a white woman pretending to be black.
- Zjesus Zila - art project of a student from the HKU who pretended online to be on Holiday while she was staying in holland.
- Merel Brugman https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/boze-merel-populaire-scriptie-over-schijnreis-is-jatwerk~a919e799/
Do & Dont's online:
- What is the business model for an influential (this is someone who earns their living with sharing their life)
Bibliography for this article
Philosophy:
- Essay on representing a persona - Het weerzinwekkende lot van de oude filosoof Socrates by Connie Palmen
- De Zonde van de vrouw - Connie Palmen She analyzes 4 women on self-destruction
- Jacques Lacan - mirror stage
- Maybe connect the movie The Truman Show by Peter Weir
- Documentary: PBS Frontline 2014 Generation Like Documentary: PBS Frontline 2014 Generation Like
Mindmap on documentary
Research and mood board about Saksin. He is a Dutchman who lives in a caravan in Portugal and declared himself a sovereign citizen. He sees himself as The Tachyon Energy Facilitator who cures people with different problems. In these pages of my thesis, I want to create a mindmap of my research of Saksin. It would almost look like an investigation wall of a private detective, with pictures, small notes, connections. With this visual essay, I want to give the reader insight into the ingredients a filmmaker uses to create a story of this character, at the same time it gives the reader information on the meaning of a sovereign citizen and philosophy of Tachyon Energy.
BLIND MEETING: Charlie Kaufman meets Edward Bernays
This would be a fictional meeting of these two characters, they debate about the responsibility of the storyteller.
Charlie Kaufman: a screenplay writer and filmmaker. In his work and lectures fighting against storytelling tactics and rules. In my opinion he is an insecure character who is struggling with his aim for sincereness realizing how vulnerable for manipulation you are as a human being.
Edward Bernays: The father of public relations, using his uncle's theories, Sigmund Freud, to manipulate the public. He thinks most people are stupid and need to be manipulated by self-appointed superior beings.
Bibliography for this article
- The Century of the Self -Adam Curtis
- Propaganda - Edward Bernays
- The Father of Spin - Larry Tye
- Inspirational writing advice from Charlie Kaufman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfXcWT_oFs
- GIFF 2011: Charlie Kaufman master class https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpjgjJqayxI
- KVIFF TALK with Charlie Kaufman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_-xiPLhaSk
ESSAY: The art of lying
Is there something like a noble lie? (Plato) In this article, I want to research some artists and projects where they lied for the greater good. In my opinion, this is by using the technique of lying with the intention to create a discussion or reveal a point of view on the world. Hereby I would also like to reflect on my work and methods where I play with the rhetorics to create attention.
I will write something about:
- The Yes Men, they annalize and present themselves using a certain language to be accepted by a target market, then creating a tipping point to reveal the hoax, we've lied to you, but for the greater good, to open your eyes.
- Floris Kaayk
- Video lecture about marketing, an actress is pretending to be a marketer while she shares passionate insides of her profession the viewer assumes it's a similar format as the famous Tedtalks videos. The lecture starts light and funny, and there are two tipping points. The first one is when she presents cheerfully how marketing techniques are used to make the consumer feel better about the torturing animals, the atmosphere changes while the audience feels tricked. And the second one when she reveals her true intention, to hold up a mirror and make them realize they are part of this problem.see my notes on this page Analisis of Video: e-talks - The Secret of food marketing
Bibliography for this article
- Article: The Yes Men by Steve Lambert, Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum. Source: BOMB, No. 107 (Spring, 2009), pp. 78-83
- Ted Talk - How to become a yes man | The Yes Men | TEDxCalArts (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOCUdvK8-U
- Documentary: The YES men The Yes Men (2003)
- Documentary: The Yes Men Fix the World (2009)
- Documentary: The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014)
- Interview Floris Kaayk - “The dream is still a dream” by Frenk van der Linden - Interviews TEDxAms 2013, Technology.
https://tedx.amsterdam/2013/11/floris-kaayk-the-dream-is-still-a-dream-interview/
- Interview Floris Kaayk- by Ester Naomi for Nooit meer slapen VPRO Radio (2016, April)
- Compassion in World Farming, developers of the campaign to create awareness of food marketing. https://www.ciwf.org.uk/about-us/
VISUAL EXTRA'S: SCENE OF STORYBOARD
I would like to ask a Storyboard Artist to create a scene from one from the movie. The website www.fiverr.com there are several artist affering their tallents, I would like to give one of them a short scene of the script. This could function as a small metaphor. It is connected to my graduation film, but is understandeble for someone who is not familiair with the work.
VISUAL EXTRA'S: CHARACTER MOODBOARDS
To give the reader some insights behind the making process of the graduation film.
Bibliography total
- No Is Not Enough, Naomi Klein
- No logo, Naomi Klein
- MANUFACTURING CONSENT The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky (1988)
- Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky And The Media-The Companion Book To The Award-Winning Film by Peter Wintonick and Mark Achbar (1994)
- The Propaganda Model: a retrospective by Edward S. Herman
- Documentary 'Requiem for the American Dream' (2015) - Noam Chomsky
- Het einde van de Americaanse droom- Noam Chomsky (book based on Documentary 'Requiem for the American Dream (2015)'
- Post-truth by Matthew Dáncona
- The Century of the Self -Adam Curtis
- Propaganda - Edward Bernays
- The Father of Spin - Larry Tye
- Inspirational writing advice from Charlie Kaufman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfXcWT_oFs
- GIFF 2011: Charlie Kaufman master class https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpjgjJqayxI
- KVIFF TALK with Charlie Kaufman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_-xiPLhaSk==
- The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation
- "The Big Other doesn't exist" - Slavoj Zizek
- The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
- Jacques Lacan - mirror stage
- We are our brain - Dr Swaab
- Wired for Story telling - Lisa Cron
- Thinking fast and slow - Daniel Kahneman
- Plotting and Writing suspense fiction - Patrica Highsmith
- Article: The Yes Men by Steve Lambert, Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum. Source: BOMB, No. 107 (Spring, 2009), pp. 78-83
- Ted Talk - How to become a yes man | The Yes Men | TEDxCalArts (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOCUdvK8-U
- Documentary: The YES men The Yes Men (2003)
- Documentary: The Yes Men Fix the World (2009)
- Documentary: The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014)
- Interview Floris Kaayk - “The dream is still a dream” by Frenk van der Linden - Interviews TEDxAms 2013, Technology.
https://tedx.amsterdam/2013/11/floris-kaayk-the-dream-is-still-a-dream-interview/
- Interview Floris Kaayk- by Ester Naomi for Nooit meer slapen VPRO Radio (2016, April)
- Compassion in World Farming, developers of the campaign to create awareness of food marketing. https://www.ciwf.org.uk/about-us/
Link to 5 summaries
Link to 5 summaries of relevant articles, books or videos in 200 words
Philosophy
- Essay on representing a persona - Het weerzinwekkende lot van de oude filosoof Socrates by Connie Palmen
- De Zonde van de vrouw - Connie Palmen She analyzes 4 women on self-destruction
- Plato - the notion of the noble lie
- Aristotle
- Nietzsche - there are no facts, only interpretations
- theory on Self-overcoming, trying to become a better version of your self, become who you really are, aim to be a superman (ubermensch)
- Own up to Envy, use it as a guide to what we really want. See what you envy as a goal or role model.
- Don't be a Christian (or don't follow
- Never drink alcohol
- God is death
- The religion of comfortableness
- theory on Self-overcoming, trying to become a better version of your self, become who you really are, aim to be a superman (ubermensch)