Midterm Media Project
For my midterm project I have chosen to discuss: Kung Fu Hustle and the struggle of imagined communities. I chose to present my topic through an image I made on Pixlr. When thinking about the various topics we could talk about in this project, I was drawn to imagined communities because I found the subject interesting and Kung Fu Hustle came across as a movie that this topic was prevalent in and could be related to in various aspects.
The reason I chose this form of media was to be able to create an image that represented the topics I would be discussing in my write up. I took some of the things I learned in the Pixlr workshop to create an image. The image I created features Sing in the middle balancing a number of communities he tries to be a part of in each of his hands. It represents his struggle to find a community to which he feels he belongs because he faces many obstacles when entering into new situations. In one hand, he’s balancing his relationship with Bone, his childhood friend Fong and the kids who bullied them, and going into Pigsty Alley when pretending to be part of the Axe Gang. On the other hand he balances being a Kung Fu master and the Axe Gang. I think this image depicts how each individual is a part of various imagined communities, but also often tries to be a part of communities to which they are not always welcomed into. It represents finding a balance and finding communities to which you feel you embody and can be yourself in. Being a part of communities is important and these communities can be exclusive. There are social, economic and political ties often associated with imagined communities. These communities establish power and imagined communities are everywhere because it is people who create them and who decided who belongs and who does not.
When creating this media, one thing I found difficult was creating an image that got across my message. I wanted it to be simple, but at the same time I did not want to make the message too obvious or too confusing. I think it is important to make an image that many people can understand. I thought an image was an easy way to capture all of my ideas into one media that could be looked at quickly and hopefully be understood as soon as the audience saw it.
The image seeks to describe Sing’s battle with imagined communities and finding his place. As we discussed in class, there are limits as to who can be a part of these communities and that is determined by the in-group. Sing sees communities such as the Axe Gang that he desires to be a part of, so he imitates them when going into Pigsty Alley. When it comes to Fong and the childhood bullies, he tried to protect her, but instead he was bullied himself. He keeps trying to fit into places, but each time he is unwelcomed. The community such as Pigsty Alley, is a community of people living in the slums, but who have a commonality and fight to protect each other.
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- ASPA Final Portfolio Julia Tanabe