proper essay proposal

Question

HOW IS THE IDEA OF HAPPINESS CONSTRUCTED IN A CONSUMERIST SOCIETY?

Significance

I've been aware of various articles in recent times detailing the supposed demise of the western world in pursuit of material happiness. I'm also interested in the idea of happiness being a fixed ideal to obtain, and how anti-consumerist ideals of happiness could also be damaging, although this may not be relevant or there might not be enough time to discuss this in my essay, depending on the results of my research.

I'm also interested in class systems too, particularly how the middle class function (or don't).

 Resources

Liquid Life by Zygmunt Bauman

The Status Seekers by Vance Packard

Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard

The Waste Makers by Vance Packard

The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord

A User's Guide to Capitalism and Schizophrenia by Brian Massumi

The Rebel Sell by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter

Lifestyle Shopping: The Subject of Consumption by Rob Shields

• The Promise of Happiness http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uOAPdbhSpksC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=happiness&ots=lagOYXNmS5&sig=Dlb-LZHAE0rk-8XFn5-4tU1UELI#v=onepage&q=happiness&f=false
• Smile or Die http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YLb1148-VWcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=smile+or+die&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JDl6VMzDKcflywOE6IHIBQ&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=smile%20or%20die&f=false
• A Virtuous Cycle: The Relationship Between Happiness and Virtuosity  http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2309566

Methods

I will be researching consumerist attitudes to happiness over quite a large period of time. I plan on reading books from Vance Packard and seeing how they are still relevant to today, if at all.

I am unsure of how my own illustrated response to this will be taken. I imagine a reportage based work could be relevant, or even a fact based one. It's hard to imagine in such advance time especially before finding the results of my research.

Limitations

I will be focusing on this culture of happiness and achievement in the western world, particularly in the UK and US as that is where I have the most access to information about. I imagine that the perception of happiness and success is different from country to country, particularly in regards to political views (i.e. a capitalist society probably has very different views to a communist one etc). It would be good to focus on UK views only but as our media often intertwines so much it might be hard to seperate the two.

Essay Plan

• Introduction, describing the significance of this project. (300 words)
• Main Body (2400 words). I'd like to be able to integrate visual examples and academic research together. I feel this would create a more cohesive essay. Some possible points to look at:
• perceptions of happiness as material wealth
• perceptions of happiness as academic achievement/ career success
• perceptions of material wealth / academic achievement / career success being particularly middle class things
• backlash to 'middle class' happiness ideals. is it damaging to be pressured into being happy in any way? 

• Conclusion, summarising the findings of this project and my personal views on this (300 words)

possible essay proposals

I am still a little confused about the direction of my project! I want to keep with the theme of modern life (and the woes that come with it) but I realise that wiping the slate clean and working with something more specific might enhance my ability to create something new. Up until this point I have been tangling myself in knots with a broad and strange theme idea.

some more specific themes derivitive of MODERN ANXIETIES

• technology (and social media)

• privacy

• health

• finance

• careers

• social standing

• education

• effects of advertising

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POSSIBLE ESSAY PROPOSALS

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topic: society / technology
question/ problem: social media: really as bad as we like to think?

 I am aware that the topic of social media and technology is a well trodden road. I'd like to find something new and interesting to add to the debate. I am also aware that a lot of time is spent on complaining about social media itself. Is this also damaging?

Social media has a big part to play in current movements and uprising, protests etc. It can also bring out the worst in people, in 'trolling'. However, for this investigation I would like to investigate the role of social media on a small scale level, and how it affects the 'average' person. I feel that, whilst very important topics to discuss, it would create a subject too broad for 3000 words.

BUT, currently, I am finding it hard to find scholarly articles and illustrations on how social media benefits us (and not just as corporations and businesses)

intended reading:

• Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business (http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DVicH8gBq6EC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=social+media&ots=S-_ZF6NDib&sig=ZnAOoUd7glMTv2gdVe-EPJl-uMQ#v=onepage&q=social%20media&f=false)

• Social Media & Mobile Internet Use among Teens and Young Adults. Millennials (http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED525056)

• ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn (http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/35/2/199.full)

• A social history of the media: from Gutenberg to the internet.  /  Briggs, Asa  &  Burke, Peter  (2009)

some images in relation to this topic:

Jean Jullien

Istvan Banyai

Kate Prior

Luke Pearson

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topic: society / culture
question/ problem: is a culture of happiness and achievement actually making us not very happy at all? // what does it mean to be happy? (at what cost?)

I suppose this question ties into the more general theme that I had before but was having difficulty expressing.

I will be focusing on this culture of happiness and achievement in the western world, particularly in the UK and US as that is where I have the most access to information about. I imagine that the perception of happiness and success is different from country to country, particularly in regards to political views (i.e. a capitalist society probably has very different views to a communist one etc). It would be good to focus on UK views only but as our media often intertwines so much it might be hard to seperate the two.

intended reading:

• The Promise of Happiness http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uOAPdbhSpksC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=happiness&ots=lagOYXNmS5&sig=Dlb-LZHAE0rk-8XFn5-4tU1UELI#v=onepage&q=happiness&f=false
• Smile or Die http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YLb1148-VWcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=smile+or+die&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JDl6VMzDKcflywOE6IHIBQ&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=smile%20or%20die&f=false
• A Virtuous Cycle: The Relationship Between Happiness and Virtuosity  http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2309566
• Liquid Life by Zygmunt Bauman

Possible brief essay structure:

• introduction
• perceptions of happiness as material wealth
• perceptions of happiness as academic achievement/ career success
• perceptions of material wealth / academic achievement / career success being particularly middle class things
• backlash to 'middle class' happiness ideals. is it damaging to be pressured into being happy in any way? 
• visual examples /OR/ tie these in with each topic as/if appropriate
• conclusion

some images in relation to this topic:

Laurent Ciluffo

Tutorial: Progress Roundup, Feedback + Thoughts

I began by looking at a cover from a book that discusses the class system, and some of the then modern anxieties of the time. The book is scholarly, formal and distanced from the people in question, much like the illustration itself. Looking at modern day illustrations on modern anxieties, and often their accompanying articles, the stance is personal. I am a little concerned that the two subjects may be too unrelated, so perhaps in the final article I will look elsewhere than to the previous illustration I wrote about. Interestingly, the same illustration is used for a similar book cover for another book by Vance Packard about advertising, which may tie in nicely with the following:

It has been suggested that I look at illustrator's responses to modern anxieties as before, but also the illustrations, particularly in advertising, that perpetuate these feelings. This will hopefully create a rounded essay with lots of scope.

The Status Seekers Book Cover Analysis- revisions, quotes and other related images

The Status Seekers is a book about the ever present class system in 1950s/1960 America and the societal expectations and anxieties of the then modern man. It particularly focuses on middle class ideologies- a broader debate rather than a specific event. The cover is illustrated by Larry Carter as part of the Pelican division of Penguin. It is a scholarly book, perhaps almost ironically aimed at the middle class whilst also criticising them- as many modern articles on the topic are too!

I cannot be sure of the media used. Whether it originated as a print or not it has now been mass produced through the medium of print to become a book cover. It can be inferred that the image was designed in mind of the book, rather than a design choice from an art director to use a pre-existing piece of work as the cover.

It is clean, bold, graphic, true to the modernist thinking of the time. Modernist design suggests progressiveness in a forward thinking book. It has been said that 'The first characteristic associated with modernism is nihilism, the rejection of all religious and moral principles as the only means of obtaining social progress'. It seems that this book, as a critique of pre-existing social systems, would be of personal interest to Larry Carter, as a Modernist designer, and made him a very appropriate choice of artist too. 

And so I suppose the book itself too can be said as a piece of Modernist thinking. On the very first page of the main text it outlines its desire to deconstruct the class system and preconceived social expectations. 'In such a climate, do the barriers and humiliating distinctions of social class evaporate?' (Packard, 1969: 11).

The composition is similar to other Pelican books of the time. This uniformity creates brand recognition across the titles. This particular cover also works as part of its own series, the same image used slightly different on another of Vance Packard's titles, The Hidden Persuaders. A strange or lazy choice perhaps, but one that creates a sense of cohesion and recognisability between the two. There is a clear connection and it is suggested that the two be read as a pair.

fig.1

fig.2

It is abstract. Two eyes creep from the bottom of the image, half obscured. From them, what appears to be a path leads up eventually to a symbolic house. The road is zig-zagged. The distance of the house from the eyes suggests that the symbol lies there in place of the mind, or perhaps a crown. The height suggests a hierarchy between the house and the eyes/ person. In conjunction with the text it soon becomes clear that this is about status as the title suggests, the house being a classic indicator of financial status- a high up dream just out of reach. The zig-zagged path suggests a journey, which could indicate that this book could be documenting said journey, perhaps as a help guide. But the eyes, wide and dark suggest a madness within the method! And of course, the blatant title would never suit the self-effacing middle classes. Nobody would admit that they were aiming for this 'status'.

Forty or so years later from this book, and image, class systems remain prevalent. And this zig-zagged journey is still a race felt by many. Whilst 'The Status Seekers' deals with the class system as a whole a lot of writing and illustration on these subjects now (particularly editorial) feels more inward gazing, more personal and caring for the 'victim' who suffers at the hand of this as opposed to battling an oppressive system. Books such as 'Liquid Life' discuss how modern life is 'a precarious life, lived under conditions of constant uncertainty' (Bauman, 2007:2)

On the other hand the stark eyes of the book cover for 'The Status Seekers' remain anonymous and unrelatable. The viewer does not relate to the image, but rather looks upon it as an obstacle to overcome.

MORE ILLUSTRATIONS IN RESPONSE TO SIMILAR THEMES

fig.3

fig.4

fig.5

fig.6

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Packard, V (1969) 'The Status Seekers' 7th ed. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books Ltd
• Bauman, Z (2007) 'Liquid Life'  3rd ed. Cambridge, Polity Press

• 'History of Modernism' [internet], US, MDC.edu, available from <https://www.mdc.edu/wolfson/Academic/ArtsLetters/art_philosophy/Humanities/history_of_modernism.htm> [accessed 05/11/2014]

• fig.1, Larry Carter, 1969, 'The Status Seekers', book cover, available from <http://www.retronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Pelican-Covers-60s-5.jpg?fit=300%2C10000>
• fig.2, Larry Carter, 1969, 'The Hidden Persuaders', book cover, available from <http://www.thingsmagazine.net/projects/1960s/1962%20The%20Hidden%20Persuaders%20-%20Vance%20Packard.jpg>
• fig.3 Harry Campbell, 2013, 'The Baby in the Well', editorial illustration, available from <http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/130520_r23373_g2048-902.jpg>
• fig.4 Monica Ramos, 2014, 'Microbes Gone Wild', editorial illustration, available from <https://medium.com/re-form/microbes-gone-wild-7c8e43e450e>
• fig.5 Angela Wang, 2014, 'NY Times Private Lives Column', editorial illustration, available from <http://36.media.tumblr.com/2bdd57c0120f4be300e0754446d035f2/tumblr_nbzdkwG8kv1qc5s0vo1_1280.jpg>
• fig.6 Luke Pearson, 2011 'How To Exist for A Day', comic, available from <http://www.squidfaceandthemeddler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/exist-1.jpg>

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POSSIBLE THEMES TO ARISE FROM THIS...

• social ideologies / pressures of the modern world / modern anxieties 
• (continuing from those themes) self-obsession
• class systems

study task three feedback

 

 

The Status Seekers Cover by Larry Carter- Critical Analysis

The Status Seekers is a book about the ever present class system in 1950s/1960 America. It particularly focuses on middle class ideologies- a broader debate rather than a specific event. The cover is illustrated by Larry Carter as part of the Pelican division of Penguin. It is a scholarly book, perhaps almost ironically aimed at the middle class whilst also criticising them- as many modern articles on the topic are too!

I cannot be sure of the media used. Whether it originated as a print or not it has now been mass produced through the medium of print to become a book cover. It is clean, bold, graphic, true to the modernist thinking of the time. Modernist design suggests progressiveness in a forward thinking book.

The composition is similar to other Pelican books of the time. This uniformity creates brand recognition across the titles. This particular cover also works as part of its own series, the same image used slightly different on another of Vance Packard's titles, The Hidden Persuaders. A strange or lazy choice perhaps, but one that creates a sense of cohesion and recognisability between the two. There is a clear connection and it is suggested that the two be read as a pair.

It is abstract. Two eyes creep from the bottom of the image, half obscured. From them, what appears to be a path leads up eventually to a symbolic house. The road is zig-zagged. The distance of the house from the eyes suggests that the symbol lies there in place of the mind, or perhaps a crown. The height suggests a hierarchy between the house and the eyes/ person. In conjunction with the text it soon becomes clear that this is about status as the title suggests, the house being a classic indicator of financial status- a high up dream just out of reach. The zig-zagged path suggests a journey, which could indicate that this book could be documenting said journey, perhaps as a help guide. But the eyes, wide and dark suggest a madness within the method! And of course, the blatant title would never suit the self-effacing middle classes. Nobody would admit that they were aiming for this 'status'.

study task two

illustrations on social psychology / daily life

Cover from The Status Seekers (1969) illustrator unknown

The Honest Truth about Dishonesty (2012) Ping Zhu

Missed Connection (2004) Adrian Tomine

Don't Fear the Cybermind (2012) Luke Ramsey

Since the last seminar I have had a change of mind in regards of topic, namely because I am not sure that my past topic was fit for the project/ had enough social scope. Now I am considering elements of daily interactions, western culture and middle class ideologies but am still not sure in the direction I will be taking this project.

In correction of the last study task I found this:

The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman (1961) 306

... a book broad in its exploration of social psychology and class systems.

On the other hand...

I am also interested in the topic of feminism, but am unsure as to which direction I would take this very broad subject. 

Inside A Rape Trial (2006) Laura Carlin

Gender Inequality in the Senate, Ping Zhu

The Pro-Feminist Press (2012) Kim Cowie

study task one

"The History of The Future" by Christophe Canto and Odile Faliu

reference: 741.603

I picked up this book as a starting point to the theme of Technology but also as one that could cross over into the themes of History and possibly Society. At this point I am uncertain as to what direction I would like my project to go to, but I feel that this is a broad starting point that could go towards the possible idea of utopias (society), space travel (technology) and more. The book also offers a visual standpoint as well as a conceptual one.