Asian's Only Club
Multi-nodal Interactive Film
A practice-based final research project in the form of a 30 minute Interactive Film for MA Digital Media Production at UCL. The project scored a distinction for a final dissertation in the course for 2020.
Filled with multi-nodal choices to reinforce the participatory spectator, ASIAN'S ONLY CLUB explores how racial stereotypes and Asian representations are portrayed and circulated through popular media, specifically in a Facebook group “Subtle Asian Traits” by members of Asian descent through semiotic language and performativity.
https://video.eko.com/v/Aq4OGp?autoplay=true Password: dtnvydy
Project Abstract
This project explores how racial stereotypes (specifically Asian representations) are portrayed and enacted through memes, specifically in a Facebook group “Subtle Asian Traits” by members of Asian descent. Drawing on meme theory, semiotic research, and performative identity, this study explores how performative rituals of meme creation and circulation can manifest into encouragement of self-portrayed stereotypes or ‘aesthetics’. Thus, performative identity may be confused as cultural identity as these specific memes manifest false truths about certain racial groups.
Practice-based research shall be conducted by creating a 30-min interactive film with multi-nodal choices that may encourage reflection on the discourses of cultural identity represented in specific racial memes. This reinforces the idea of the participatory spectator, as specifically portrayed scenes through live-acting and video editing shall hope to convey the semiotic myths regulated and circulated by members of the Facebook group. The film shall be enacted and filmed by the researcher herself with no participants, focusing on the creative process.
Therefore, the main research objective is to explore how a multi-nodal interactive film uses semiotic languages through audio and visual editing to explore different discourses of cultural and performative identity circulated through racial memes in Subtle Asian Traits in order to provoke reflection on the construction and deconstruction of Asian stereotypes. The study will also include a reflective analysis of the researcher’s production process: translating racial memes from different digital formats (static images and text into video) into multi-nodal narratives for film in order to understand a meme’s coded message from the dual perspective of a creator and a visual recipient.
Methodology
Literary Research
Categorical Analysis and
Case Studies
Screenwriting
Production
Post-production
Export
Literature review on semiotics, meme creation, and the fluidity of cultural identity when recreated and laughed at by a specific group.
Categorising and choosing 4 main groups of Asian stereotypes in Subtle Asian Traits and Dating while identifying the main discourses and analysing the hidden distress through meme exchanges. This led to building character arcs based on these personalities.
Screenwriting process starts in Twine as a multi-nodal narrative branching frame. A standard 3 Act Structure was followed to target 3 main discourses in each act: The ABG culture, Weeb vs. Koreaboo mishap, and Parental Discipline and attitudes.
Begin filming and posing cinematography to self-act each personalities.
Edit each plot-thread with CapCut, an app specifically used for TikTok and content creating to emulate the 'meme-creating' style for semiotic signalling. This includes creating UI text and assets for the film.
Interweaving final narrative nodes in EKO and ensuring all dialogue, character arcs, and UI texts are all logically consistent through each plot nodal branch.
