Comfort Media: Blog Post 2
For my story, I would like to do a piece about the concepts of media comfort and nostalgia, and how certain pieces of mass media can be comforting during times of stress and difficult situations. People tend to lean towards certain pieces of media, including movies, books, and TV shows when they need to relax or are stressed. An excellent example of this phenomenon is the COVID 19 pandemic. Whether it was Tiger King or Avatar The Last Airbender, everyone was binging something. Society was watching more TV shows and movies, reading more books, and listening to more music than they were previously. I intend to interview UNC students about the media they consumed during quarantine. I particularly want to focus on pieces of media they may have revisited, as well as pieces of media from their childhood they find comforting or nostalgic. I want to explore the reasoning behind people’s reliance on entertainment media. Does rewatching TV shows provide a sense of comfort because they already know what’s coming? Do they like rereading books from childhood because they are reminded of a simpler time?
I have decided to use Instagram as the platform to tell my story. My intended audience is UNC students, and I feel that I can reach more UNC students via Instagram, rather than Facebook or another platform. Instagram generally has younger users than other social media platforms. Instagram also has several features that I can utilize, including IG Stories, IG Live, and IG Reels. I can use secondary platforms, like Twitter or Facebook, to steer attention to my main story.
I will interview and record a minimum of ten students, either from my classes or that live in my hall. I already have five students who have agreed, but I will ask more this week. I do want to ask the students for specific titles of media that they have consumed, but I want the primary focus of the interviews to be more about why they consumed media, not what media they consumed. I will also focus on general trends from the interviews to incorporate into my story. This way, my story can also show what pieces of media are popular with UNC students. It can provide recommendations for people looking for something new.
I would like to take a picture of each student I interview to serve as a portion of the visual aspect of my story. In order to keep a theme to my visuals, I will take all of the pictures in the same place. There is a tree near my residence hall that I think could serve as a unique background. I will also incorporate pictures of the pieces of media I get from students in the interviews. This will include pictures of movie or TV show posters, and book or album covers.
Ultimately, I want my piece to explore the reasoning behind society’s reliance on media not only for entertainment, but also to provide a sense of security and peace during times of distress.
