Step Into the Closet - Written Assignment

My project was a digital representation of my senior thesis project. The original project was installed at RIC's Bannister Gallery. Because one had to physically be present in order to experience it, I thought to create a digital version of my project would be useful. It allowed for those who could not be present to experience my work. The title of my project is ‘Step into the Closet’. It is an audio visual experience that gives the perspective Straight, GLBTQ & Closeted individuals. This is important to me because we live in a society where phrases like "That’s gay" and "No Homo" are being used freely. Also, people always say things like, “Everyone knows they are gay, why don’t they just step out of the closet?!” My response is my project. I invite everyone to ‘Step into the Closet’ and get a gist of what it may feel like.

The use of digital technology definitely enhanced my project. I used a laptop to create my proposal and e-mail it to my professor and advisor for review. I used my iPhone4 to record my interviews. I edited all the audio on my laptop digitally. I created my badge designs and animations digitally. I used Animoto on my phone to create an animated slideshow with sound that showcased my actual printed badges hanging in the gallery. During my installation I used my iPhone to take photos and record video of my project. I used two laptop during my installation. One was in the closet playing the audio edit of my interviews on iTunes with the visualizer on. The other laptop was outside the closet next to the badges opened up to a website that I created which featured my animated badges, an embedded YouTube video of the ‘Outrage’ movie trailer and an audio collage I created about Pastor Eddie Long. Digital Technology allowed me to research the different politicians and religious figured I used for my ‘Gay Hypocrites’ portion of my project. It allowed me to find photos of them, get stories about them, create digital badge designs that represented their hidden lives which later became an animation to demonstrate my concept for the actual installation. Digital technology allowed me to e-mail the badges to RIC Campus Cards and have them print out real ID Badges from my digital design.

Digital technology also allowed for my to take a few days of physical installation and bring them online for the whole world to experience. It expands my reach and gets my message and creation out to the masses. That is very beneficial since I am trying to create awareness on issues that the mainstream media sheds little light on. This is an enhancement as far as receivership of message. It can be received by many more than before. But it changes the drama. I have greater control of lighting and space in a physical space than online. However there is no gain without a lost so overall I am proud to have greater accessibility to my work.

I remember in undergrad one professor changed my whole perspective on documentaries. Documentaries are my preferred movie genre because they are ‘real’. I came to learn that the job of the producer is to bring you their perspective. It isn’t that the information isn’t authentic, but the way edits are made, selected and played back can tell a multitude of different stories. The person producing the work has control over what they are trying to say, the point they are trying to drive home. In grad school I came to learn that this is called ‘framing’. Things in the media are framed to carry out certain messages and or ideologies. The actual text isn’t enough to look at, one has to see how the text is being framed. As producer of ‘Step into the Closet’ I am creating my desired perspective. I am selecting things that will back up the message I am delivering. The wording of the ‘Gay Hypocrites’ section for example, I could have titled it ‘Misunderstood Leaders’ or a multitude of things. Instead I made them into bad guys, the way you are going to receive my text is different than if I were to tone down the title. The same goes for the audio edit of the interviewees; there were so many different angles I could have approached because I had so much material. But my ending for example was meant to be heartfelt. It’s difficult being gay is my message. It’s difficult to be out of the closet, and here is why. The was the framework in my ‘Step into the Closet’ piece. I challenge the dominant ideology with this piece. Politicians and religious leaders are exposed. Gay rights, injustices and issues are put at the forefront. My ‘Gay Hypocrites’ challenges most of the categories within the SCWAAMP. First of all, they aren’t Straight (their sexuality is in question), The Christians are sinning with infidelity, drug usage, sexual abuse on minors etcetera. The White, Able-body, American ideology prevails, the majorities of the subjects in the ‘Gay Hypocrites’ are White Able-bodied Americans. As for Maleness and Property Owning, they start of that way but in the end those things are being challenged. How manly are they if they’re ‘gay’? I am not saying I believe that gay men are not ‘manly’ but the ideology is that they are not. This is one of the things that these men are fighting the most. By being extra Straight-acting Manly Men is how they get to fly under the radar, thought a Gaydar can detect these things. For the property-holding portion of SCWAAMP, I would like to use Ted Haggard as an example. He was founder of The New Life Church and has now lost thing material possession after his gay scandal. He is now at a different church, so has now gained a different property/business but the point is when challenging the dominant ideology you can lose in multiple areas. I wonder, are non-straight men even considered ‘able-bodied’?

I had never imagined my physical project becoming an overall digital experience, especially via a blog. I registed with Tumblr a year ago and never made it past 1 post. As a designer I would never want to use a CMS (Content Management System) to build a site. I took the challenge and am glad I did. I learned a lot about the different online programs that are available to help make things ‘easier’ for you. It takes time to research and learn these technologies plus stay current, but when you do some things can actually be helpful. It is important to move with the times and this project challenged me to do so. Dip into the blogging world and leave my digital mark.