The DRAG Way

Intro to Capstone Topic.

Under the circumstances of not being sure what my capstone will be, I chose one of the most interesting options that I have thus far, Drag Show. Every year Shepherd University host a Drag Show, that I have not yet had the pleasure of attending, so when I was presented with an opportunity to get my hands in the Drag Show that is being hosted this year; I made sure to snag it. I have little knowledge of what a Drag Show is so; I decided to collect some resources on both the origins of which Drag Shows derived, and the contemporary aspect of what a Drag Queen/King performance what consist of.

Source One- The Great Drag Queen Hype

While reviewing my first source, I learned that Drag was a taboo thing back when it first became known in the 1960's. It comes as no surprise how unaccepting people were during this time, in fact, a well renowned Drag Queen that went by the name "Flawless Sabrina" was arrested three times on the account of dressing in Drag to promote her award winning film "The Queen." In following years, Drag has emerged into various subcultures and, while reading this article, I have learned that to understand the art of Drag means to understand the social construct of gender identity and the evolution to which it has become today. There are a range of identities discussed and you can make the conclusion that Drag is not, only, just for the contemporary aspect but is an essential factor in the globalisation of subcultures and deep expression of gender identity which isn't a new concept but a concept that is still in development. 

Staging the Image 

In this article, it lays out the contemporary performance of which the Drag Queen/King embodies. It tells me all about the imagery and the movements which are crucial to the drag performance, a Drag Show is meant to draw you into an exotic, ethereal, otherworldly space. Emphasis on movement is evident in this article, as it seems to be on of, if not the most, important aspect of the contemporary draw of a Drag performance. The example they use throughout this is the stage production of "Pent Up," they dissect the production to highlight the important characteristics of what a Drag Show look like, should feel like. 

Concluding

What I believe is most important in going through these sources is that I'm learning, way more in depth than anticipated, what being apart of Drag really means and how important it is for those with various gender identities. This helps with my capstone, because in helping with the Drag Show, I will be in charge of the strategic social media plan and it is helpful for me to have a deep understanding of Drag. Without that understanding, I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to the creative process and many other aspects that come with it. 

Comm Capstone = Unlimited Options

Capstone! Capstone! Capstone!

The options for my Communications' capstone are limitless, it was really tough to choose one specific project to focus on. Therefore, I didn't choose, at least not yet. I am taking on multiple projects that can be used for my capstone. Working with Program Board at Shepherd University has provided me with opportunities to dive into different aspects of the Comm field. 

That being said, I am stuck between an event management project, a promotions and advertising project, and a marketing project with a little social media facet thrown in. If I could find a way to incorporate all of these, that would be great. However, I am not sure that is the safest route. I am deciding to weigh out my options after receiving more detail about each event, then I will have an answer.

Now that I think about it, Social Media Marketing is sounding really great as I type this blog. 

Wright Brothers Successfully Launch the First Engine-Powered Flight

In Kitty Hawk, North Carolina the first ever engine-powered flight has been launched, Dec., 17, 1903. Orville and Wilbur Wright are the brothers behind the successful self-propelling flight that stayed aloft for a total of 12 seconds covering 120 feet.

What are "The Persuaders?"

"Break Through the Clutter"

Marketing Clutter is a scary sight.

An interesting phrase that was used often in this Frontline video is  “breaking through the clutter.” Throughout the use of the phrase; I was trying to figure out what exactly it was they meant by this and later realized it was about being spontaneous. Taking a chance in a creative way is what breaking through the clutter is all about. In the Advertising industry, you have to think about what the consumer wants and how to collaborate and make it work for both your client and the consumer.

Immunity

In relation to breaking through the clutter, the video also address the immunity consumers endure when living in an "advertising dominant' world. With immunity comes the urge to take more risk because advertisement is no longer capturing the interest of the consumer, making newer brands hard to reach them. The idea of building an immunity to advertisement is interesting to me because I never thought about that, but with immunity you don't think about it. However, I don't think immunity is a good term for it,  normality is a less dramatized term. 

What every Ad eventually looks like

The Persuaders

The video also introduces "persuasion advertisement," which is in response to the concerns of immunity. It addresses the shift in advertisement by explaining how it became more about the meaning of the product rather than the product itself. They use examples like Nike and Starbucks; Nike with the meaning of sports through their products and Starbucks with their community building (outside of work and home) through their product. Such advertisement approaches, like these, are very effective and ultimately make a brand of themselves. Who doesn't know that Nike is where you get your athletic attire and Starbucks is where you get your morning started. However, these "brands" are very dangerous to consumers. How? Well that is another subject brought up and to sum it all up in one phrase, cult brands. Cults and Brands go together because they both create this emotion of belonging to something and everyone wants, rather NEEDS, to belong to something that feels like it has meaning. That is by far the most interesting thing I heard in this video because it is so true. Although I never heard of the term "cult brand," I can assure it does exist.

Overall the video was very insightful, but created a very dramatized view on advertisement. The world they laid out was advertising dominant and I don't see it that way at all. Maybe from a marketers eyes that is true, however I believe that only big cities are witnessing this advertising dominance and coming from a small city I can testify that it isn't that bad. I don't feel like it's dominating anything, or maybe that's the point the video was trying to make? 

Rise and Fall of the Business World

Tom on left, Kaleil on right

Imagine being so excited about starting up your own business then watching it fall apart, It's probably the most disheartening thing to watch. In a documentary based around two friends, Tom and Kaleil, you'll see a business they worked so hard to build come crashing down. It hits you with the reality of having your own company by displaying all the hardships that come with it, I learned a lot about trying to build your own business from the ground up. Even though I never had the desire to do such a thing, I for sure don't have any hopes of doing so after watching this. This is not to discourage anyone but to simply bring a realistic perspective to it.

The Rise

I don't know the first thing about building a company let alone keeping one afloat. With that being said, in the beginning of this documentary they are discussing a name for the company and the CEO, Kaleil, is having a really difficult time in deciding what name he wants to go with. I realized from the start that building a company takes critical thinking and time; even down to the company name is crucial. It made me realize the importance of this "rising" process, from them having to pitch the ideas to multiple people in order to get funding to coming out with a name and sticking to it, every last detail is important.

Even in the rise of the company there was hardships, they continuously got shut down and one man that Kaleil spoke about was particularly harsh. He shut them down for dumb reasons like presenting documents instead of a computer and he felt like they had to live on the West Coast to build an "internet business." I learned that your idea for a business could be brilliant, not saying Tom and Kaleil's was that because I thought it was rather good but didn't see the necessity; however, you could can get shut down for pointless reasons.

I enjoyed when Tom and Kaleil had their break through because in a sense I felt like I was going through the process with them. When they finally got the company started up I was excited to see where they'd go with it, but I wasn't expecting what happened to happen. The people who were helping run the company started dropping like flies.

The Fall

In the end, the company kind of fell apart. Kaleil was the only one left basically. Something that concerned me about the fall of the company is the fact that they had over 200 employees working for them and if the company falls apart, so do those employers. A lot of them would be out of a job thanks to a being with the wrong company at the wrong time. I know these employers probably had some sort of credentials to work there and they'd be able to find another job easily, but it'd still be a scary thing to go through. I wouldn't the blame on anyone I think they were just trying to run a company in the time of a crisis. 

I found their story interesting and learned a lot about what can go wrong in building a business and how personal relationships can be affected. Like I said, in the end Khalil was left standing alone and his friendship with Tom was rocky after knowing each other for so many years. Not to mention Kaleil's love life which appeared in the documentary a few times. What I took from this was, don't start a business with a best friend.

Prof Larson's Presentation

Professor Larson's Speech

I thoroughly enjoyed Prof Larson's presentation in class on Thursday. I already take one of Prof Larson's classes this semester and I'm learning so much already, for example, we had to create a powerpoint presentation and I used features on there that I didn't know existed. I also had my first experience with photoshop because of her class. Due to that previous experience with her, her presentation automatically sparked my interest in other classes she is teaching. As a comm major, all comm classes seem interesting, but specifically I'd like to take her Motion Graphics class, the student's project she showed was pretty cool. She also made me excited to see what other comm classes were available and which ones would help me with the career I want to go into. Overall it was a very informative presentation and perception of how wide the comm department really spreads.

Introducing Me

This is ME

Hi, my name is Nikki and I'm a Sophomore. I transferred to Shepherd from Potomac State College last Fall. I'm first generation in my family to go to college and, hopefully, finish. I'm originally from Martinsburg, WV and I'm a communications major. I hope to go into Public Relations and become a Social Media Manager for a cool organization. I work at the Shepherd Library so you'll probably always see me in there either studying or working at the front desk. I'm excited to see what I learn in this class this semester because being a comm major, naturally, I'm excited about any comm class I take.