http://scalar.usc.edu/works/lgbt-representation-in-cinema-hollywood-vs-indie/index
Having finished the program and presenting my project it’s interesting to see how far my project has come. It feels like yesterday when my project was originally analyzing the social impact of film. I remember my scope being massive and what I limited my scope to is still pretty huge. It did feel like for a while my project had no real direction and I had no sense of what it would look like when it was done. With the help of Courtney, Carrie, Rennie, Minglu, and Tyler my project turned out to be way better than I thought it could be. All of the feedback on the direction I was taking my data and case studies in was extremely helpful and I couldn’t be more grateful for it because without the feedback I received I probably wouldn’t like where my project ended up.
Overall, the help of L&IT and the research staff made me feel comfortable with research. This is the first time I’ve really created something based on film rather than making a film itself. This reaffirmed my love for the field because with digital tools there are so many more ways to look at film rather than just watching it. Tyler spoke a lot about the different types of reading and I’ve attributed some of that to how I watch films now. I do wish we had more time to learn certain tools more in depth because I do believe there are some that would have truly helped improve my project, but in the 8 weeks we had we got through a lot of material.
I had never realized how large of a field Digital Scholarship is until we visited Bryn-Mawr and Gettysburg, but it was definitely interesting to see how many different passions people were bringing into the field. I’ve started viewing Digital Scholarship as this range of scholarly work that is all-inclusive of individual passions and interests.
I feel comfortable conducting research especially on cinema which is something I’ve never really experienced. Research has always seemed daunting and even impossible for me to conduct sometimes since I never really learned how. I’ve always been taught to analyze and use that analysis to create, but in this sense I was analyzing to present and it’s different from making an actual film obviously. Creating this site allows other people to discuss cinematic representation of minorities which is a conversation I truly believe should happen more. I always imagine the types of films I plan to make being films that start some type of real social discussion and I feel like I got a taste of that with my project.
I loved this program and it really brought me closer together with the medium I’m passionate.