My thesis is a body of work comprised of the human reaction to fear and how it is used as a political tactic.
Part 1-Red Thread
My practice is an investigation into data and human behavior. My work seeks to visualize these invisible social dynamics, turning fleeting human behaviors into a permanent record of observation.
My thesis draws upon a study of fear from CU Boulder, which monitored participants across seventeen different environments to measure physiological responses—including body temperature, blood pressure, and sweat. While common logic suggests that constant exposure to 'fear' or negative news leads to desensitization, this study reveals the opposite: individuals actually become increasingly sensitive over time.
Part 2 - Red Threat
This video shows the correlations of how modern media weaponizes fear to dismantle public resistance and how easy it is to rage-bait people now. By analyzing data from major news sources like the NYT, FOX, and CNN, the work illustrates how chronic exposure to "threat-framing" triggers a primitive survival response in the populace, leading to a voluntary decline in critical thinking and the collapse of humanities education. Ultimately, the piece argues that our collective anxiety and "negative click-throughs" serve as the primary fuel for an engagement economy that thrives on the decay of truth and the fragility of the American psyche. The background is a centipede eating itself, showing how America is eating itself within this echo chamber.
1. Red represents the amount of negative words that are use in media headlines.
2. Yellow represents the amount of psychological affect like anxiety, depression, etc.
3. Purple represents the public's response on social media.
4. Blue represents the machine/ technology and algorithms that create a personalized feed.
5. Red represents the damage.
6. Green represents liberal art's education, showing how people don't want to be exposed to different ideas anymore.
Part 3 - Zine
Since my piece is to critique the lack of transparency in information and knowing that not everyone will have the privilege of finding this cite nor have access to me to explain it. I printed a zine to so the information can be accessible to everyone.
Progress
