by an aspiring rhetpunk.
Author’s Note
My project is an exploration of the convergence of punk and rhetoric.
The primary terms to keep in mind are:
Punkrhet: An emergent disruption in the status quo through the purposeful use of written, spoken, and visual text.
Rhetpunk: A person who uses written, spoken, and visual text to disrupt the status quo.
Based on these parameters I hope to discover historical rhetpunks and their acts of dissent, revolution, and protest.
In my initial searching I didn’t find an examination of dissent from the view of punk and the punk ideals DIY ethos, disruption of the status quo, and constant emergence. Each of these ideals is extrapolated on to better see how they apply to acts of punkrhet and the rhetpunks to acted.
I have chosen to use graphics (no big shock I’m guessing) that have a similar aesthetic to the DIY punk posters of the 70s on. In looking at images from around the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s though with the suffrage and abolition activism, there are strong similarities between the style of posters used. Based on this, I want to link out from the main work I have done, to a punkrhet archive (though I think this will be a bit much for this course).
I would say I am ½ to ¾ done. I only have 4 profiles/biographies done for this draft, though I have the resources for others. I’d like to have about 15 by the projects end but feel that 10 would suffice to give adequate examples of rhetpunks. I feel most of the first section articulates my idea fairly well, though I am sure there are some holes and gaps to fill. But overall I think I have most of that part down. I do need to play with the graphics a bit more. I want to place icons with meaning that will be revealed as people go through the text. For instance I have Eugene V. Debs prisoner number on a few different graphics. I also have the word RESOLVE show up a few times as well, which is significant regarding Elizabeth Candy Stanton. Happy hunting for others as well (can’t reveal them all). Anyway though I want to go back in and add so that there is the building upon themes and ideas as one traverses the pages.
Well, I have kind of gone down a giant rabbit hole with this idea. Like big enough that I am really thinking about making it my capstone rather than the psychotherapy as rhetorical practice route I had planned since applying to the program. This lens for viewing history is fascinating.
I don’t think I have specific concerns really. I just want some feedback on how things work for you. If it is too scattered or if too scattered works. As you get to some of the later graphics, recognize they may have less going on. I wanted to get the text to everyone and so put in less time with the last few pages, especially the biography part (since this is where the secrets will be revealed). Less may be more though so let me know which you prefer. I also am looking at the best way to include references and am open to suggestions there. I tried in text to inform where ideas come from but it is difficult to balance the visual and the nuts and bolts of referencing. I am also trying to figure out the best way to present the material. The leading idea is a digital flip book, but not sure so open to ideas there as well. I don’t like the way it scrolls when I am viewing online. The pdf viewed with 2 page spread seems better. Not sure in that if I prefer matching or non matching color schemes together. If you don’t mind play with it in your reader I’d love the feedback.
Thanks everyone.
Brian
Creating Dissonance 
Brian,
I am always in awe of your creativity. This is really awesome and informative. I love the idea of activism by image. I really enjoyed reading your piece, especially the look at specific examples at the end, and felt slightly inspired to fight the system by the end :).
I will be interested to see your final project, especially if you transfer to something like issue.com as you mentioned above. Overall I don’t think it was too busy. I actually think the the business, layout, colors, etc. really played into a punk vibe that was a lot of fun.
I am mainly curious about your audience. I could see this being valuable in a lot of ways, but curious to see what your thoughts how and to whom you would ideally disseminate this. I agree that this way of looking at history is fascinating and will be interested to see your final product!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Brian:
I agree with Sarah that this works great as a conceptual piece to explain punk and punkrhet. And you’ve provided me some inspiration to approach my own projects in the future.
I’m intrigued by the pendulum concept. Is this similar to our lessons on remediation? You mentioned that today’s punk will reach a threshold, at that point becoming mainstream, from which the next punk iteration will emerge and rebel against the former. Am I seeing this correctly?
I tried to find ways you could incorporate the “spoken” element into your presentation of punkrhet. It would seem that adding audio to a digital page wouldn’t be that difficult, yet I couldn’t find anything with this ability (My thoughts kept returning to Myspace). I looked through Issuu and Flipsnack, but found nothing. I’m not even sure if that’s a thread you’d be interested in using.
One suggestion I do have for presentation is to look into comic book reader software. A good start is to google “comixology”. It’s the most popular digital comic book reader site. The software for these readers allows you to view as basic page-flipping (as in PDF or Kindle readers) or you can use features that allow you to program specific focuses on the page. For example, lots of comics, graphic novels, etc. have a lot going on in a single page, and a digital, compressed version doesn’t allow the same “feel” and engagement as a physical copy. So, this comics reader software zooms in and out on specific points on the page, whether a thought/speech bubble, a character, or sound effect. These readers usually present the option to toggle between the special focus or regular reading.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Brian,
When I opened your project, the first thing I thought of was, “Oh, this is a zine. Just like the zines I used to make and buy at independent bookstores or at basement shows.” I get the aesthetic and I like it. Granted, it’s a bit clunky to read in this format. I wonder if it would be more successful if you turned it into a digital zine? I did a bit of cursory research and came across this website: https://www.flipsnack.com/ezine. I also think your project would look amazing as a high-gloss actual zine that I could hold in my hands.
As for figuring out a way to integrate sources, etc. As I was reading it, I could imagine footnote numbers and a final page with footnotes for further deep dives and explanations. I’m sure you’ve thought of all of that.
As a fan of punk, I like this as a conceptual piece, but it also serves as a well-conceived informational piece of writing. I could definitely see this as a capstone project. It’s old but new, does that make sense? I could also see parts of this working in a classroom as a way to introduce the basics of rhetoric to high-school students.
Nice work, Brian. I look forward to the seeing what you do with this.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for your reply. I agree with the clunkiness in the pdf format. I had looked at flipsnack as well (thank you for looking into other formats) because it has more the zine feel I wanted. I think i’ll be going with issue.com though. In experimenting with them each I found issue more to my liking.
A high-gloss zine would have a great look I think.
One of the things with issue.com is I can place links (not sure how it will work yet) within a page and am thinking that might work for the referencing. Linking it to a reference page at the end of the zine. If not the footnote/endnote idea I think is where I will need to go.
The high-school audience would definitely fit into the youth culture idea of punk.
Thanks for the review and suggestions. I appreciate the feedback from a punk fan. And the old yet new idea makes perfect sense.
~Brian
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have no clue at all what this is about so I am very anxious to see what you have come up with. I too had to start and restart my project as it was becoming way too big and like you will be more suited for my grad project. Thanks for always having such fascinating work each week.
Hope you are doing ok and staying safe.
Kim
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I hope you like it. It was one of those things I thought would be interesting and as I delved deeper I just kept seeing new things to explore. Not that that is so unusual for me, but it was hard to not just keep reading and learning and absorbing rather than creating.
Hope you are doing well too. Things are pretty fair in my isolated part of Nebraska.
~Brian
LikeLiked by 1 person