PROFESSIONAL & CRITICAL PRACTICE: Dissertation Proposal

For part of this unit, we needed to not only get work experience and write a report about it, but also write our dissertation proposal. At first I had a lot of ideas and questions about various subjects of this industry, some of them being (taken from my notes in class):

• The depiction/representation of women in television (maybe focus on music videos- since I want to produce/direct/film music videos in the future)
• Children's television and the hidden messages about sex/sexuality/etc. (need to research)
• Youtube- is television being transferred to the internet? (BBC 3 example?)
• To what extent does TV advertising objectify women? (possible future career- go into advertising)
• Celebrities in TV and their influence to 21st century society. (reality TV- Kardashians, Made In Chelsea, Real Housewives of Atlanta (NYC/ Beverly Hills/etc.) Big Brother, etc.

I had a very hard time deciding which of the above subjects I would like to write a 2000-2500 word essay on, as all of them are subjects that concern me and I'm personally interested in. 

Noticing that the subjects I put down, were mainly about music videos, advertising, the representation of women in television and reality TV, I thought of listing the possible topics I would talk about under each subject and see what's one of the common things between all of them (since I'm really indecisive)- making easier for me to decide a title that would cover all of them. 

The books I used for research

However, I also spoke with Kath (after one of our lectures) and told her about all of my ideas, which she advised me to narrow them down and to go to the library to get a better idea of what my main focus should be. Going to the library, actually did help me out, in terms of deciding what I was personally capable of writing about and how this would help me in the future- regarding my future career plans (which to be honest, I'm still not quite sure yet what path I'm going to follow). 

My dissertation title- Intimate Strangers: To What Extent Does the Representation Of Women in Reality TV, Influence The Young Generations Of The 21st Century?

The things I explored through this essay were the following:

• How real is reality TV?: Reality Shows, like Keeping Up With The Kardashians, is accused of being scripted and arguments/moments being staged or re-enacted for the cameras, though the concept of it, is to showcase the daily of a 'normal' family. What impact does this have on our own daily lives? Does the perfection of their outer image give good examples of how everyone should behave?
• Representation of Women in TV: The way women are broadcasted- stereotypes and presentation of individuals. What examples it sets to the youth.
• Body Image Concerns: The way women are presented in TV these days has a huge impact on our society, mainly our youth. Studies showing the increase of plastic surgeries and the number of people diagnosed with eating disorders, since the rise of reality shows. 
• Influence of Celebrity Culture To Youth: Not only bad influence but also good. How celebrities create this extraordinary world of luxury & money- making the youth to dream big. 

Overall, I'm quite happy with the outcome of this essay and I'm looking forward to research for it in depth and start my planning, for the actual dissertation, during the summer holidays. 

Yours,

I.