The Truth, The Whole Truthiness and Nothing But Alternative Facts
Graduation Project MSc Mediatechnology
Photographer of the inauguration of Trump: Lucas Jackson / Reuters
Abstract:
The Oxford English Dictionary voted Post-truth as Word of the Year 2016 as an adjective ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less in uential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. People support their post-truth claims by using ‘alternative facts’ to convince others. In itself the expression 'alternative fact' comes across as contradictory, but it simply means competing facts. In politics, alternative facts typically do not match reality. As a result they are mostly perceived as falsehoods, lies or bullshit. I am fascinated by construction of truth of the individual and the way alternative facts have the ability to alter the perception thereof. Starting with literary research, followed by creating a lenticular poster using photographic manipulation, I hope to achieve a better understanding of the phenomenon ‘alternative facts’. The goal of this exploratory study is to translate both the political and scientific alternative fact into visual presentations to be experienced by a broader audience. By changing the point of view, people can experience an alternative truth.
Conclusion excerpt:
Looking back at the process and trying to combine design, art and science I have found it to be a very interesting approach to explore “vague” subjects or phenomena. While the goal of science remains to be separating fact from fiction, subjects like alternative facts, which boil down to having multiple “truths” can not be separated in such a clear manner. The rise of these post-truth phenomena still need to be understood and documented in an academic context in order to broaden our understanding of the world we live in, now and far into the future.
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- Art
- Technology
- Science