#MEDIA is a monthly practice to shift more focus to our mission: creating an alternative to traditional media where Creatives are in full control of their narratives. We explore opinions, experiences and wishes that other media outlets will keep unheard.
NEKONOAKI
Team of Visual Artists
Seoul
From the perspective of creators, we think that the current media environment is very harmful for us. The ever-changing trends and endless content are good sights for viewers. But for creators, it became very hard to think creatively. More and more producers become dependable on trends to avoid the pain of creation, which leads to the disappearing of innovative and creative ideas.
Until just two years ago, we were no different from other students enjoying their campus life. However, looking back, we think there was always a thirst for creation at one side of our heart. Then, luckily, we met as a team and posted one or two works on Instagram. We took lots of advantages of the era of new media. Our works expanded to various countries with just one click.
We met various people who liked our work and received many calls from the fashion industry, and realized the power of strong social media. Since there are so many viewers with different perspectives, we sometimes confuse when our work is interpreted in a wrong way. However, these feedbacks have always been a good facilitator to work with different perspectives.
Recently, there has been a major issue in South Korea: the presidential election. As there has been an issue of a regime change, all kinds of media have been flooded with negative propaganda against each candidate. Conflicts between the people were also intensified due to the spread of biased media. Naturally, it was reflected in the election results, and surprisingly, the two leading candidates took half the votes (48% and 47.83%). It was the moment when the national festival of a democratic society turned into a place of hatred due to the media.
This is not only a problem in South Korea but in many countries. Current media outlets are extremely biased. We firmly believe that bias leads media to lose its function and transform itself into a propaganda. As a person, living in a democratic country, we just want more unbiased, objective media.
Written and edited by Julia Horvath
Image Courtesy of Mitch Yoshida