MIT smear zine

Sept. 2012

Upon being accepted to MIT, Comparative Media students must pull together a creative piece to introduce themselves to the cohort and rest of the department. I created a foldable zine with a website component. Details below:

Do you ever get bored with describing yourself in the same ways? I do. I start concocting different narratives: A sketchbook of inventions I dream up. An art book with blue prints of every room I’ve called my own. My life told in flavors of hummus. Most recently, a smear campaign.

It came to me as I was watching Law & Order, season five. This time, a prominent and gay NYC politician has been murdered. The courthouse morphs into a political arena, and the murderer (another politician) is exonerated. The things coming out of his mouth! How the crowd cheered! I can’t believe this was a mere 15 years ago!

It got me thinking, as I watched Media Scrutiny Theater (OTM’s riff on Mystery Science Theater 3000), what would my smear campaign look like? I’m into neighborhoods. I care most about impacting people I could meet. Hell, if I got into MIT, maybe I can be president after all!

But media is prey to spin, and a prepared politician I must be. So before I start soliciting for my war chest, voilà!: my exercise in potential smears.

And for the accompanying Media Scrutiny (and instructions to refold the zine), go to: helloDenise.com/smear