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This idea started when I submitted a study proposal for entering MA UX course in 2020. I thought the entertainment business was essential in the future. People’s need for entertainment content has been steadily increasing such as Quibi, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and the appearance of technologies like customising PPL commercials (Product Placement) to increase the profit. The COVID-19 and lockdown made people stay at home and it increased the time for entertainment like Netflix and chill. It was good news for online streaming content companies due to the explosive growth. On the other hand, several social issues raised the importance of diversity. From the George Fluid tragic incident in May 2020, the demand for diversity of content led to the active influx of black cinema and investment and production of women-led content and LGBTQ+ contents. According to the Netflix diversity report in 2020, they showed how many percent of diverse people appeared in gender, disability, and race. 44.1% of female-identified main characters, 22.8% was gay, non-binary, transgender characters, and 34.1% of racial/ethnic groups’ main characters.4.7% of film/series depicted a disability, but it is quite high percentage compared to 2.1% of industry.
The crucial point that I focused on was cultural difference which is considered as a very minor part, so might be deleted or ignored when the film or TV series is released in a different culture. It started my very personal experience that 1) Whenever I watch English-speaking films, I realise that it was filled with mistranslations. Even though there are so many mistakes, I could not notice, and it felt unfair. Followed by the fact that Yang pointed out in The Cornell Daily Sun article, subtitles can be political which means, it can be affected by who made the subtitles. For instance, in American translated a film, then Anglophone-centric, heteronormative and ableist mindset might melted in subtitles. 2) I have a habit of searching using my mobile if I was curious about the scene, for instance, the place where they filmed the film, what they were eating or drinking, and why they were laughing.
Until the course began, I paid attention to practical aspects that would make a profit in the company since I thought design is the part of the branding or marketing. Which means some industries considered the design as extra, so cannot exist without proof that design is essential for their business. I looked back at my old study proposal. I aimed to connect commercially like the place they filmed or food and products in the scene, and I ignored values that I have learned in this course like privacy and data. And I asked John and Al to think about the commercial aspects in May before the project began. They said that thinking is good but reminded me that it is an academic project that raises awareness of the problematic thought, not just gives them a solution. And When Moxue said she wanted to work with me, I shared my ideas by sending the proposal and had a meeting with still open one side of the door for possibilities. Moxue tried to find the possibility from the ebook, but I thought it was a technical approach that was not much different from what was out there, and eventually agreed to proceed with the project with my idea.