Please see the Proposal I provided first, and write the research essay based on the proposal.
Thank you very much!
Major Essay Proposal
My research paper aims to determine how the Internet has helped transform protest and revolution alternative media in non-democratic states. More specifically, my research paper will examine the Umbrella Movement that emerged in Hong Kong back in 2014. The Umbrella Movement was a response to the decision by the China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (SCNPC) that limited the choices of candidates and the final appointment for the Chief Executive position in Hong Kong government. The relationship between Hong Kong and China has been fraught with tension since the British ceded colonial control back in 1997, as Hong Kong views itself as an independent state that is pro-democracy, but China view Hong Kong as one of its territories and should be beholden to the Chinese government. The SCNPC decision, also known as the August decision, was deemed by the people of Hong Kong as a breach of their rights to a democracy and free and fair elections.
The case of the Umbrella Movement as a producer of alternative media during the time is their reliance on a combination of social media, mobile devices and apps and personal involvement in order to protest the August decision and call for democratic elections. These digital form of media production have been instrumental during the protests as the people of Hong Kong were becoming more distrustful of traditional media due to the Chinese control of these media outlets. At the same time, the Umbrella Movement highlights the complexity of “convergence,” where both traditional and alternative media have access to the Internet and digital media as platforms. Indeed, Internet provider companies in Hong Kong are also subject to government control and censorship, which meant that the protest of the Umbrella Movement could not rely solely on the Internet to produce alternative media. As such, my research will attempt to determine if the Internet has significant enough positive contribution to alternative media, particularly in protest movements within states where the Internet is tightly controlled.
Annotated Bibliography
Leung, Dennis K. K. and Francis L. F. Lee. “Cultivating an Active Online Counterpublic: Examining Usage and Political Impact of Internet Alternative Media.” The International Journal of Press/PoliticsVol. 19 No .3 (2014): 340-359.
This article examines just how impactful Internet Alternative Media can be in fostering political awareness and facilitating counter-hegemonic movements, specifically in the context of Hong Kong. The authors conducted a survey of Hong Kong citizens and identified that the use of Internet Alternative Media is strongly related to existing political beliefs on Hong Kong’s mainstream media. The article is relevant to my research because it focuses on Hong Kong Internet Alternative media in line with my analysis of alternative media production in relation to the Umbrella Movement.
Lin, Zhongxuan. “Traditional Media, Social Media and Alternative Media in Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.” Asian Politics & PolicyVol. 8 No.2 (2016): 365-372.
This article looks at the different modes of alternative media that was employed during the Umbrella Movement, including the Internet, but also offline mobile technologies such as Bluetooth, and “embodied protest (Lin 369)” through interpersonal communication in the movement’s protest sites. This article is relevant because of its focus on the Umbrella Movement, and identifies other alternative media modes when the Internet is not available due to state control.
Rauch, Jennifer. “Are There Still Alternatives? Relationships Between Alternative Media and Mainstream Media in a Converged Environment.” Sociology CompassVol. 10 No.9 (2016): 756-767.
This article explores the relationship of alternative and traditional media in the age of convergence, when both alternative and traditional media can utilize the Internet for their own purposes. Despite the romanticized view of the Internet as a democratic space, the article notes that the Internet has its own structures of power that can limit its positive contribution to alternative media. This article is relevant to my research because it provides an analysis of where alternative and traditional media intersect in the space of the Internet, as well as the hierarchies of power that can disenfranchise alternative media even in the supposedly “free” Internet.