Beacon is an online multimedia journal that showcases the work of current undergraduate students at the University of British Columbia who explore and study the subject of Media.
Volume IV + V
2022-2024
Meet the team behind Beacon: Volume IV + V and hear from our Editors-in-Chief
Christine Banquier
This photo series explores the concept of gender roles within queer women’s relationships. The series is inspired by personal experiences, Judith Butler’s idea of gender performativity, and artists including Martha Rosler, Cindy Sherman, and Ana Mendieta.
Kay Snell
In exploring how actors transform into the characters they represent during performances, this essay asserts that a key part of the transformative process in drama, aside from the physical alteration of appearance, is a change in name, which represents a change from the self to the new persona.
Oli Beeby
In its examination of the objectives behind public archives in the age of digital access, this essay explores the role of ASMR conservation videos in relation to exclusionary practices and calls for greater transparency in the conservation sector.
Eden Stephanson
By focusing upon the stereoscope, an optical device from the early nineteenth century that enables depth perception, this essay explores how the optical experience afforded by this historic device makes it particularly suited to the construction of a colonial imaginary.
Ben Clark
By dissecting the implications of The Community Amenities Contribution, this piece frames three public art pieces across Vancouver as case studies that exemplify the developer-based public art scene and the problematic effects such art has on life and culture.
Dea Yu
words of affirmation, a reference to one of five love languages, explores themes of self-expression, love, and the challenge that comes with articulating your emotions in words.
David Weng
In investigating media consumption outside the conventional frameworks of legal broadcasting and streaming services, this research aims to uncover the viewing practices and experiences of Game of Thrones viewers in China, India, and Russia, where official broadcasting was either delayed or unavailable.
Aubrey Venture & Anthony Hunter
This video piece embarks on a transformative journey into the heart of artificial intelligence, exploring the capabilities of the platforms DreamStudio and Runway to produce an AI-generated fashion catalogue.
Yasmine Semeniuk
In evaluating the motives behind the uses of Indigenous art by an ex-Crown corporation oil company, this essay asserts that Petro-Canada’s social media campaigns exploit Canadians’ perceived interest in reconciliation while avoiding meaningful action.
Tiffany Yau
Positioning itself as an exploration of Avatar: The Last Airbender and its 2010 adaptation, this essay examines how the original show uses race and gender representation, the targeting of an ageless audience, and innovative production approaches to achieve its overwhelmingly positive reception.
Nivita Dutta
By applying key theories from The Frankfurt School about distraction and mass production to the modern phenomenon that is K-Pop, this essay examines the complex experience of media consumption in the context of blatant commodification, dissecting the enchanting aesthetics of Blackpink’s hit pop track ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’.
Anneke Dresselhuis
This multi-media installation explores how state subjecthood and narratives of time and space are constituted through the apparatus of the national census.
Who We Are
The University of British Columbia’s Beacon: Journal of Media Studies is a student-led academic journal that publishes a volume of peer- and faculty-reviewed work each school year. Though our journal is directly affiliated with the Bachelor of Media Studies program at UBC, our goal is to celebrate and showcase academic and creative work made by all undergraduate students at UBC who study Media Studies, Creative Writing, Art History, and beyond. Visit our About + Contact page to learn more.
How To Submit
Current undergraduate UBC students from the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses are eligible to submit up to 4 original pieces each school year. Students do not have to be a Bachelor of Media Studies student to submit, as long as the work submitted is related to the subject of Media Studies. All submissions must follow UBC’s Procedures regarding Academic Integrity. Visit our Submit page to learn more.
Land Acknowledgement
This journal is created at UBC Vancouver, which sits on the unceded, ancestral territories of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples.