Through the Looking Glass
The White Rabit Project looks at the way, we as a society, live in fear. White Rabit embodies the contemporary fears of modern society that have been created and distributed through popular fiction and film, as well as the more real fears of being watched, tracked, having our identity stolen, of unknown peoples and cultures, technology and computers. White Rabit also wishes to give the sense of thrill because our society often gets a kick out of fear so long as it is in a controlled environment.
This site documents the development and construction of this project as the final part of my Multimedia Design B.A. (Hons.) degree course at the University of Huddersfield. This project began with my dissertation which looked into the way female characters are represented in cyber culture. I researched several characters, such as Trinity from 'The Matrix', Willow from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and Lara Croft from 'Tomb Radar'.
Lara, Willow, Trinity
After study and reflection I chose Willow from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' as she fulfilled all of the stereotypes I had identified, such as Geek, Hero, Villain and Babe/Lover. (She also reminded me of myself a lot, as I am a female who works in the computer world and was once a Geek when at school.) During my research I watched many episodes of Buffy and found that I enjoyed watching the parts where Willow is evil and represented as 'Dark' Willow. I carried out some research in web forums to find out if other people also found this part enjoyable. This proved to be the case and the enjoyment of the dark side of a person’s personality started me thinking.
'Dark' Willow
I have, as a person, always been interested in this area and the way it is represented in film and on TV. A past project of mine was influenced by the film 'Se7en' and allowed me to experiment with short film, photographic effects, sound and Macromedia Flash to create an atmosphere and tell a story, in a non-linear manner, of a girl being followed, kidnapped and killed.
The White Rabit project aims to bring atmosphere out of the screen and into a physical space so that people can explore a world they would normally only experience from the safety of there own armchair in their living room or in a cinema or theatre seat. It is my intention, with this project, to thrill, provoke and inform.
There are parts to this project, such as the Amy Noakes fake sites, that will demonstrate the ease with which someone can create a fraudulent website to trick and steal from people.
Another part of the project will show people the extremes to which someone will go to follow a single person but it will also remind them that this is the extreme.
However, the primary aim of the project is to create the thrill that is gained from watching contemporary horror and thriller films such as 'Se7en' and so cause the viewers to reflect on what they have seen, heard and experienced.
Se7en