CHLOE MORSE
Proposal
I believe that a fun and creative way to explore my admiration of David Bowie’s different personas would be to create a dating website for his most prominent “characters”; each persona accompanies an album that I have long revered. The website is titled “Date a Bowie,” clearly presenting itself as playful and light-hearted at the outset. While incorporating the actual language of dating profiles, creating this website will also satisfy my wish to further investigate the voice and eccentricities of Bowie’s many personas. This requires researching the music Bowie made at the time, as well as any details about his personal life and character traits.
When I first became a fan of Bowie’s, it felt so exciting every time I discovered a new “version” of him. From “Diamond Dogs” to “Young Americans,” I was consistently amazed at his chameleon-like abilities, seamlessly able to transform himself from one person to another. Yet, with all these drastic changes in appearance and sound, his essence consistently remained the same, and he never appeared unrecognizable. I always admired this impressive blend of stability and renewal, and look forward to more deeply examining it.
Similar to my fan fiction piece, the ideal audience for this experiment is the David Bowie fanbase. Again, I feel they would derive further enjoyment out of this creation than those unfamiliar with his work, particularly since increased knowledge of Bowie would allow viewers to better understand any jokes or song references. Not only does completing this experiment present an enjoyable project surrounding an artist I am passionate about, but it also allows me to engage with a highly prevalent aspect of the current social world: online dating.
Genre Analysis and Research
The online dating market is rapidly expanding, “estimated to be a $2 billion business, with 1 in10 Americans reporting they have used an online dating or mobile app, and nearly a quarter reporting that they found a spouse or partner online” (Wiederhold, 695). Clearly, this form of communication is worth investigating, even if it is under unconventional circumstances.
The majority of my research on the conventions of dating profiles came from advice columns about creating them. One website suggests that a well-composed profile will use relevant adjectives such as “passionate” or “fun-loving” (Tholmer). Another way to represent oneself in a dating profile is through a person’s favorite things like movies, foods, or pastimes (Tholmer). Facts about one’s life also proves important, whether that involves topics like family or jobs (Tholmer). It also helps to “ask a leading question” in order to prompt responses from profile viewers, like “What’s your favorite movie?” (Tholmer). This helps with conversation starters, and feels more personal.
Another article lists a number of more specific tips for making profiles. The writer suggests using quotes or song lyrics to better communicate one’s personality (Murray). She also says humor is a very attractive attribute that men and women should try to incorporate into their profiles, in addition to mentioning major passions from books to sports (Murray). Furthermore, she stresses the importance of detail—if you say cooking is your passion, mention your favorite dish to make (Murray). Another key tip advises telling your story, which could involve big changes in one’s life (Murray).
One study conducted on the online dating profile content of older and younger adults found that “younger adults enhance the ‘self’ when seeking romantic partnerships,” which is useful information as I focus on David Bowie’s twenties (David and Fingerman 959).
My dating website will follow the format of Match or Zoosk as they afford longer profiles than swiping apps like Tinder and Bumble, while still including the content of the latter. In looking at different examples, I noticed a lot of cliches and word play, like “I’m looking for a guy who can keep up and keep me on my toes” or “I hope that wide range of movies allows you to see that there is more to me than meets the eye” (Murray). The profiles are brief, as the word limitation does not allow for extensive descriptions, so users must do their best to communicate their personality in as little space as possible.
My digital media project also relates to the broader genre of creative non fiction, using the interactive medium of dating websites to construct a profile of David Bowie and his life as an artist. In Schwartz and Perl’s book Writing True: The Art and Craft of Creative Non-Fiction, they mention that the goal of a profile “is to make readers feel as if they have met someone new, someone interesting, someone worth thinking more about” (263). I hope that through my website, viewers feel they have met not just one, but many new and interesting people, while still gaining an understanding of the kind of artist Bowie is at his core.
When researching my subject matter, I took information from my origin piece project, which included important points about particular stages of Bowie’s career. I looked at album reviews on Pitchfork that provided detailed descriptors of the tone of each album, as well as the musical news website, Ultimate Classic Rock, containing articles celebrating his many albums. Rolling Stone proved a particularly useful source, dedicating a number of articles to Bowie’s music and impact. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of online sources analyzing Bowie’s music, and honoring his legacy.
Last summer, I went to an event at a Brooklyn-based club called House of Yes, put on by the Brooklyn Museum as part of their exhibit “David Bowie Is.” The event was a dance party titled “Night of 1000 Bowies.” Everyone came dressed as their favorite Bowie character—people wore shiny black suits in celebration of the Goblin King and painted red and blue lightening bolts across their faces as Aladdin Sane. It was incredible to witness, showing Bowie’s unfaltering cultural impact that spans multiple generations. Furthermore, that night proved that Bowie’s versatility has not gone unrecognized. I hope that in completing this project, viewers unfamiliar with Bowie will also gain an appreciation for his many faces, and have a good time matching themselves or their friends with the Bowie that best suits their personality.
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Bibliography
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Davis, Eden M, and Karen L Fingerman. “Digital Dating: Online Profile Content of Older and Younger Adults.” The Journals of Gerontology, vol. 71, no. 6, 26 July 15AD, pp. 959–967., doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbv042.
Giles, Jeff. “Revisiting David Bowie's R&B Move, 'Young Americans'.” Ultimate Classic Rock, 7 Mar. 2016, ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-young-americans/.
Greene, Andy. “David Bowie's 'Hunky Dory': How America Inspired 1971 Masterpiece.” Rolling Stone, 16 December 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/david-bowies-hunky-dory-how-america-inspired- 1971-masterpiece-109948/.
Light, Alan. “'Ziggy Stardust': How Bowie Created Alter Ego, Changed Rock.” Rolling Stone, 16 June 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ziggy-stardust-how-bowie-created-the-alter-ego-that-changed-rock- 55254/.
Mendelsohn, John. “The Man Who Sold The World.” Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-man-who-sold-the-world-109382/.
Murray, Megan. “Online Dating Profile Examples for Women.” The Date Mix, Zoosk, 28 Aug. 2017, www.zoosk.com/date-mix/online-dating-advice/online-dating-profile-tips/online-dating-profile-examples-for- women/.
Perl, Sondra, and Mimi Schwartz. Writing True: the Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2014.
Taylor, Chris. “Why David Bowie Tried to Bury His First Album - and Why You Should Give It a Try.” Mashable, 13 Jan. 2016, mashable.com/2016/01/12/david-bowie-1967/.
Tholmer, Jessica. “30 Bumble Profile Examples for Women Bio Tips.” The Date Mix, Zoosk, 10 Dec. 2018, www.zoosk.com/date-mix/online-dating-advice/bumble-profile-women/.
Wolk, Douglas. “Remembering the Debut Album David Bowie Tried to Forget.” Rolling Stone, 1 June 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/remembering-the-debut-album-david-bowie-tried-to-forget-40257/.
Sketch
I will create a website with individual profiles for nine different David Bowie albums, each of which I presented in my origin piece. Visually, it will be very colorful, and not resemble an actual dating website. Furthermore, I will create the website using Wix, given its accessibility for inexperienced users. Along with each profile, one song will be present, matching the tone of the persona and explaining any song references. There will also be an image of Bowie at the stated age above the text. The summary for each profile will be brief, ranging from a few sentences to a paragraph. I want the writing to be humorous and light, reflecting the voice of each persona accompanying the album.
Additionally, I plan to include an “about” page that summarizes what the website is. There will also be a guide at the end to clarify any possible confusion with the information in the profiles. The profiles are organized by album as the following:
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Profile #1: David Bowie, 20
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Profile #2: Space Oddity, 22
Profile #3: The Man Who Sold the World, 23
Profile #4: Hunky Dory, 24
Profile #5: Ziggy Stardust, 25
Profile #6: Aladdin Sane, 27
Profile #7: Young Americans, 28
Profile #8: Station to Station, 29
Profile #9: Heroes, 30
Sketch
I will create a website with individual profiles for nine different David Bowie albums, each of which I presented in my origin piece. Visually, it will be very colorful, and not resemble an actual dating website. Furthermore, I will create the website using Wix, given its accessibility for inexperienced users. Along with each profile, one song will be present, matching the tone of the persona and explaining any song references. There will also be an image of Bowie at the stated age above the text. The summary for each profile will be brief, ranging from a few sentences to a paragraph. I want the writing to be humorous and light, reflecting the voice of each persona accompanying the album.
Additionally, I plan to include an “about” page that summarizes what the website is. There will also be a guide at the end to clarify any possible confusion with the information in the profiles. The profiles are organized by album as the following:
​
Profile #1: David Bowie, 20
​
Profile #2: Space Oddity, 22
Profile #3: The Man Who Sold the World, 23
Profile #4: Hunky Dory, 24
Profile #5: Ziggy Stardust, 25
Profile #6: Aladdin Sane, 27
Profile #7: Young Americans, 28
Profile #8: Station to Station, 29
Profile #9: Heroes, 30
Sample
Visit this website to view "Date A Bowie": https://cnmorse99.wixsite.com/dateabowie
Reflection
I had a lot of fun making this experiment—it really felt like a passion project rather than required work. Initially, my plan was to make profiles for each Bowie persona from a third person perspective, giving it more of a satirical edge. I soon realized that it would be much more effective to write the profiles in first person from Bowie’s perspective, giving it more of a “dating website” feel. This also gave me the opportunity to explore a relevant medium that I was admittedly curious about.
While I indicated that Bowie fans are the target audience for this experiment, I did not want other viewers to be totally in the dark when reading the profiles. Therefore, I added a “Guide” which provides explanations of song references and important background that makes sense of any jokes or unclear information in the profiles.
The website really came together visually, having a colorful and playful aesthetic, rather than the generic layout of real dating websites. When people visit the site, I want them to know that it is a fun place for them to explore and get to know Bowie better, rather than a serious, highly realistic dating website. I also felt that these wacky personas deserved more than a bland, white background upon presentation.
While writing the profiles, I enjoyed getting into the mindset of different characters, and imagining how their voices might sound. Admittedly, this was the most difficult part, since I still had to incorporate the language of dating sites. Overall, I feel that I successfully realized my vision for the website, and I am excited to share it with others.