Social Media - Old School!

Influencing in a creative way!

Hannah Larkin

Teacher - Media

 

At the close of Semester 1, our Year 10 Media students took on the challenge of the full production process to create their very own self-published zines

 

And you might be wondering...

Wait… what exactly IS a zine?”

A zine is a small, self-published print publication that is produced using 1 sheet of paper, then photocopied and distributed. The beauty of a zine lies in the simplicity of its production – all you need is one sheet of paper, a pen and an idea you want to share with the world. 

 

Zine culture was popularised in the 1930s through science-fiction fanzines, and they continued to prevail through the rock and roll, punk and Riot Grrrl movements. Zines have been likened to a 'pre-internet internet'. While we very much find ourselves in a digital era now, zine culture (although somewhat 'underground') is still thriving. You don’t need any permissions to publish a zine, and you can easily photocopy and distribute to whoever might want one; you can even leave it at a bus stop and let it take on a life of its own! 

What we love most about zines is how they stand in contrast to social media. 

In our fast-paced digital world, zines offer a slow, hands-on art form — and deliver a welcome antidote to digital fatigue and the social media habits many of us battle. They’re free from the pressure of numbers, ‘likes,’ followers, or curated feeds—completely untouched by algorithms!

Our busy Year 10 students combined elements of photography, collage, writing, drawing and visual design to create their zines. They were given complete freedom of content – as long as they chose a topic they were passionate about!  And the result? These talented students produced zines on topics ranging from communism to heavy metal concerts, bikes to interior design, football fashion to the art of collecting things and beyond. 

This project provided great insight into our students' individual personalities, passions and hobbies. I really enjoyed getting to know my students better - and what they really care about -  through the art of zine making. 

 

You can catch some of these zines at the  BSC FOMAD (Festival  at the annual Twilight Market in November this year - but in the meantime here is a sneak peak!