Paper 3 Plan [Finalised!]

In my Paper 3, I want to examine the idea that prizes do have another role (aside from marketing e.t.c as we have read in John Street, which is not the focus of this paper): Celebration of products, whether they are made by many people or just one person. I want to show that this idea is prevalent in computer games, which is a fairly recent part of popular culture. (Side note: I decided it against anime/manga as after some discussion with my TA from Japanese Pop. Culture module, I realised that I should not see them as a singular entity. Also, it is notable that manga is not neccessary a one-man work; I would have to account for the publisher and the editor too, which meant that my earlier arguments are fallacious]

I was inspired to use this idea after reading Dwight Macdonald's "A Theory of Mass Culture". In the chapter "Division of Labour", he predicted that as products in pop culture become something that is made by many people ("specialists") rather than one person ("artists"), they will become "bad qualitatively".

I find this (cynical) prediction to be at best, not all encompassing, considering how people do appreciate all sorts of products in today's world. I also noticed that it did not cover how technology or simply, one's will, will allow the creation of products by just one person.

However, I will concede that technology, together with other developments, mean that more games will be created. And unfortunately, some of them will be bad, which gave Macdonald's claim that products will be improved "quantitatively". However, it is noted that customers do vote with their feet; they tend to buy only the games they like to play (or reviewed favourably), and the prizes reflect this since they are usually awarded to such popular games. This also goes against Macdonald's claim that customers are mindlessly consuming products; they do also evaluate their worth as games in different dimensions and becoming pseudo-judges, who will recommend or deride the games to their friends and even in public via social media.

Another point I will have to keep in mind is the geographical context of the prizes: What is favoured in the English-speaking world may not be favoured in the Japanese-speaking world. I noted this after reading about awards in the international domain and in Japan. It is notable though that if the Japanese game in question is localised into English, it could also win the prize. (Side note: Arcade games are also more popular in Japan and some parts of Asia unlike in the Western countries; there are awards for such games too.)

I will show how prizes celebrate both types of products. In the case of products made by many people, I will also show how prizes celebrate the persons behind a particular section of it. Notably, Ms Coleen has pointed out that prizes have (partially) done this for movies; in the Oscars, movies can also win awards based on individuals' skills (e.g. Best Make-up Artist).

Here's the structure of my essay:
1a. Introduction (Explanation of Dwight's Macdonald and my arguments)
1b. Brief discussion on the creation process
2. Prizes celebrating products made by many people (large-scale games)
3. Prizes celebrating products made by one person (indie games)
4. Prizes celebrating the individuals behind such products(specific elements of games like the music)

For either part:
5. Conclusion (Showing how prizes celebrate this)

Throughout the paper, I will need to have detailed discussion of prizes (the panel of judges [Can explore community-based prizes]? timeframe? criteria for the longlist/shortlist?]) If possible, I can also discuss on the effects these prizes have on the products (e.g. how it is used as marketing? Or perhaps, "thank you for your support" gifts for the users?)

My research focus will be on specific prizes, using Wikipedia's list of game awards as a springboard and their individual websites for further analysis.

PS: Thanks Ms Coleen for the discussion! :D