Living in the middle of college party culture, I chose to focus my interdisciplinary thesis on something most people experience but rarely question: the glamorization of college drinking. Across film, television, and social media, drinking is framed as aspirational, chaotic, funny, even essential to youth. The consequences are real, but the narrative rarely reflects that. 

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My primary audience was college students themselves, with high school students aspiring to that same “college experience” close behind. Any direct warning, PSA, or educational tone would be dismissed immediately. So instead of rejecting the glorification, I leaned into it.

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For the project, which required both a research paper and a creative execution, I created a satirical book titled Animal House. Visually, it looked like a celebration; and the hook was intentionally misleading: “This is your sign to turn your college mems into a book.”

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Viewers were drawn in by curiosity about the design, the structure, and how the book was produced. Only after engaging more deeply did the satire reveal itself.

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I distributed the work organically through short-form platforms, optimizing the hooks to feel native to doom-scroll environments. The content blended seamlessly with the very culture it was critiquing, making it harder to dismiss. Instead of passively consuming it, people saved it, shared it, debated it. The conversation extended beyond the classroom and into real digital communities.

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The project sparked discussion around a topic that is often ignored precisely because it feels normal. And in doing so, it demonstrated how cultural critique can travel further when it understands the psychology of the people it’s trying to reach.