The Freethinker Magazine allowed me to expand the theory and lore behind the cult to new levels. By giving myself a platform to analyse the cult from a skeptics point of view I was able to invent history and practices for the cult that would have been impossible if I had worked from a Servatologists point of view. This unbiased review of the cult can ask questions about topics and practices that Servatology deals in from an informed distance, and It was a very strange exercise to criticise ideas that I had to make up myself only a few days before. At the same time all of these ideas and concepts are based off the back of real religions and cults, so the Magazine can satirically criticise these real world beliefs as well as the more exaggerated ones found within Servatology.
In terms of the final product I am very pleased with the Freethinker publication. The Magazine explores a range of topics that are related to my theoretical and contextual understanding of this module, for example panopticism, the subconscious, commercialism and propaganda. The way in which it deals with these topics is not direct, and the zine, and cult idea as a whole, has allowed me to cover these topics without being so obvious.
During the production of this zine I was faced with one or two problems. Firstly in printing the zine; as the way the printer produced the duplex meant ink was smeared across a few of the image heavy pages. This effect is not as pronounced in the final bound version due to trimming and the way the pages have been collated but it is still noticeable in some lighting conditions. I ended up printing the final version with an inkjet on a yellow stock. I thought that printing on white may allow the readers to become confused between the Handbook and the zine, this stock choice really allows readers to differentiate between the two, and I am a big fan of solid black on yellow aesthetically. The binding went smoothly, it really ties the whole thing together. I was initially concerned with the choice of stich binding the spine with black threat because this is exactly the same process used on the Handbook, however at the end of the day the binding is hardly noticed and the black thread fits nicely with the black print.
I will evaluate the Cult Handbook below...
The Cult Handbook
The Cult Handbook has allowed me to express beliefs and opinions from the Servatologists point of view. This gave me free reign to make up a set of values which I thought the Cult should have, given its nature, rather than having to adapt or copy an existing religions tenets. The views and beliefs in this booklet are completely insane however no less so than any other cults or religions texts if taken literally. It was important to make sure that this Handbook was not just an addition to the zine and that it could stand as a criticism of religion on its own. To achieve this the Handbooks tenets are all inspired by real beliefs and actions and put into the context of Servatology. The Handbook is also contradictory, the illustrations are satirical of the tenets they represent and the demands made are impossible and often completely morally unjustified.
The Handbook is very simple to follow and read, I produced a pictogram for each page so that the handbook can be read by anyone, although the true interpretation of the tenets meanings may become lost or confused if only the pictograms are used. I chose to gold foil the logo into the front of the handbook, I took this from old bibles I remember seeing at school and other generic religious texts that seem to always have a black leather bound cover with gold embossed foiling. Had I had more time to complete this brief I would have liked to beef up this handbook and given it a leather cover. An accidental aesthetic that has turned out fairly well is the way the foiling has torn away from the page and left a slightly broken up logo on the handbook. It gives the symbol a bit of age and wisdom as well as a rougher texture.
Together
One of the most important things I needed to do with this project was make sure the two publications work together as a pair. The way the two interact with one another was the most important thing to get right. It was my concern that the Magazine may over-shadow the Cult handbook in terms of theory and actual contextual work and therefore make the later pointless. However by adding pieces about the handbook within the magazine, without revealing too much, I am able to convince the reader to look at the handbook to find out about the rest of the Cult. The handbook also provides a narrative to the cult and creates an actual product for the Magazine to criticise rather than just banging on about an idea on concept I just made up out of nowhere.
Visually the two also work as a pair whilst retaining separate identities. They contain the same cult symbolism yet by appearing in different sizes and stocks the user can understand that the two contain contrasting opinion and styles.
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