Tuesday, December 6, 2016

"the cape" + "with those we love alive"

For this week, while both pieces are more simple than others we have seen, I think they are just as valid and prove that electronic literature does not need to be technologically "flashy" and "advanced" for it to impress its digital reader. I like that with "With Those We Love Alive," it had gamelike elements to it, such as giving the reader an experience of customization and control in their adventure with the piece. I liked the hypertextual navigation and different options, and it felt, while there were no impressive or changing graphics, that I was moving along the city and palace and exploring the world of the story. I think it really is something special if an elit piece, like literature, can make you feel like you are inside the realm of the narrative without any visuals to guide you. The story itself was very fantastical and interesting, but I think I liked the title on the bar of the website the most, and that relationship to "writing on yourself" throughout the story and eczema.

Meanwhile, in "The Cape," it was very straightforward in its navigation. I liked that the black and white images, because it was "as old as the story"; however, even though it used simpler methods, it had a few elements I was not expecting. I just thought I would click through, and it be over. However, they added that news audio excerpt about whistling, which I thought was clever and set that "old" mood to the piece. Additionally, I liked the option to click to see more details about the glacier, as if it took us behind the rock itself where the author and her uncle were trying to whistle. It was a short story, as the author points out at the end, but the topographical images and monochromatic scheme added life to this supposedly "pointless" anecdote. It gave more personality and empathy to the story, as we dipped into a brief moment in this person's life; however, we experienced more than just a story, and I love that about the multimodal elements of electronic literature.

Again, both pieces used elements of sound, which has been a significant and reoccurring theme throughout a lot of the pieces we have experienced in class. I think it's important to note the depth, again, that these different mediums can add to the story. Sound bytes, graphics, music, videos, and a spectrum of other media help flesh out the narrative we find in literature. It creates a more empathetic experience for the reader, which is something regular text can be limited to.

Additionally, my contribution for the TiL curation title is something along the lines of "Finding Our Quad (and Ourselves): An Analysis of the Netprov Experience for Thermophiles in Love"

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