Hypertext Fiction

Hypertext spans a wide realm of different materials. It includes various mediums on different topics. An example of this style of digital literature would include Shelley Jackson’s "My Body: A Wunderkummer." In a series of interactive text sections, Jackson focuses on different subjects while tying them together in an overall narrative. Jackson’s approach allows readers to focus on certain sections, by providing options to select what they want to read. The project was fairly simple in terms of digital content, but it was easy to navigate and explore. 

Meanwhile, Entre Ville analyzed a village through the perspective of a narrator. While it was a bit confusing regarding the layout, it was an interesting glimpse into a different place. Personally, I liked how there were various videos and sound bites to keep things interesting. It made it easier to become absorbed in the story and what was going on. I also thought that the poem itself was very vivid and detailed, and definitely could have been read alone. Adding the other elements enhanced the experience. That said, I did find that there was quite a bit of material to venture into. There were a lot of options to choose from, which kept it interesting but also tricky to go through.

A few elements I did like included the option to view multiple stories. It was interesting to have the option to go explore the different narratives occurring. Further, they created a bigger picture of life in the village and town. It was especially interesting to see how the corresponding poem reflected the feel and format of a selected link. 

Overall, I thought the Manifesto was a great example of how we adapt as people to our changing environment. For example, when the author compared humans to cyborgs, I realized that we are, in a way, conditioned to adapt. Therefore, it is easier for us to adjust to a changing realm of information consumption. I did find the Manifesto rather broad, such as the statement “mind and body, animal and machine, idealism and materialism” presented, but it was a good overview of the large span of digital lit. A couple things I did take away was that digital lit includes postmodernism, electronic lit, and words. From there, it is up to interpretation.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Dr. MFebruary 20, 2023 at 12:35 PM

    My Body is complex in narrative, but a nice, straightforward hypertext in form, and it's fairly simple to create one like this with links and text as we will explore more this week and next!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gwen WestFebruary 21, 2023 at 10:42 AM

    I also enjoyed looking at Entre Ville and the various different aspects of this creation. I did find it confusing at first, too, but it was still really cool to read and explore!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sky RousseauFebruary 21, 2023 at 10:46 AM

    I also thought that Entre Ville had poems strong enough to be read on their own, but the visual elements added so much more to the piece, though it was a little overwhelming. I also greatly enjoyed the ability to have several sections of the hypertext being viewed at once, it absorbed me deeper into the poem by allowing this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. CJ VFebruary 21, 2023 at 11:10 AM

    I liked your point about how people are already programmed to adapt. I think as technology progresses and information is spread faster and faster, we have to adapt faster and faster.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VR and Empathy Machine's

 What I really appreciated about Chris Milks Ted Talk was how he expanded upon the idea of film. he describes it as "the same now as it was then." But what Chris wanted to do was to use technology was to make stories that couldn't be made with current techniques. Each time he presents a new piece, people seem to have stronger and stronger emotional responses to it. I think this speaks to how powerful immersion is. The more immersive the piece is, the more invested the user becomes. I think this is what his goal was with the last project when he did clouds over Sidra. It was incredibly moving to see her entire environment. It was as real as it could be. He could have made a documentary on Sidra, but often times those can become movie-like. This project was the opposite of that. "You are sitting there with her... and because of that you feel her humanity in a deeper way." I think this piece captured that idea beautifully. It captures her world in such a way that e
Read more

VR and Empathy- Hannah S.

 I really appreciated the TED talk from Chris Milk about how VR creates empathy. I came into this with a very limited understanding of the capacity of VR. In my mind, it was for games and fun, but there was also uses like working with veterans who have PTSD. However, I did not realize the true scope of VR and how much it could accomplish. I thought his first project "The Wilderness Downtown" was shocking enough as it inserts where you grew up and takes you back to those roads and to your house. Having technology that can do that alone is mind boggling to me. However, "Clouds Over Sidra" went even farther and is able to place the viewer into someone else’s life, environment, and view. It is amazing to think of how much this could do, like in his example of being able to spread awareness to the people who are in control of the lives of many.  It is amazing considering I thought movies had gotten good at being able to suck you in and make you feel for the characters. B
Read more

Sharing Digital Texts - Cameron Whitney

Image
  Post Secret Ted Talk Post Secret Website Post Secret reminds me a little bit of the Yellow Arrow Project. It involves anonymity and sharing words with others. Thinking about this website and project warms my heart and simultaneously makes me feel like I could cry. It started with Frank Warren, a man who printed out 3,000 pre-addressed postcards in 2004 and randomly handed them out on the streets of Washington, D.C. He included instructions on one side and the other was blank. The instructions told the people who received the cards to “anonymously share an artful secret they’d never told anyone before.” Some people send in deep secrets and others send in funny ones. It is a beautiful form of digital literature as he posts them on the website so people can view new ones every Sunday. I’ve always wanted to send one in and I know that eventually, I will.
Read more