As I described in class today, we’re going to be doing a social experiment with Hegirascope using Web 2.0 tools. The idea is to create a trail of virtual breadcrumbs through a short reading of Hegirascope, in which you leave Post-It Note style annotations on each page you read.
Category: News
Reading Hegirascope
Because reading Hegirascope can be a maddening experience, I thought I’d give you some tips.
First, if you’re really confused, take some time to read Stuart Moulthrop’s introduction to the work. But if you’re feeling adventurous, dive right in.
The first couple screens will flash by automatically, but you’ll shortly see a page with several hyperlink choices. Choose whatever you want and keep exploring. Do read carefully what is on the screen and do think about the choices you make. At a minimum, spend at least 30 minutes with Hegirascope.
While you’re reading the work, take note of any individual pages that really interest you. Bookmark them or jot down the URL (just the last part of the URL is all you need, say, HGS084.html).
I’d like each student to come into class on Tuesday with the name and address of three pages from Hegirascope that he or she finds particularly key to the work as a whole. Be prepared to talk about what you think the text on these three pages mean, both literally and evocatively. Also, I want you to think about how the different categories of interactivity that Marie-Laure Ryan writes about in Narrative as Virtual Reality are at play in Hegirascope.
On “Orson Whales,” : Evocative and Represational Meaning
“Orson Whales” combines different audio, video, text, and animation to create a multimedia collage depicting the flawed nature of man. What I found most intersecting is that the only original media used was the author’s hand drawn animation. All the other material was taken from previously established works.
Representational Meaning:
When the different pieces are combined as a whole, certain symbols and themes are established which make connections between the tragic heroes: Charles Foster Kane (Citizen Kane), Narcissus (Greek Mythology), and Captain Ahab (Moby Dick) and John Bonham (Led Zeppelin).
Led Zeppelin’s song “Moby Dick” is comprised mostly of a drum solo showcasing the mastery of percussionist John Bonham, whose life was tragically cut short due to the effects of alcoholism. Charles Foster Kane’s pursuit of money and material possessions ultimately lead to an unsatisfying life. The tale of Narcissus, which is about a young man who falls in love with the reflection of himself in a fountain and because he could not “grasp the mild tormenting image, plunged into [the fountain] and drowned” (this passage can be heard around 0:46). And Captain Ahab’s obsession with the great white whale and his thirst for revenge lead him to his own tragic demise.
Many symbols are used in the animation to punctuate the thread between the different works. Animation of the figure chasing after a bottle labeled with a dollar sign, looking at himself a mirror, plunging into the water, drowning and being swallowed by the whale are repeated throughout the piece in an attempt to illustrate the possible danger of each man’s unhealthy fixation.
All the plots of these individual stories are basically the same: Man discovers something, obsesses over it, and dies unsatisfied.
Evocative meaning:
The last audio passage heard over the video clip of Charles Kane walking down a mirrored hall addresses the inevitable fade of even the greatest of artworks. What the passage argues is that due to the constant change of cultural contexts and the decreasing/discontinued use of obsolete media, even the most celebrated works of art are at risk of being forgotten. The author is, in a sense, arguing that the only way for art to survive is to stay kinetic. Similar to the way that the digital sampler revolutionized the way people thought about music—by taking something old and using it a different way—all artwork can be kept relevant by continued reference and tendency towards change.
This is not a new practice either. In the opening line of Moby Dick, Melville makes a reference to a character in the Old Testament of the Bible (Ishmael, the rejected son of Abraham). This reference instantaneously adds depth to the character using the reader’s prior knowledge and providing Melville with the opportunity to expand ideas in new directions.
Technology has given artists and authors the opportunity to experiment not only with new forms of media, but the combination of old and new media as well. By embracing the artwork of the past as well as the technology of the future, we might not have to watch them “wear away into the ultimately and universal ash.”
Matt Z
Welcome to ENGL 343: Textual Media
ENGL 343 is devoted to the critical study of texts produced and consumed in a digital environment, what generically we might call electronic literature. And what you are reading now is the first entry on the class blog for ENGL 343. If you are a student in ENGL 343, you can register for the blog, something you’ll need to do before the first week of classes is over.
Even if you don’t want to register yet, you can still browse this site, which will play an essential role in our course this semester. Of particular interest to students in ENGL 343 will be the course guidelines and the day-to-day class calendar.