firefly – textual media

Reflection

My Boyfriend Came Back From the War is a hypertext that allows the viewer to experience an unfolding drama. It uses nonsequential writing so that the reader may experience the drama in different structures depending on which link they choose and in what order they decide to choose them. The hypertext ranges from black and white images to white on black text which one can only assume are pieces of conversation and thoughts from the assumed narrator. The black and whiteness of the hypertext helps enhance a sense of duality throughout the piece, with the narrator switching between phrases of justification and phrases begging for forgiveness. Although there are many orders in which one may read the hypertext, all readers will obtain the same phrases and images with the completion of the hypertext. This limits the reader’s experience with the text in ways that other hypertexts ( Firefly, Hegirascope) do not. I believe this tends to give the hypertext more meaning and prompts more thought than the randomness that many of the other hypertexts have brought us. I found it much easier to form a constructive opinion with this hypertext than with previous ones.

The author takes a subject that almost every generation can identify with, a woman’s time away from the man she loves while he has gone to war. This hypertext is not as abstract as much of the other hypertexts we have studied. The subject does not leave the reader depending upon his or her own interpretation to gather meaning because it is one that has been brought up time and time again, especially in the present day. As a woman I feel it is especially easy to relate to the speaker of the hypertext in her conflict.

Representational vs. Evocative Meaning: Firefly

The textual media example that stuck out to me the most in class was the Firefly example. While Orsen Whale’s piece had sound, and Jabber had an unknown and exciting mystique, Firefly was interactive. This involvement peaked my interest the most, and will be used in to explain the differing dynamic between the representational meaning and the evocative meaning.

Upon first click, the representational meaning draws us, as readers, into Firefly. We are given a poem with 6 different stanzas, each falling on a new page, with a different angled picture of the same memorial as a background. Within each stanza there are 5 lines, and each line is 6 options deep. This allows us to be interactive in that there are thousands and thousands of possible different line choices. Deena Larson has written (in an order that continuously makes sense! ) 180 lines (6 pages x 5 lines/page x 6 lines/line=180) that create so many different themes and endings to the poem. In playing with these line choice combinations, we are able to create a new meaning to Firefly.

The evocative meaning that catches our attention is that each line reads so full of meaning, yet is several words long, and leaves each stanza at one full sentence. Deena Larsen has created a poem that can bring its readers to differing thought process and memories in the simple, yet powerful lines she has written and created. I remember in class I thought Firefly had a lot of meaning even before Professor Sample told us “click on the lines”. Once we had discovered this, the poem had whole new meanings and brought out new feelings, emotions and memories.

I think that Firefly is a great learning example for a textual meaning class because is simple, yet thoughtful and indepth. With so many line choices, a poem that is about death can be read as a poem with hope and love.

Blog 1: click.

My first instinct when I opened the Firefly site, as with the Jabber site, was to just click. My natural instinct in any site like this is to click, explore, and discover as much as I can without actually reading and/or following the instructions. In all honesty, Firefly was kind of boring and I think it’s due to the fact that requires less thought. Jabber possessed more of an everlasting entertainment value even though less clicking was required. The reason behind the process was more complex and it did require some knowledge of the system to understand what was happening. Firefly was boring because it was more self-explanatory and there weren’t as many things flying around the page.

The representational meaning behind Firefly was to provide a text that reads like a create-your-own-story book. It shows us a poem with 5 lines per page and a background picture of a memorial is provided – a different picture/view on each page. Each of these lines is able to switch to another line, once clicked on. It gives us options and depending on the line you switch, you’ll create a different part of the story, which may also mean a different end product.

The evocative meaning behind Firefly was created through the nostaligic feel of the style of text. I know that one person in class mentioned that it reminded her of when she or her children read those type of books when they were younger. Also, this style of changing one part of a work, which leads to a potentially completly different ending is relevant to our everyday life. This meaning that if we were to chose to drive versus ride our bike to school could, it be the deciding factor of our fate. One slip of another driver or the drivee/biker could evolve into a fatal crash ending one person or many people’s lives. Sure, that’s an extreme example, but in reality, one wrong, unanticipated, or irrational thought by any party in a situation could change your life.

Blog 1: Evocative vs. Representational meaning – Firefly

I found firefly to be the most interesting of the 3 examples of new media. The piece allows the reader to alter virutally every line of the poem in several ways and still continues to flow in a coherent manner.

The representational meaning of the piece of fairly obvious and quite simple, it is about death, and the experience of dying in the first person; however, the evocative meaning of the piece is what makes it interesting. The ability to alter the lines of the poem shows that one is able to choose nearly infinite paths, and there are an equal amount of choices both in life and in the poem. Another interesting aspect of the poem is the fact that the reader of the poem is unable to alter the lines in the opening page, and the lines in the final page. I believe the author made tens of thousands of choices throughout the poem, but the end page is constant and unchanging for a reason, the idea that one can not change the beginning or end, only the aspects in between, and that both the poem and life can only lead to one common end, death. I think that the author of this poem wants to exemplify the futility of life and everything that we do, because in the end, there is only one end.

Though quite morose and down, this poem raises an interesting, unique concept of life and death to the reader, and the piece can entertain for quite some time.

Blog #1: Representational and Evocative Meanings

The representational meaning of Firefly is quite clear: A mere click of any line will seamlessly fit into an already established somber poem. The interactive process allows the audience to change the direction and tone of the poem. It is up to the viewer to decide the path that the poem takes. One interesting aspect of the representational meaning can be found by seeing how replacing one line with another alters the poem’s meaning. It is also a fun website- I found myself surprised that no matter how many times I clicked, the poem still flowed perfectly, and still amazingly managed to retain its morose qualities.

The evocative meaning of Firefly is more complex. One meaning that came to me was how the site showed how trivial the words we use seem to be, and how arbitrary a process it is when we pick certain words above others to express how we feel. A poem is seen by many as a mode of poetic expression- every word means something and contributes to a delicate message. Firefly brought to mind the idea that these words aren’t in reality so precious. They are, in fact, easily replaceable with another completely different phrase.

The dynamic between the evocative and representational meanings of Firefly is certainly interesting. While the representational meaning shows the viewer’s ability to be interactive and influence the progression of a poem to their heart’s content, the evocative meaning delves a bit deeper and shows how strange it is that we live in a community that values words and evaluates them based on their difficulty and sequence. Firefly‘s evocative meaning makes me consider how cynical and almost silly some facets of the English community have become. While some words compliment each other and flow nicely, there is always another combination that would likely work just as well. Both meanings allowed me to examine and appreciate what Firefly presents, as well as what it means.

Blog #1: Thoughts on JABBER

Overall the three electronic literature pieces (Orson Whales, Firefly, and JABBER: The Jabberwocky Engine) viewed in class were interesting. Of the three I liked JABBER the best.

Its functionality is both simple and complex. Simple in that the user pushes a button and watches passively while the program runs. I can’t imagine the programming needed to actually create JABBER. As we discussed in class the letters are attracted to each other based on whether or not they would appear together in a word. They can also form compound words. However at some point it realizes that some letters, though they are “attracted” to certain letters cannot actually be put together to make a real word and “explode” in fiery red letters.

I think one evocative meaning to JABBER is asking you to think about how words quickly evolve. For instance, years ago “email” would mean nothing to people; it would be considered a nonsense word. Now email is a word used in everyday conversation. But that meaning is just looking at what the program does. Setting aside what it does you also need to take into consideration the visual effect.

When it is first started the letters are moving quickly about the screen and immediately begin to bond. Blue letters representing words or word fragments are quickly formed. Sometimes the blue words combine and green words appear showing compound words. This also happens rapidly, I think it is like what may have happened when we created words like “cowboy” and “something”. They are still moving around bouncing off the sides and other letters that have not yet bonded. And every once in a while the combined letters turn red and “explode”. The exploding words remind me of the explosive nature some words have on people and conversation more so than letters that do not make words.

For me, I think that this new media is just the latest way an artist can use to ask the viewer to look at even the most ordinary thing in a new way.

Blog 1: Focus on Firefly

Overall in comparison:

Jabberwocky relies on random moving bits of language and Orson Whales utilizes an animation-like presentation, both of which seem to be created to entertain or entice the user and try to make the user make sense of the work. However, if the user is not interested, he or she may not delve into it any further. In the assigned reading, it was noted that while electronic literature may be the new and next best thing compared to regular printer literature; it also noted that one must not become misguided in the “media” itself, otherwise the meaning is lost.

Representational meaning:

Firefly is contextually based like a book, the user interface is shaped like a novel and it has arrows to flip to the next page. There are clear instructions directly to the right on how to navigate the piece, giving the work a sense of direction that gives the user an idea of what to expect. While the work itself can express many stories depending upon on the selections of the user, the interface is somewhat normalized compared to Jabberwocky for example.

Evocative meaning:

When the user first loads the page they are presented with a nice daytime picture looking through the woods at a nice patch of grass. Soon thereafter, it becomes very dark and the title is displayed “A tale told in 180 degrees of separation.” The animation change from day to night could represent a degree of separation even before diving further into the content. The other question or detail I ponder is the “fog and green light,” is that represented by the ghostly green image backdrop throughout Firefly? It appears to be décor for the tale itself but is it supposed to represent something or someone? In the very first page that is loaded, the “green fog” appears on the right side. When the user moves to the next page, it is flipped to the left side as if one was looking at the “green fog” in a mirror. When you click to go to the next page, the fog is flipped to the left side. Is this intentional? Is there anything to be gleamed from the change of the fog backdrop throughout the tale and that it stays on the left side all the way to the end and does not change after the first page? The color also stood out to me, nearly all the text and components of the user-interface are some shade of green and “fog and green light” is also stated in the first part of the tale. What is the relationship between the color green with this author? Is there one? Even the text on the side of the page, which is the instructional text, not a part of the work, is also green.

Jabber: The Jabberwocky Engine, Neil Hennessey – Lynn Golden

Thinking through the representational aspects of Jabber:

When I first visited JABBER: The Jabberwocky Engine in class, frankly – I wasn’t impressed. However, my love of vocabulary, crossword puzzles, and Scrabble urged me to give Neil Hennessey another chance to captivate me. Initiating the Jabberwocky Engine for a second time, surprisingly, changed my perception of Hennessey’s creation. Jabberwocky is a fun textual media experience that gives the user the opportunity to watch randomly bumping letters bond into accepted English language syllables that create new “nonsense words.” An amusing aspect of the Jabberwocky experience is that some “nonsense words” are further combined to create “compound nonsense words.” Hennessey’s presentation can be (if given the chance) a stimulating experience for anyone interested in the construction of words. Through my second encounter with Jabberwocky, I found it to be both informative – related to standard phonetic combinations – and humorous related to the accidental combinations that result in “words.” The randomness of Jabberwocky provides an element of surprise that retains interest. Another dimension is added by the user’s ability to access the list of “words” being formed. This list is a window into the innumerable possible combinations of new words that could be created using this concept and catalyzes thought regarding the similarity of many of the created words to real morphemes. Neil Hennessey’s analogy that letters are to words as atoms are to molecules, clearly explains his intent to present a visual demonstration of what he calls “word chemistry” in the context of the creation or building of words.

Considering my initial impressions of Jabberwocky and contemplating why I wasn’t initially impressed, it struck me that unlike Firefly and Orson Whales, Jabberwocky is not as graphically rich. The introductory frame is a simple black rectangle centered on a doctor’s office blue background. The introduction is crisp, clean, and to the point – a basic explanation with a small simple window that invites the user to “launch!” Certainly, Hennessey was capable of creating a more visually stimulating experience, but he chose to keep the periphery basic. The choice to minimize graphics and sound purposefully focuses the user on the basics of the Jabber experience and analogously – the very basic building blocks of all words – letters. Would aesthetic additions to the graphic or sound experience of Jabber heighten or diminish the experience? My conclusion is that any further graphic or sound enhancements would detract from the intended purpose and experience.

On an evocative level:

Jabberwocky evokes the randomness of language. Although we can trace many morphemes to Latin, through time and the influences of the evolution of culture, language is constantly changing. An example of a recent word creation is infobahn. This word derived from the merger of two concepts – the high speed German Autobahn and the idea of the information superhighway. Thus, the bumping together of letters/words through cultural influence created a new word. When viewing my Jabber word list, I couldn’t help but notice many similarities or inversions of familiar words. These words made me think of other real word inversions, for example – the simple word mop. Why is a mop called a mop and not a pom. Why is a pom-pom called a pom-pom and not a mop-mop. A mop head and a pom-pom are constructed in the same way. Strands of fiber are bound in the center. Of course there is a history behind these words that can be studied and analyzed, but for a common person – it seems like nonsense in much the same way the Jabberwocky Engine first struck me. Another simple word example: tot. A tot can be a toddler or a processed potato food. This does not make any more sense to me than a random Jabber creation. In viewing my Jabber list, I see the word: leggering. This word makes perfect sense to me. This word could be used to describe a person who is sitting with her legs crossed, swinging her top leg up and down – why not just say she is leggering?

It is also plausible for the Jabberwocky Engine to evoke the idea of the colliding/bumping of the letters/words of the languages of the world. As our world continues to become smaller and smaller through advancements in the technologies of travel and communication – cultures and ideologies are gradually blending/assimilating and thus affecting language. Six years ago, I was not familiar with Cinco de Mayo. Five years ago, one of my Latino neighbors started the tradition of a Cinco de Mayo block party. Now, families of Korean, European, Latino, and Chinese descent have formed a new tradition – the Thames Street Cinco De Mayo Block Party. In Jabberville, it might be called the Thamco DeMock Party!

“Orson Whales”: A Chaotic Amalgamation

Collectively, “Orson Whales”, “Jabber”, and “Firefly” are all pieces that can be considered to be forms of “new media”. However, the application of the term “new media” changes with each piece.

“Orson Whales” is a compilation of film, text, audio, and art. When combined, these various artistic mediums create a sort of performance art that is wildly unique. Technology allows them to coexist with one another, and therefore stimulate both the auditory and visual senses. Together, these several types of media extract a multi-sensory reaction from the audience (something that neither illustration nor text can do alone).

This chaotic amalgamation also illustrates the dynamic relationship between representational meaning and evocative meaning. On its own, the representational meaning of the text “Moby Dick” is obvious. The book is easily read on the surface level as a story about a whale. However when Orson Wells’ voice, Led Zeppelin’s lyrics, and Alex Itin’s art are all projected across the visual image of the text, the evocative meaning of the work becomes slightly more difficult to read. The book alone can be analyzed page by page; but analyzing the text, the song, the voiceover, and the art suddenly becomes an unmanageable task put forth by the “new media” compilation piece. Though the representational meaning of the text remains the same (as it has since its inception), the evocative meaning suddenly changes with the inclusion of multiple other interpretations. “Orson Whales” isn’t Orson Wells’ interpretation of the text, nor is it Led Zeppelin’s. Rather, “Orson Whales” is Alex Itin’s own reading of the renowned tale.

By using outside sources to help narrate his vision, Alex Itin brings into question the notion of artistic integrity. Who truly gets the credit? The piece in its present form could not exist without the contributions of Led Zeppelin, Orson Wells, or Herman Melville. Alone, Alex Itin’s illustrations would not be so easily recognizable as a visual reading of “Moby Dick”. Just as “Orson Whales” relies on the interactive relationship between multiple artists, so too do most other forms of “new media”. “New media” depends on the interaction of several different perspectives simply because it has transformed into a means of universal communication in a technological world.