{"id":823,"date":"2008-11-14T00:15:37","date_gmt":"2008-11-14T04:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/fall2008\/343\/?p=823"},"modified":"2008-11-14T00:15:37","modified_gmt":"2008-11-14T04:15:37","slug":"whale-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/fall2008\/343\/2008\/11\/14\/whale-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Whale Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my opinion, Whale Hunt<\/em> is a database that is also a narrative.\u00a0 According to Lev Manovich, a database is a structured collection of data.\u00a0 Whale Hunt<\/em> meets that criterion.\u00a0 Manovich quotes Mieke Bal, defining a narrative as a cultural object ” \u2018that should contain both an actor and a narrator; it also should contain three distinct levels consisting of the text, the story, and the fabula; and its \u2018contents’\u00a0 should be \u2018a series of connected events caused or experienced by actors.’ ” Further, Manovich asserts that a new media narrative is usually interactive.\u00a0 In the case of Whale Hunt<\/em>, the work is interactive. \u00a0Since the work is a documentary rather than fiction, I’m not sure how that aspect fits into Bal’s definition of <\/em>narrative.\u00a0 More important to me is the fact that Jonathan Harris considers his project to be a narrative.\u00a0 On the “Interface” link, Harris explains the challenge he faced related to creating the interface.\u00a0 The database includes 3,214 pictures.\u00a0 Harris wanted an interface that would preserve the story and minimize picture download time.\u00a0 He definitely achieved the goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taking each of Bal’s criteria one-by-one:<\/p>\n