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Module 3
Born Digital Fictions
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Activities/Assignments
● Add a comment to Module 3’s blog post with your response to TWO
of the digital fictions we read this week
● Send a tweet to @JessL
with a comment about the Module 3 PowerPoint lecture. What did you learn
about transliteracy and from reading born digital fictions like Inanimate Alice? Will you read more
born digital fictions?
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Thursday, 29 May 2014
Module 3: Born Digital Fictions
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Not overly impressed by these born digital fictions. While they are somewhat interactive and force you to use your brain in terms of gaming type interaction, I don't feel like they challenged my mental faculties at all in the way reading a traditional story would whether that story is online or in a book.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read a story without visuals or needing to click something for more reward (like a rat I suppose) I am forced to use my imagination to see the story unfold in my head and glean information about the story and characters from the details of descriptive words, dialogue, and literary tools such as archetyping and foreshadowing.
What I love about reading is that a seemingly small description or turn of phrase of a character can suddenly give me insight to that character. I can instantly put myself in that character's shoes and either empathize with them or not. This brings the characters and the story to life for me.
In these digital stories, viewing the story from the perspective of the main character was strangely distancing. I felt really detached to both the protagonist and any other characters and for every one, became bored and uninterested in how the story would play out.
I also found it frustrating to have to hunt around for where to click in order to progress the story and in some cases just left the story altogether as I didn't find the reward of progressing the story worth the effort of trying to figure it out.
It is possible that I didn't relate to the characters as they seemed to be aimed at kids rather than adults. Flight Paths was a little more interesting as it was about adults and left me questioning what was going on. I wanted to know more about how these characters came to be in these situations and although the answers were not provided, I was satisfied to have this left to my imagination.
Inkubus though, was complete drivel and it seemed like during the conversation with the friend I was being rewarded for vapid responses to her questions and if I gave answers that were on the side of confidence and self-esteem or even the slightly more interesting anarchic choices, I was punished by losing hearts. This seemed ridiculously inappropriate for a story targeted at teenage girls. By the time I was forced to try and navigate through some bizarre, quilted dream world I was fed up and shut it off as I couldn't be bothered with what happens with this characters.
Overall, I can see that kids raised with transliteracy skills will expect this kind of interaction from their stories, but I hope that the content and the interaction can be written in such away as to stimulate their ability to imagine things that they can't see and not just turn them into lab rats clicking things for rewards and not able to think for themselves.
Thanks for your comment Kristen. I'm glad you had such a powerful response to the new-to-you texts. Whether you enjoyed the experience or not isn't the question but I must address your metaphor of lab rats. Does that mean because one turns pages in a book to progress the story and delve deeper into characters's lives, we are working our way mindlessly through a work? Just like in print, there is a spectrum of born digital works- some require "more" (transliterate skills, interpretation, reader-response, etc) while others are like that book you read on a summer holiday: light and a one-time read.
DeleteAdditionally I don't think
DeleteAdditionally I don't think "kids", just because they grow up in a world that includes born digital work is synonymous with having transliterate skills or enjoying born digital works.
I see what you mean about page turning being like clicking. I hadn't thought about that. I guess page turning seems more natural, having grown up with books and not experiencing the Internet until I was an adult. And in fact, the stories where I was only required to click were no different than page turning.
DeleteI just found the stories where I had to figure out where to click or solve a puzzle manipulative. I suppose if I was enjoying the story or even the puzzle I wouldn't have felt like this but as I wasn't enjoying either in the case of inanimate Alice or Inkubus, I just felt irritated, like why am I clicking around trying to figure this out when the reward is clearly not going to be worth it.
I would certainly try and read other born digital pieces but this selection just didn't sell me on them.
People are becoming increasing transliterate with “the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks." Digital fiction, in theory, feeds into this modern transliteracy using visual and aural components to help create more layered, interactive stories.
ReplyDeleteToo often, however, the digital components become the focus of the piece rather complementing or enhancing the storyline. For example, Inanimate Alice (Episode 1) is a visually clunky and not particularly imaginative tale of a young girl searching for her missing father. I had hoped Episode 3, which was created 9 years later, would be more compelling given the availability of enhanced technological tools, but this wasn't the case. Also, the storyline itself hadn't matured even though the central character was now a teenager.
Inkubus is an example of technology becoming the story when readers quickly get trapped inside a quilt maze with no escape but to literally unplug their computers. With a paper book, the reader is never stuck in a digital bear trap.
Flight Path was a series of short vignettes about a man trying to escape to a better life by any possible means and a suburban housewife from the other side of the globe. Each vignette is very short but compelling, and leaves the reader wondering what happens next. Only the "Dark Mass" vignette is actually enhanced by the use of visuals and sound. The others vignettes could stand strong using text alone.
In short, good story telling depends on an the ability to capture and hold the readers' imagination. Multi-sensory tools may help enhance the story but cannot be used in place of one. Some digital fiction has fallen into the Hollywood movie trap - where car chases and explosions are used to distract viewers from the hollow characters and trite tales.
Exactly Tara, multimodal it does not make the story good on its own. A combination of plot, character, and how the modes and interaction work together can build a great read.
DeleteThanks for commenting.
Thanks Tarra for being way more articulate on my issues with the texts than I was. "Too often, however, the digital components become the focus of the piece rather complementing or enhancing the storyline." Well said.
DeleteOops, I'm not Anonymous, I'm Tarra.
ReplyDeleteInanimate Alice: “Episode 1: China”
ReplyDeleteEngage. Immerse. Experience.
I must admit I was ignorant of this exceptional form of narrative. Dynamic and visually dramatic, the emergence of born digital fiction as a form of literary engagement has far exceeded any unbeknownst expectations.
In Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph’s Inanimate Alice: “Episode 1: China”, I was unaware of and most impressed by the parallels between and the migration of the traditional print literature experience to the digital form.
Each mode contributes to the overall narrative to create a multilayered sensorial experience. I profoundly connected with the impact of multimodal interaction and the pedagogical implications of the content.
“Episode 1:China”, Inanimate Alice and its digitally fused platform enabled plot, character, and setting, created empathy, dramatic tension, and emotional connection while still channeling imagination — as similarly told through print.
Text, music, audio and graphics blend together to create a sense of urgency in locating Alice’s missing father, develops her character, and amplifies the setting. Alice is creative, concerned and observant. The multimodal presentation translated — with impact — the life of a young third-culture girl living in remote China.
The brilliantly fused soundtrack of traditional Asian layered with frenetic synthesizers, children’s choir and a stuttered radio reception result in a emotional experience, again reflecting setting, enhancing character, and creating texture and tone.
Inanimate Alice, “Episode 1: China” is meaningful literature — digital or not — transporting the reader to a visually and emotionally layered landscape as seen through the eyes of another.
_______________
Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph’s networked novel “Flight Paths” highlights socio-economic injustices as faced by many migrant workers around the world.
The inter-connected, cliffhanger-like episodes are a powerful exploration into the world of a young boy seeking a new life in Dubai as he attempts to escape the travail of his native land.
As in "Inanimate Alice", the reader experiences the richness of the narrative and character development through the layered multimedia interface illuminating the narrative and creating empathy for the main protagonist, Jacub. Our desire is to rescue him.
In the “Yacub at the Airport” episode, the prospect of Yacub climbing into the airplane’s wheel well to escape, once again, the apparent oppression of his current existence, foreshadows pending doom.
The story continues in “Dark Mass” where two lives collide culminating in a tragic trajectory. I am somewhat uncertain about the reasoning for his surreal sequence and dialogue with the dead Yacub, but can appreciate the fantasy-like quality.
I would love to see future episodes that highlight and explore realistic solutions to ongoing global migrant and worker camp issues.
As an addendum to Module 3 commentary, I think one has to remember that part of literature's goal is not only to inform, educate and entertain, but also create messaging once you have closed the book or turned off the computer. As an author, you ask: "Did I convey a message? Did my story have an impact on the reader to act? Is there a call to action? What am I leaving behind? This is important as we sift through those elements that we, as readers, choose to ignore when reading traditional print and or digital fiction.
As in print, there will be poor writing, plot and/or character development. The same holds true for digital fiction. There will be individual multimedia elements that neither resonate nor enhance the storyline, but whose message can still be conveyed.
Louise, thank you for your response. I'm thinking about your penultimate point, on the questions authors ask. Perhaps it is being cognisant of this questioning (on the part of the reader) and posing those questions (on the part of the author) that assists in the creation of a strong(er) narrative?
ReplyDeleteI have to start by admitting that I too was unaware of the depth that these digital fiction stories delve in to. In the beginning, with Inanimate Alice, Episode one, I wasn't too drawn in by the story itself, but was drawn in by the method of telling it.
ReplyDeleteAs a photographer in my spare time, I tend to use my camera as a way of telling the story of my experiences. At times, photos alone cannot express the context in which I was observing surroundings - the incidents that led me there, what I was feeling and heard in those moments. This format of story telling has opened my eyes to a different way of sharing those photos and giving them more life.
In the Hometown episode of Inanimate Alice, the story, use of images, and game to find my way out zeroed in on how this format can really put the reader into the situation. The images used gave visual life to the surroundings and clicking may way through the building provided a sense of what Alice would be feeling in that moment. I could better understand the fear and anxiety of the situation. That said, I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, so this format drew me in much more than reading a print story ever would.
I see great benefit in this type of story telling being used to share experiences that few people every have the opportunity to truly understand. Flight paths provided a small taste of this. For example, imagine telling the story of a child trying to navigate their life in a third world country, using actual photos of the daily challenges and placing the reader in the position to make decisions necessary to survive. I think doing this provides a greater sense of reality to the reader - who just watching a video or just reading a story in a magazine would remain somewhat distanced. This format has the ability to help bridge that gap and pull you in just a little bit closer.
Not to dwell on the deeper more difficult side of life either. I see many positive uses to this as well. I would in tourism marketing - and placing the tourist in a virtual tour of the place they are planning to visit and allowing them to navigate through that trip on a "trial" run would really aim to connect the visitor with the destination before they even arrive.
I wasn't too convinced on the possibilities of this format in the beginning, but after watching them, my mind is running rampant with all the possible uses in my personal and professional life. Very intriguing.
Ok here goes. I have found it difficult to formulate my thoughts about digital literature. My initial gut reaction to Inanimate Alice and Flight Paths was "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING". I decided not to comment right away and take some time to think about it. I have watched the episodes twice and have since shown them to my boss and again to two summer students. Inteeresting they had the same reaction as I did. (They did not watch all the episodes).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tarra that the the focus on the visual and audio left little for the story. I do see how it would be of great use for my agency though and after showing my boss and explaining my vision she totally got it and jumped on board. Now I have more work and I worry about creating a good product that willl engage people. Interesting that they could not see this as literature. It is a video. I called it didgital story telling because I too cannot see it as literature yet.
I will use this in my work but for personal use no. I love to read and this was frustrating and hard on the eyes not pleasurable for me at all.
I forgot to mention that I liked the short brief chapters of Flight Paths but hated the black and yellow graphics in the first chapter. The graphics in both stories could be very distractive and was part of what made my eyes hurt.
ReplyDeleteInanimate Alice had good tools and allowed me to go back which I found useful because I was unsure of the storyline at times.
Inanimate Alice: Episode 1: China to Episode 4
ReplyDeleteIn “reading” Inanimate Alice: Episodes 1 – 4 , I am quite intrigued by born digital fiction work. These literary works using multiple modalities seems to engage a “viewer or reader” with multiple senses. I am describing the reader as a viewer/ reader, as these digital born fictions often have a similar way to be viewed as a work of art, as well as a narrative to be read. The images themselves ponder deep and meaningful questions, while the text narrates a parallel storyline. In Inanimate Alice, the viewer/reader is drawn into her life story, questions her wordings, and we create her personality by her syntax, font choice, and drawings.
As an artist, and as Melissa Danielson described, I often see narrative in the form of multiple images rather than text alone. These images allow for another method of creating a narrative that can hold multiple meanings depending on how it is read. This multilayered interactive story can draw in any age of viewer with its simple story line that becomes increasingly complex by the addition of the imagination. The messaging behind these forms of literature, as Louise McEachern has described, is varied and notes some complex societal questions we all ponder today; the intrigue of a family life in constant transit, a child’s perception of a marriage in peril, a child’s sense of fear, an adult sense of fear for example. The messaging and questions that the viewer/ reader leaves the fiction with are perplexing and can create a wide range of inferences.
For example in Inanimate Alice, the use of images to create tension in the first episode was beautifully artistic yet symbolic. The views of a child are simplified and the photos of flowers in a time of stress and worry are emblematic of a child’s mind trying to cope with worry. I was drawn in by this story and continued to read.
This fiction also ties in understanding and acceptance of cultural norms. In Alice’s travels she is exposed to a wide range of cultural differences that she expresses with the language of a child, and the understanding of a child that some things are simply different. It is a childlike sensibility shown through images, sound, text that creates her views of such a cultural difference.
In my opinion, digital fictions allow imaginative narration on the part of the viewer/reader. As a viewer/ reader, we are allowed to read into font choices, image quality, animations as well as syntax and text.
Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph’s networked novel “Flight Paths”
This beautifully crafted story brings to light the injustices we see around us. By paralleling the life of one person right next to another in simple text brings the socioeconomic inequalities that exist at an every day level, too much food vs. incomplete desperation to deserve a better life.
This story is very artistic using color palettes that symbolize wealth and opportunity, and then switching to dark and desperate tones in a time of hopelessness.
Born digital fiction is a unique way of bringing multiple modes of literacy together as well as engaging the viewer/ reader in multiple dimensions. I believe they are a form of art and literature that create a unique way of presenting societal questions and inequalities.
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ReplyDeletePulp Fiction meets ....
ReplyDeleteIn my first experience of this genre of digital born media, I am left to wonder if this medium is simply a digital conversion of 'performance art'. Described by Wikipedia as; ' An essentially contested concept: any single definition of it implies the recognition of rival uses. As concepts like "democracy" or "art", it implies productive disagreement with itself', both pieces evoke dark, ominous overtones through the use of color and shading, both pieces mirror a tension filled drama as complemented by the use of suspense filled music and both require the audience to 'engage' in order to generate the next element of the story - the 'carrot' that may shed light on what the context or intent of the story is.
Controversial in the way of story telling, wrought with leading drama and decidedly thought provoking, both pieces provide a unique window into the worlds of of the protagonists: 'Inanimate Lisa' and Yakob from 'Flight Paths'. They are dark & soul searching, but in the end, neither story truly provides a satiating conclusion in my opinion.
To summarize my impressions of the digital storytelling experience relating to these to pieces - I don't care for 'Performance Art' for the lack of conclusion that my experience has lent of this medium and I feel the same of my interaction with this medium. That said, if the intention was to cause the viewer to simply feel and think....perhaps the medium was successful from the authors perspectives and in that vein of thinking, could be conceived successful to myself as well.
To conclude, I remain conflicted, yet intrigued...
End Note:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_art
The born digital fiction samples we experienced this week remind me of abstract art. I have always struggled to interpret abstract art whether it was in print, visual or performance. I am not yet a fan of born digital literature however, I do like the idea of using sound, animation, photos, videos and text together.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Inanimate Alice I did find the multiple platforms distracting. I also had difficulty deciding what to do first. At one point I thought I was having experience vertigo or motion sickness. I also didn’t feel that the audio added value to the story.
I found the Inkubus story-game the most engaging born digital literature piece. I liked the quality of graphics and the images. I can definitely see that a teenage girl would be attracted to this type of literature. The game like feeling and the ability to modify the story line would appeal to that demographic. As a traditional book reader, I would find the speed of moving through the story very slow.
I will try experiencing born digital literature again and hope to find some pieces that would engage and entertain me.