story

The blog we looked at about the guy who found a camera in the woods presents what I call an "undefined narrative." We know neither the narrator, or even the implied and actual narratee, which fascinates me. The breadth of possibility within the discourse widens without these two aspects, as does the story. Where the pictures are unclear, the imagination can create both the plot and discourse. This was the most enjoyable aspect of looking through the pictures, both in class and on my own. The figures found in some of the pictures lend themselves to generating interest in the meaning, otherwise they would become a predictable, even boring plot for most folks. Even then, the fog, blurry shots, and camera angles are peculiar.

Several questions have been sticking in my head as to the meaning of actual narrative. Can a random collection of images, not held together by a text, become a story? What if the pictures in this camera were taken by several different people, or what if the same person took the pictures at completely different time periods? How does that form a narrative, and what are the implications for us as viewers/readers/interpreters?  read more »

I believe a leaning towards the expansionist approach to narrative necessarily leads to an acceptance of all sorts of media, even as technology advances and (could it be) more forms of communication and representation are produced. The term 'narrative' seems to be too broad to limit simply to literature, as the traditionalist presume. Narrative should rather be all-inclusive and even open-ended, realizing that stories are being told every day in many differing forms. And since narrative encompasses both the story and the way in which it is communicated, the advent of video games, hypertext, etc. should be considered narrative.

My argument is that there is always a narrator and narratee in these emerging forms of narrative, even though it is not always so obvious. Consider video games. I believe that the narrator is most often you as the player/interactor, whether you control an army from a bird's eye view (as in "Command and Conquer") or through first person ("Doom," "Halo"). The perspective may change throughout the course of the game as you gather new information, but ultimately, you maintain control, and by your actions, you dictate the story.  read more »

I agree with Janet Murray's argument that a computer can be a "compelling medium for storytelling if we can write rules for it that are recognizable as an interpretation of the world." In the case of ELIZA, which Murray uses as her example, the user gets to interact with Eliza in the context of a therapy session, where Eliza acts as the therapist and the user as the patient. The programming is designed to mimic the "neutrality of a Rogerian therapist, who reflects the patient's statements without judgment." In this way, Eliza is like an actress or a character in a story. She advances the "plot" of the story with her responses, which are "exploited for a comic effect because they echo the rigidities of certain psychotherapeutic methodologies." Eliza plays an active role in the discourse of the story because it is made up solely of dialogue. I understand that the program does not clearly define the therapist/patient relationship at the beginning of the dialogue, but with a proper preface, all the pieces fit together into a perfectly plausible story, at least until Eliza breaks down and starts talking gibberish.

"Rise of the Video Game" introduced Space Invaders as a successor of "Pong" in the video game market, and the very first experimentation with a fantasy setting: invading aliens and the defense against. While the premise of Pong was relatively simple (two people playing a highly simplified, symbolic, pixelated table tennis), a "story" and "discourse" space still existed, but wasn't at all elaborate and dependent almost entirely on the player/viewer's imagination. Space Invaders is similarly minimalistic, although out of necessity, given that game technology had not yet evolved to become a diverse storytelling toolset. Props were limited to simple, often monochrome, pixels and a game play established upon basic, simple premises.  read more »

I mentioned kill screens of class arcade games in class today because it was something that I didn't know about until recently watching the documentary "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters," a documentary that follows two arcade gaming champions in the quest to hold the world's record score in Donkey Kong. It's a fascinating documentary.

Here's a 1-minute clip from it that explains and shows images of kill screens:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-wY1dkCKZ7Q

I've always played video games, but I've never been the type that needs to explore every nook and cranny and complete every level and aspect of the game. When I was little, I think I always assumed that all games had an end - and that's probably because by the time I was old enough to really play games (born in 1985.. even though I briefly had an Atari, I probably only watched my older sister and parents play) the games probably *had* endings. I remember having "Game Genie" (actually, I still have it) that allowed me to explore this by giving Mario the nifty ability to fly through levels unscathed until I reached the end.  read more »

"As a photographer and writer..."

The above phrase was my original introduction to my first blog entry. I intended to comment upon Chatman's comparison of the visual arts to the written. As I began, however, I couldn't get past that first phrase. Should I write "photographer and writer," or "writer and photographer"? What difference would it make in the reader's mind? Which version would be more memorable? Am I a "photographer who writes," or "a writer who creates photos"? Does it matter?

Yes.

This deliberation over the structure of my sentence is a fantastic example of how discourse affects story: each choice of words and of their order creates a different meaning, however slight. For example, whichever name comes first ("photographer" or "writer") automatically assumes a higher status as a label. Thus, even the most elementary of elements of story--grammatical structure--plays a very important role in painting a picture for the audience.

Perhaps I am a writeographer. Or a photowriter.

ETC