Digital Globalization’s Effect on Cultural Barriers

“Transmission” is a fantastic book, written by Hari Kunzru, which captures different perspectives to our digital, globalized world. Kunzru creatively describes the connection between people and technologies with metaphors. He relates human actions with computer processes and vice versa. According to Oxford English Dictionary, a virus, as a biological term, is “An infectious, often pathogenic agent or biological entity which is typically smaller than a bacterium, which is able to function only within the living cells of a host animal, plant, or microorganism”. A virus, as a technological term, is “A program or piece of code which when executed causes itself to be copied into other locations, and which is therefore capable of propagating itself within the memory of a computer or across a network, usually with deleterious results”.  In the book Leela is a computer virus that spreads like a “disease”. With descriptions like “Leela was in the system like a quintessence, a breath” and “[Leela] corrupted data at the New Cross and Littlebrook substations, seducing the control software, whispering you are the overload, trip the circuit breaker, shut down the lines”, he gives life to the inanimate through his words. Kunzru contradictory style of writing gave me new perspective on how to interpret these terms.

The title “Transmission” refers to the cultural adaption of our increasingly globalized world. Globalization involves the exchange of cultural, economic, and social understanding through the interchange of information. Kunrzu explains, “[Information] is not the same as knowledge. To extract one from another you must, as the word suggest, inform. You must transmit. Perfect information is sometime defined as a signal transmitted from a sender to a receiver without loss, without the introduction of the smallest uncertainty or confusion. In the real world, however, there is always noise.” Noise is another metaphor Kunrzu uses to refer barriers or borders of cultural adaption. He gives indication that these barriers/borders are unavoidable by stating, “As soon as there is a sender, a receiver, a transmission medium and a message, there is a chance for noise to corrupt the signal. “Transmission, virus and noise are all technical terms that contribute to our digital world. As our digital world becomes increasingly globalized, these terms take on new meaning in relation to the connection of cultural networks.

The Development of Hardware and Software Influences the Integration of Human and Computer

Cyberpunk is genre of electronic literature that expresses the advancement of technology that connects humans and computers together. Mark Bould  states that the term “a became an ever-expanding term for any slightly edgy artistic or cultural practice concerned with computers and/or the relationships between technology and the body…“.Burning Chrome”, by William Gibson, and the movie, “Ghost in the Shell”, exemplify the genre’s creative possibilities. In both pieces the break down between physical space and cyberspace occurs within the complexity of the hardware and software. The hardware and software confine to the level of integration of human and machine.

The “Puppet Master” or “Project 2501” in the movie was declared, by humans, as faulty software of artificial intelligence that was stored in an empty cyborg body refer to as a “shell”. Humans shown in the movie are extensively modified using bio-technologies, yet, their human conscious remains intact. Human emotions and self-identification are included in the software developed to simulate artificial intelligence (A.I.). The “ghost in the shell” is describing the conscious developed as the A.I. evolved to a higher level of understanding. In this case, the “ghost” is the software and the “shell” is the hardware.

The integration of the software and hardware is critical to the breakdown between physical space and cyberspace. It is difficult to imagine fully integrating human and computer without compromising the integrity of the human conscious. The awareness of mortality and morality is just a few ways to maintain the integrity of a human conscious. This cyberpunk fiction implies that further advancement in the connection between human and computer would result in the loss of the human conscious as an aspect of self-identification.

Interconnectivity balances the significance within Hypertext Fictions

“my body – a WunderKammer”  by Shelley Jackson, with sound by John Wesley Harding and HTML coding by Ken Fricklas is digital literature written as a hypertext fiction. It displays a title page with the sound of breathing playing. I assume the breathing sound is to give the reader the sense that the text is conscious. Beyond the title page, the contents consist of a picture that represents the author’s nude, female body. Certain body parts are emphasized in the picture with boxes drawn around them to provide an indication the author would like the reader to examine its contents further.  The design of the sketch shows that the author representing herself as pieces to a unique creation. The picture is as if there is originally a plain representation of the author’s body; a black and white sketch of a body that is flawless. Each box around a body part exposes a flaw and gives a sense of meaning to that particular part.  Each box links to another page that reveals details of that particular part of the author’s body.  The author provides a picture and description as well as her personal feeling towards that particular body part. The author also gives a background story to why that body part exist the way it is or her perspective on that part in general. There are specific phrases within the text that are hyperlinks to other descriptions that relate to that phrase.  The complexity of the understanding grows as you explore due to the interconnectivity of each body part’s background story. The author is telling one story that is broke down into several anecdotes. Robert Coover explains, “…hypertext provides multiple paths between text segments, now often called “lexias” in a borrowing from the pre-hypertextual but prescient Roland Barthes.”  The form of this piece of literature articulates distinction of each body part’s significance while simultaneously connecting their meanings together.

The author gives her feeling towards her body by giving the title, “my body – a WunderKammer”.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines “WunderKammer” as, “A chamber or cabinet of wonders; spec. a place exhibiting the collection of a connoisseur of curiosities, such as became common from the late Renaissance onwards.”  From the definition you would think Jackson is attempting to capture the reader’s attention by describing her body as “collection of a connoisseur of curiosities”. However, Jackson is referring to her own curiosity of her body. This gives the reader a sense that you are discovering her body as the author does. The functionality of this hypertext fiction allows you to discover each body part as you would if you were experiencing a segment of a longer story. N. Katherine Hayles agrees that “the immediacy of code to the text’s performance is fundamental to understanding electronic literature, especially to appreciating its specificity as a literary and technical production.” The ability to read a portion of a description of a body part then jump to another, narrates a learning experience. Hayles refers to David Ciccoricco’s term “network fiction” that defines a hypertext fiction as “digital fiction that “makes use of hypertext technology in order to create emergent and recombinatory narratives.” Jackson narrates her experience discovering herself (her body) by revealing her perspective of each part.

As the reader, the choice on where to begin is debatable. Jackson’s put emphasis on specific body parts to give the reader choices on where to start. The only body parts that are not emphasized, but are still available for exploring, are parts of the head such as eyes, mouth, nose, ears, and hair. Is this another indication of the author’s perspective or preference? The programming does not restrict the access to any body part. It is the reader’s curiosity that encourages exploring one of the more emphasized parts.  One of the labeled parts is “toes”, which links to a page describes Jackson’s childhood desire to become a ballerina so she can learn to dance on her toes.  A line in the description states, “I was prepared to practice until I mastered it.” The phrase “I was prepared to practice” is a hyperlink that goes to a page that beings with the phrase “I believe in practise” which is a hyperlink back to the previous page. The current page is the same page you would be linked to if you started by exploring ‘feet” . The definition of “practice” and “practise” by the Oxford English Dictionary is, “To perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency.” The connection between “toes” and “feet” is repetitive. Jackson’s description of her feet begins by stating that she “walked barefoot every day”. Does the repetitive nature of the hypertext represent Jackson’s repetitive actions as a child?

This piece of literature exhibits the author’s body as branches that make up the entire piece. Hayles describes hypertext fictions as a “networked linking structure”. The interconnectivity of these descriptions is tailored to the author’s unique experiences. Although each description has its own significance, the hyperlinks that connect pages together support the “network” of the text. The structure of interconnectivity enables the reader to experience the contents individually and as a whole. There are hyperlinks in the text that lead to pages that are not accessible from the main page with the picture of the entire body. This indicates that the structure of the text was not created as a shortcut to access each body part. The “networked linking structure” guides the reader to experience each part as the author intended.   Jackson captures her experiences into a single picture of a natural, nude female body and emphasizes each body part’s private/personal significance. Simultaneously, the interconnectivity of each body part contributes to the narration that gives an overall understanding of the text. “my body – a WunderKammer” complements the Jackson’s personality by exposing her personal narrations that describe each body part.  The accumulation of understanding and significance to each body part gives the reader insight on the author’s personality.  The capabilities of a hypertext fiction allow the author the ability put emphasis on a specific aspect of her body without diminishing the overall impression intended.

Literature in Video Games

The online game, “The Great Gatsby”, is a graphically interactive video game that gives the author/creator a new way to present his creative ideas.  This game gives a twist to the popular Nintendo game, “Super Mario”. Instead of Mario being the main character in the setting, you are Nick Carraway in the 1925 novel, “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. However, the structure of the game is the same. Each level of the game refers to each step in the plot of the novel. The association between a previous popular game and novel is an example of Walter Ong’s definition of “intertextuality”. The combination of two popular pieces of literature into a video game illustrates the portability of literature.  Video games introduce a new role in literature because it transforms the reader into the user/player. Douglass C. Perry claims that “in a way that will ascend beyond TV, movies, and every other storytelling medium.” The addition to authorship gives the reader a different understanding of the material.

A video game usually has a purpose for the player. In “Super Mario”, Mario has to save the princess. The Nick Carraway purpose is not clearly understood if you haven’t read the novel. Each level shows an objective and characters are encountered as the user proceeds through the level.  The user is given three lives to complete the level. James Paul Gee describes the “intertextuality” of the story being told as “a story being told by the real-world player and the virtual world character, I call it the real-virtual story.” The reader/author/user/player understands the literature through interactivity .The interactivity of a video game gives the user the ability to learn the rules to the game, experience important events that unveil a “real-virtual story”.

Significance in Words, Colors, Shape, and Sequence

Colors of My Life”, written by a University of Maryland Student named Scott Block, is a very creative digital poem. The digital poem displays 9 squares that make up a block figure. I thought it was interesting enough to mention, although I’m not sure if it is coincidental, that the shape of the figure is the same as the author’s last name.  Each square or block in the figure has a small poem that has a title, picture, color, and specific placement in the figure. The reader must place the cursor over one of the blocks to interact with it; the block then displays the poem within. Not only does this digital poem consist of many smaller poems, but also displays new meaning with the geometric style and the arrangement of colors Block chose to use. Another interactive element, and perhaps the most important, is the functionality of the digital poem to re-arrange and re-create at the reader’s will. Every click of the refresh button re-arranges each square’s attributes.

The attributes of each square expresses just as much meaning as the poem associated with it. Aside from the figures shape and title-to-poem association, all the other attributes change with each refresh.  Why does he you use those pictures, colors, and sequence? What I noticed was each time I refreshed the page different sequence of squares was displayed. My understanding of the interactive element is that Block was attempting to express that these squares represent his life values and they do not diminish. Instead, some values change in precedence. The meaning behind the changing of attributes is for the reader to discover through interaction. The small poem associated with each value in each square also requires interactivity.

Each small poem gives a personal insight on what the author understands as the meaning of each value. Justice, Friendship, Family, Balance, Passion, Truth, Ambition, Freedom, and Spontaneous are Block’s life values and titles to each small poem. Which one should be explored first? Digital poetry has the ability to lead readers to creative understanding. It engages curiosity to questions that may or may not have logical answers. The reasoning behind the function of the interactivity of digital poetry is a question on its own. Nonetheless, inspiring creative thinking is what art is supposed to do. Interactive changes are obvious, but discovering/creating meaning to what you have just experienced is extraordinary.

Discovering the Form and Function of a Hypertext Fiction

Exploring “These Waves of Girls” by Caitlin Fisher, requires patience for the reader to fully appreciate the form of art hypertext friction presents. A hypertext fiction involves the reader in a piece of literature that accumulates meaning or understanding the more time you spend reading. Robert Coover explains that “This is a new kind of fiction, and a new kind of reading. The form of the text is rhythmic, looping on itself in patterns and layers that gradually accrete meaning, just as the passage of time and events does in one’s lifetime. Although the idea of literature “as the passage of time and events in one’s lifetime” is logical, I found the form and function of the hypertext fiction to be engaging in the beginning, however, I became impatient and the endless reading became overwhelming and tedious.

At first, I was confused on how to proceed with reading the text. As Coovers says, “The structuring of the space can be so compelling and confusing as to utterly absorb and neutralize the narrator and to exhaust the reader.” I gradually discovered how to navigate through the text. Is this the right path to the story? Did I click the correct link? How does the text I am reading now relate to the text I’ve previously read? These are some of the questions I asked myself as I continued to read “These Waves of Girls. Coover refers Ted Nelson’s definition of hypertext as “…a generic term…to describe the writing done in the nonlinear or non-sequential space made possible by the computer.” Paul LaFarge agrees by stating that “[Hypertext fictions] don’t have the spring-loaded crutch of linearity and “arc” to support your work; the sections have to be readable along multiple paths; they have to be richly related in multiple ways; and they have to keep you reading.”  The longer I spend, the more I understood the theme of how the literature is being presented to me and how to navigate through it.

On the contrary, the accretion of meaning in the text could engage the reader more because of the constant curiosity. Or even perhaps the oblivious desire to finish could drive the reader to continue to explore. Regardless of reason, whether be confusion or curiosity, the hypertext fiction interacts with the reader in ways that give influence to continue to read. Jessica Laccetti writes about “These Waves of Girls” in “Where to Begin?: Multiple Narratives” “In this fiction there is no underlying message that one can systematically and chronologically author one’s experience”. The form and function of a hypertext fiction engages the reader both positively and negatively because of the nature in which the content is presented. The reader is the second variable in this equation, the text being the first variable, which makes the effect on a reader a unpredictable experience.

Effect of Technologies on Unique Digital Literature

We live in a digital world where literature can be created, manipulated and duplicated in number of creative and interactive ways.  Digital literature has developed into an art form that could consist of audio and visual effects.  Although not all digital literature is as extravagant as the next, the author has ability to give new meaning to old literature people are more familiar with.  Digital literature has capability been shared on the internet and available like never before. Walter Ong explanation of “intertextuality” argues that the widespread sharing has challenged the idea of creating a truly unique piece of literature. I agree that digital literature after the introductory of the copyright act may have screwed the level of unique literature. However, I believe that the advancement of technologies of language will inevitably give people to create extraordinary work.   Cory Doctorow claims “I’m more interested in getting more of that wider audience into the tent than making sure that everyone who’s in the tent bought a ticket to be there”.  Is copyright aiding the advancement in literature or is it restricting people of their creativity? Doctorow states “let’s look at the moral case. Copying stuff is natural. It’s how we learn (copying our parents and the people around us)”.

Technologies today allow you to create audio and video forms of literature that could express your personal experience to the original piece was inspired by. The ability to take another piece of literature and modify it to create something new should be considered as a unique piece of art. Since literature is an art form, digital literature should be seen the same way. Doctorow claims that the sharing of literature is “a personal recommendation between two people who trust each other enough to share bits.” I found it interesting that he used the word “bits” to describe what people are sharing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word bits as “A unit of information derived from a choice between two equally probable alternatives or ‘events’; such a unit stored electronically in a computer.” Although it is the more accurate way of describing the action, digital literature is seen as information rather than unit data. Our digital world could become more familiar with this terminology since we deal with the sharing of data at a high level. Everyone is different in the way we adapt technologies and the speed in which we adapt. Some may not understand or appreciate the unique literature developed by the newer technologies. For example, the review of “Super PSTW Action RPG” by Axman13 explains his experience of that piece of digital literature. As we adapt to technologies, digital literature will become gradually unique and there will always exist criticism of the uniqueness of one’s literature.

Rhythmic Inspiration in Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”

The Academy Award winning song “Lose Yourself”, written by rap artist Eminem, delivers a strong message of inspiration to seize the moment.  “Lose Yourself” was written to reflect Eminem’s character in the movie “8 mile”, also written and produced by the rapper.  The song describes Eminem overcoming the struggles of becoming a successful rapper in relation to his character in the movie. “Lose Yourself” also motivates its listeners to overcome their struggles in life and to not let opportunities for success pass them by.  The last verse is the description of the ending to the story being told. “No more games, I’ma change what you call rage” and “I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed” are lines from the verse that express the passion and emotion that is developed from the repetition of failure.  What I noticed about the last verse is the rhythm of each line appears to be short and strong.  Each pause taken is a brief point of emphasis on the transition to the next line. The rhythm of the song is what establishes a powerful tone that encourages you to continue to listen.

Now that we know the emotion is what develops the rhythm, the next question is what drives the emotion? The verse portrays the rapper’s financial struggles to be a key problem in his life with the line, “All the pain inside amplified by the fact. That I can’t get by with my 9 to 5. And I can’t provide the right type of life for my family”. The previous line reads, “Best believe somebody’s paying the pied piper.” The phrase “pied piper” is used as a metaphor of a person who attracts followers. The line’s meaning to me is that popularity and fame will lead to wealth. The rhythm changes a number of times throughout the verse.

Towards the end of the verse I feel the rhythm changed for a third time to a tone that expresses the act to take initiative. Eminem states, “Too much for me to wanna stay in one spot, another day of monotony. Has gotten me to the point, I’m like a snail. I’ve got to formulate a plot or I end up in jail or shot”.  What I found partly ironic is the rapper’s use of the word “monotony”.  The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines “monotony” as “Sameness of tone or pitch; lack of variety in cadence or inflection; a monotonous sound”.  With the rhythm being the important factor in the song, it was particularly interesting to hear Eminem describe his lifestyle using a word that contradicts the manner in which he recites the lyrics.  It is obvious that Eminem intended the other connotation of “monotony”. The OED continues, “Lack of variety or interest; tedious repetition or routine; the quality of being dull, unvarying, lifeless”. This definition supports Eminem’s description of his lifestyle and his motivation to change for the better.

Eminem’s motive to inspire is shown in a number of ways. He begins by describing his struggles, then relating his struggles to the apathy of his lifestyle, and finally acting on his relentless desire to succeed. He expresses that by exclaiming, “Success is my only motherfucking option, failure’s not”. The modulations of his voice express the emotion that drives the rhythm to create such a powerful tone. Eminem calmly states “You can do anything you set your mind to, man” at the end of the song. A final switch in rhythm at the end really clarifies the inspiration the song was intended to initiate.

Link to the lyrics and YouTube video can be found below.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/loseyourself.html

[Last verse at 3:06 min mark]