Reaction to Week Seven Literature

 

 

Ok, I need to get my reaction to CTheory's NetNoise out of the way before I discuss some of the other electronic literature pieces that I viewed this week. For me, NetNoise was totally confusing; a hodgepodge of sounds, distorted voices, flashing words, colors, etc. I couldn't make sense of what I was viewing so I moved on after a few minutes.

 

I then viewed Red Riding Hood by Donna Leishman. We all read the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood who was stalked by the big, bad wolf and saved at the end. It is interesting to see how a fairy tale can be interpreted when done electronically with basically no words. This interactive piece is definitely a more adult version of the tale (a baby, a gun) where the viewer can choose a path of either allowing Red to dream or waking her up when she "falls asleep" in the field. Since I wanted to know a little more about this literature piece than I was interpreting on my own, just as I had with the AH piece previously, I did additional research. There are a lot of reviews and interpretations out there on this piece which were helpful. I found one in particular that was short, easy to read and provided more insight about the piece; click the link if interested. https://shasthriellegedara.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/leishman__redridinghood/

 

Finally, I viewed selections from Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.  I looked at the ones that were recommended: "Dakota," "Lotus Blossom," and "The Sea" in addition to "Mr. President" and "What Now?"  The pieces were not interactive, moved quickly, and at times the music would distract me from following the stories, but I still found it challenging to figure out what was happening. An interesting note about "Dakota" is that right after the author and title are shown, profanity appears on the screen. At that point, you knew you were in for a trip which is exactly where the group was headed in their car with beer cases in the trunk. However, the selection I enjoyed the best was "Mr. President" about a letter written by Maria Cuervos to the president. It was easier to follow than the others since it was slower moving. Even though there was humor in the letter, Maria who was experiencing many troubles, was reaching out for help. The fact is that the problems she wrote about depicted real-life for many Americans such as the death of a spouse, losing a job, being evicted, living on a small pension, dealing with numerous accidents and health issues, and having scary neighbors. When I have more time, I would like to view some of the other selections presented by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.