Estel210's blog

Well, due to a technical error last week I wasn't able to go into the idea of Oblivion as much as I wanted to. So, to continue.
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I think one of the lesson's that I've noticed in this class is the interaction between art forms. Take Oblivion for instance. I have a friend who plays the game. She'll tell me on the phone where her character is and what he is doing, spinning out the action and adding in characterization to make an oral narrative. She's also written 2 fanfictions so far for her characters, as many other people online have done. There are sites formed just for Elder Scrolls fanfiction. For a more interactive approach, go to http://www.thedarkbrotherhood.com/.
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We've all seen reality tv. Survivor, Fearfactor, Project Runway, the list goes on. But the spectacle of the genre isn't limited to mainstream networking. PBS has taken the idea to heart and run with it. Beginning with the 1900 House and expanding to Regency, Victorian, Colonial and Frontier settings, the program takes modern people and has them live in a replica of the trappings and habits of the time (except for that very modern video camera capturing it all). Another PBS sponsored series, Warrior Challenge, consists of teams of men and women fighting as Roman Gladiators, Vikings, etc.
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We've all seen reality tv. Survivor, Fearfactor, Project Runway, the list goes on. But the spectacle of the genre isn't limited to mainstream networking. PBS has taken the idea to heart and run with it. Beginning with the 1900 House and expanding to Regency, Victorian, Colonial and Frontier settings, the program takes modern people and has them live in a replica of the trappings and habits of the time (except for that very modern video camera capturing it all). Another PBS sponsored series, Warrior Challenge, consists of teams of men and women fighting as Roman Gladiators, Vikings, etc.
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The day we were introduced to mashups, I thought they were cool. I thought that they were an affective tool for manipulation or entertainment, or both. I thought they were a modern evolution of visual narrative. I never thought about the possibilities beyond that.
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The one thing I remember about health class in 7th grade was the unit on advertising. Or, more specifically, advertising’s use of the subconscious. The methods that advertising sometimes employs of making a message stick in the consumer’s mind are also noticeable in political mash-ups, specifically those viewed last class.
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While defining for myself what fiction and untrue stories are, I was reminded of Beowulf and oral tradition. Or rather, the way that men used (and still do) to tell each other stories of their bravery and strength that could never really have happened. It is a huge part of culture to tell each other stories, from fairy tales to ghost stories. Today we have the National Enquirer and tabloids to tell us about cheese sandwiches that have the Virgin Mary on them and the screwed up love lives of the rich an famous.
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There is a question I have been wondering about for the past week that I would like to discuss. If a performance such as a play or musical is in a language not known by the audience, would it still have discourse in language? I suppose the inflection could still be used to understand a play’s interpretation and story, but when the vocal aspect is dictated by a musical score, how could the audience use the vocals themselves? I suppose I am leaning toward the idea that if the language is not understood by the audience, it would not be discourse in itself.
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The Nutcracker is, I admit, my only experience with ballet. However, it is an excellent example of dance as a form of narrative with story but no discourse. Spoken language and written text are conspicuously absent from this art form. The choreography and expressions of the dancers must communicate their character and the events of the plot at once. It is an exchange of abstract ideas and emotions from the performers to the audience, which then allows the audience members to fill in specifics themselves.
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We’ve talked about different ways that media and the internet have changed storytelling, and that basically textual narrative hasn’t changed in that the author cannot directly connect to the reader. I disagree. I am an avid reader of fanfiction online. Sites such as fanfiction.net, sugarquill, derbyshire’s writing guild, and open scrolls allow writers to take their own stories (admittedly using characters and/or plots, settings, etc. from the original author) and, building off of an established canon, make something new.
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When discussing just what makes a narrative, several points were raised on Thursday. One thing that really interested me was the idea that there had to be a plot. But how much of one? Yes, Passage had a plot, which the player created on his or her own. But it was not really fixed. The over arcing plot of the character aging and dying was the same, but the actions in the meantime were variable. Just how far can the plot be taken?
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