Digital Narrative

My Body works in the way of an autobiography but it is very introspective, at the same time there is a use of illustration and several branch offs within the main narrative. The Six Sex Scenes seem to be simply stories in different pages, the titles vary in placement but for the most part it seems uniform and familiar. Distance, is a sort of photo-book or link story in an abstract way, each click only gives a bit of information but manages to tell a narrative. Red Riding Hood, to me is like those click adventure games, it depends on what you click and if you can find the thing you are looking on for the story to progress.

            These net artists blur the distinction between autobiography and fiction by being incredibly detailed so much so that it seems as if they are creating a new story and a new identity.  Also, the addition of illustrations, sound or pictures creates more of a fiction feel rather than a drab autobiography that skims the details and simply tells it how it is.

            The link strategy, the most closed was distance the other three works however seems to branch in several directions.  To me, the links are distracting, I think it may almost be a tired medium.  When it comes to games people want several options and narratives however when I was reading these stories I didn’t like the feeling I got that I would have to click through everything go backwards and click again, I felt like I was missing some things which I did not like.

            I cannot think of any specific other narratives that do similar things however I do remember when the youtube choose your own adventure type deals began to pop up.  Which, are pretty similar to the redridinghood work.

            In each of these narratives, in Jacksons piece, when she recalls very fine details about her childhood I began to doubt the authenticity of the memories, I felt them to be more fictional than real. In Distance, it seems that Laporta is playing a character however I felt none of it felt all that real, simply because each picture was of a different person, it didn't give off the sense that it was a cohesive story about one person but rather several people. The frame story of redridinghood gives a good look at how over time things may have changed but it also is a familiar story that most everyone knows.  It creates a common interest foundation that anyone can interact with to learn the new story.

            I think that the distinction of literature vs visual becomes arbitrary in electronic environments.  When these sort of things just began at the advent of the style of link stories and what not, it could be split into categories.  However, the term mixed media came around and that is how I see these works, I no longer view them as one distinct genre.   Now, I see them as a conglomerate, a lot of parts working together towards the whole.