MEMES

ORIGINAL IMAGE,ORIGINAL TEXT

BORROWED IMAGE, BORROWED TEXT

BORROWED TEXT, NEW IMAGE

ORIGINAL IMAGE, BORROWED TEXT

e.e. Cummings 2.0

Many years ago e.e. Cummings wrote dozens of poems that would remain famous and popular for years to come. He incorporated a new design for poetry. He wrote some vertically, while not spelling words normal. He helped invent a new form of poetry. In Alison Clifford’s electronic literature “The Sweet Old Etcetera” she incorporated Cummings original poetry.

As the program starts the user to able to click on words and fallings leaves as the poem continues. It is very interactive and incorporates sounds along with the poetry. The author liked the idea of having the poetry turn into trees and different forms of nature. The poem is built from the soil up. As you continue to click a beautiful landscape appears made from Cummings words.
Cummings not being a traditional poet would probably like the poem if still alive today. He would have enjoyed the idea of reading his poetry through a new medium. One of his most famous pieces is “A leaf Falls”. In this piece he writes a leaf falls inside the word loneliness. “The Sweet Old Etcetera” shows this piece in an interactive way, which allows the user a new insight on how to read the poem.

 This poem shows the opportunity that electronic literature gives to users. You are still able to enjoy the classic poetry while making it more modern.  At the beginning of my Digital Humanities class I was a little skeptical about changing old art and making it modern. I have always enjoyed the idea of just reading poetry out of an old book, but I personally enjoyed this poem.

It was very ascetically pleasing. It allowed me to read, watch and listen to Cummings poetry which has never been available to a person before. I feel if all poetry was transferred to be “played” on a computer more students would not complain about reading poetry because this is a more interactive way to experience it.

Reaction to Week 4 Materials

I felt a personal connection with Week 4’s materials, especially Thursdays. Both Electronic Literature stories dealt with the thoughts and feelings most women deal with on a daily basis. Jackson’s “My body a Wunderkammer” allowed the user to click on different parts of the female body and the author spoke about a time in her life where she learned something she had never known.  It was interesting to see the author’s point of view on many topics that women have obviously thought about. The second article “Pieces of herself” by Davis was a personal favorite.

                                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc

Throughout the “game” users were taken to different scenes and given the opportunity to select different thoughts and objects and then place it on the woman’s body off to the side. Each scene showed you the domestic life of women and how we are “suppose” to act. As I said I felt a personal connection with this story, most girls probably do. As you continued to place different objects on the body different corresponding noises continued to play in the background, quiet enough to be overlooked but loud enough to be irritating. This is the concept I found most interesting.

Every girl knows it and very few admit to it, but by the end of the day we are all exhausted. Not physically, not necessarily mentally, but most definitely emotionally.  Though we may not show it on our faces, though some of us do, we are NEVER just thinking about one thing, ever. Constant thoughts, worries and ideas are running through our brains during daily chores. When we are at class, we are not solely thinking about class. When we are cooking, we are not just thinking about cooking. Our minds are constantly streaming conversations, mistakes and regrets.  Throughout “Pieces of herself” the user hears these irritating noises in the background; I played this story as if those annoying noises are the annoying thoughts that women constantly have in the back of their minds. By the end of the game and by the end of our day, we have headaches and are usually annoyed by those “background noises”.  In conclusion, both of these stories held much deeper meaning for me because I am a woman. I feel that both authors managed to get the idea of a typical womens’ day across to the reader.

Reaction to Public Secrets

Public Secrets is a fantastic example of Electronic Literature.  Public Secrets was written by Sharon Daniel and Erik Loyer, they define public secrets as, “a secret kept in an unacknowledged but public agreement not to know what imprisonment really means to individuals and their communities.” They studied and interviewed female prisoners at Central California Women’s Faculty.

 

The story shows the brutality and lack of attention most individual’s needs. Because this is electronic literature it is not simply a story. As you enter the website you are able to choose your own path or prisoner to focus on. Once you select an interesting quote or woman you are taken to their story and have the option to read or have the female narrate her own story, which adds an interesting twist onto an already interesting approach to imprisonment. Throughout their stories the listener is able to hear the pain in their voice, which is not available to someone who solely reads the articles. Since you are able to hear the pain and regret in their voices, you then are able to connect more to the story. The authors did not take this approach to attempt to gain sympathy for these women but to simply gain understanding of the “public secrets” that take place at prisons. This is one of my favorite pieces so far in the course. I love the approach of adding real women’s voice to their tales. Just reading these stories probably would not have interested me as much as the electronic literature did. This leads me to wonder what type of story reading/listening future generations will be able to gain access to. The personalization of this article makes the entire piece. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBITGyJynfA

Right now society is going through a female imprisonment obsession partly due to the new hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black”. I feel if this story gained more publicity it would be very popular in current culture.

What is Digital Humanities?

The term Digital Humanities cannot be easily defined. We can start by splitting up the two terms. Digital, can be easily defined as 0s and 1s. It is something that cannot be physically touched. We are currently living in a digital era; most people have a “smart phone” and use social media daily. It is the quickest way for people to communicate with one another. The term, humanities, is often defined by the branches it covers, which are: writing, communications, history, music and art. Now, you put those two words together and it is the fusion of technology with every branch of humanities. The creation of digital humanities is a powerful step in the right direction. Digital Humanities will now allow the sharing of emotions and feelings through technology. We can communicate quicker and share art, music and history to one another, all while sitting behind a computer.  We will be able to use digital media and technological tools to investigate and research the different areas in humanities. It opens huge doors for colleges and even offices.  Many think that by changing text and art into something digital we are destroying the original piece and that digital humanities is the end of humanities.  I feel that digital humanities will further our education in the field. Along with most other technological advancements many people are hesitant at first. Through the use of technology people will easily be able to express themselves and it may in fact help people who are shy to express themselves using technology as a medium. Art will be able to be shared and seen throughout the world without ever having to leave your home. History and writing will be able to be shared to the masses through many different websites. I feel that if people remain open minded, Digital Humanities will be a fantastic tool in the study and education of humanities.