I think what was most beneficial for me from tonight’s class was our discussion about how things other than books/traditional literature have to be judged differently. For example, Mark Amerika’s Filmtext. I think it is difficult for us to “read” something and not treat it as literature, or as an attempt to be literary. We have to be willing to experience new media and judge it by different standards than we judge works of literature. Many of us are were uncomfortable with Flimtext but I think that is mostly due to the fact that we were experiencing it for the first time and it is very different from what we are used to. I think we are sometimes too quick to judge something because we are not willing to try something new. Things need to evolve and expand. If they didn’t, we would all still be playing Mario Bros. on the orginal Nintendo of the 80’s. I don’t think any of us are turning our noses up at Guitar Hero because it’s not as good as the original.
We do not all need to be in love with Mark Amerika, but the point is that we need to give Filmtext, and other experimental works, a chance. If not, we may miss out on some beneficial works. Many of us criticize the canon and its exclusivity but sometimes it seems like we have made traditional books a canon in themselves. If we do not accept other forms of new media, we are excluding them and implying that they are not good enough to fit into the “canon” of traditional books.
I think if I had somehow stumbled upon Filmtext and did not know what it was (and had not been forced to check it out for class), I maybe would have explored it a little and I think I would have felt differently about it. I might have liked it more and not been so critical of it because I would not have tried to read it as some sort of literature, like I did. This is why it’s important not to impose our expectations of what we are used to onto something completely different. If we try to read Filmtext as imitating literature, then we think it fails. If we read it as something in itself, then perhaps we think it is successful.
It seems like we are so ready and willing to accept other changes regarding technology, but not when it comes to books/literature. I don’t think any of us were terribly upset when we had to ditch our cassette tapes and VHS tapes for CD’s and DVD’s. Some changes are for the better. If we give new media a fair chance, then hopefully we’ll be able to see the benefits of that, too.
otterwolf Said:
on March 27, 2008 at 2:02 am
You seem to be in the same place I am with this. We need to give Amerika a chance to make his point. I mean, we can choose to dislike it, but we have to dislike it for it, not for the idea of it. It’s the argument I make in my own blog this week. At the same time, I think there are some terrible flaws in Amerika’s work. I think some of it just doesn’t work, but not out of some sort of prejudice towards the work in general.
Ryan Said:
on April 12, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I agree about the idea of an on-line paper. Especially for a project such as this. It woul dbe freeing, being able to tap into all the different mediums that the on-line world can allow for. At the same time, I’d fear an over-abundance of quick-links and youtube videos and other media outlets that would end up detracting from the point itself.