Week 3.2 Symposium on Hypertext Narrative

The Wednesday workshop of week 3.2 felt a little bit of a hump day of sorts for me. After this class, we would have a full week off due to the Australia Day holiday on the Monday, and we would also be exactly half-way through the Summer Semester!

WooHoo (printable)

 

But let’s not get too carried away.

 

In this symposium we were tackling the topic of hypertext narratives. It was mentioned that hypertext is quite a unique technology, and therefore cannot be compared to print media. The hypertext narrative must be treated as its own entity.

 

A question was then raised about why we need or would want a text with no clear meaning? And I must say that I struggle with this notion as well. If we direct the meaning of a text, then what’s the point of us reading it? If I’m the one designing or determining the storyline, then it kinda loses the significance in my eyes. I may as well be the author of the book, writing it for another’s enjoyment. When I’m reading a book, I’d probably rather that someone else has placed the contents together in a way that they feel would be best for me.

 

I dunno, maybe we’re just so used to books, magazines, newspapers and print media in general. Or is it just human nature to want something definite, rather than having a choice of how a narrative might end? Maybe we’ve been trained to just be passive readers, and therefore we have trouble adapting into the active reader mindset?

 

I guess it comes back to viewing print media and hypertext in a different light to each other. Hypertext is fluid, whilst print text is stationary. They do differ, so there must be a place for both these days. We just need to learn to enjoy and value the unique qualities of both.

 

You should also read Jake’s enlightening post, Reconfiguring Narrative.