I enjoyed this greatly, although I think I would prefer to read more about what cinema pieces they considered privileging “narrative as the key form of cultural expression” of the modern age. Of course, most cinema does use narrative (and Hollywood has perfected the cinematic narrative to produce the most marketable films), but I would like to see examples of what they consider cinematic narrative and for example, what databases might look like in cinema form. I imagine it would be very difficult.

I would also like to see examples of databases in new media, if only for my own curiosity. I would also argue that comparing new media to cinema is not the best comparison to draw, as they are simply too disparate. CDs are capable of holding an album which one would listen to in chronological order (and if not, there’s usually some sort of rhyme or reason to the order they choose to listen to it), and comparing a CD encyclopaedia to a movie is like comparing a encyclopaedia to a novel – of course they’re vastly different.

I do understand what they’re getting at, but I’m not sure if I feel comfortable with analogising the vast field of “new media” with cinema.

Some other phrases and sentences I found interesting:

• “Hidden logic.”
• How porn sites expose the logic of the Web “to its extreme” by reusing the same photos from other porn sites.
• “Database and narrative are natural enemies.”

I wonder what the author would consider films such as Rashomon or those choose-your-own-adventure type books. Narrative or database? What about those books you can read as a narrative as you choose, or just pick and choose the parts you want?