I Hear:
Intro
· Begins with author in Shrine Theatre to see Siggraph 2001 (technology showing)
· Shrek- characters non-relating to people. Matrix- same moves as in Shrek with real people.
· Then goes on and on about how to make the characters in Shrek, and how long of a process it is.
· Hyperrealism- realm which no distinction made between reality and simulation because all simulation already. (no real person like the Princess in Shrek.)
· Not racing toward final draft in Shrek.
· “The book is an experiment in forging a vocabulary and set of practices responsive to the full spectrum of signifying components in print and electronic texts.” (Hayles, 6)
· 3 Kinds of Literature:
o Electronic works.
o Artist’s book.
o Print novel.
· Electronic literature- opportunity to think more about interactions between content and digital environments. Insights can be reflected back to print to see it more clearly
Chapter 1 – Media and Materiality
· Never find out why one professor got tenure and one got fired because it is not laid out in a handbook. Same with creative works. Ie. No one person can make a big difference, but networks of people can.
· “struggling to see what electronic literature means.”(Hayles, 10) – she thinks it is important.
· Forced to write autobiographically. Names herself “Kaye”, so no one confuses her with the author.
· Kaye-
o Raised in small town in Missouri and allowed to roam free because everyone knows everyone.
o Loved outdoors, books, reading, science, calculus, and geometry.
o Read everywhere including the tub!
o Majors considered: science and literature.
o College: Rochester Institute of Technology where she learned to write well.
o Graduate school: Caltech with the “brightest and best students”.
o Yearned to ask the big questions that science couldn’t answer, therefore she returned to literature.
o Met two professors in English that taught her to love literature again.
o Returned to science from another direction.
o “When used for electronic literature, it gave her the same keen pleasure as the print novels she loved.” (Hayles, 15)
I Notice:
The first thing I notice while reading Katherine Hayles book is that she likes technology. She goes to a conference (Siggraph) all about technology and how to make animations in movies. They start to go on to talk about Shrek versus the Matrix and how the same moves are created. I think its interesting how the author explains every little detail of how the Princess is made in Shrek. I think she is trying to relate it to the writing process. When you were in elementary school, the teachers used to teach you about a hamburger writing process and how you would have to brainstorm, draft, edit, draft, edit, and then write the final copy. To me, she is making the point that you should take time in writing.
I would also like to compare Birkets and Hayles. Birkets does not like electronic texts. He would rather them print and he would like to read them alone and personally. Birket’s book is about his likings, from his point of view, and in his own character. On the other hand in Hayles book, she expresses a liking for electronic literature. She expresses a liking for the interactions of the content of digital environments. In Hayles book, it expresses that when you read text on the computer; you can see it more clearly. At the end of chapter one, she expresses how books and electronic texts are the same words, just on two different things (computer screen compared to paper in a book). Hayles book is from a character’s (Kaye) point of view. Therefore, Birkets and Hayles are exact opposites.
I would also like to bring up Kaye. The author creates Kaye to represent herself; she says it is so no one confuses the thoughts and ideas expressed in the book with the author. The author sets up her childhood, schooling, favorite classes, and life. It is just like the author’s life. So I would like to know, why would you create this character?
I think it is because she would like to express ideas that maybe are controversial. Earlier in the book, she explains how she is being forced to write an autobiography. I think that with the controversial ideas, she is afraid that someone will pass judgment on her, and she does not like that.
I think another reason Kaye is created is so she can say anything and everything she wants to, and it does not matter how she says it. If the author was saying some of the things she might say further in the book, and owned up to the in the book, she could be afraid that people would attack her about her ideas. Going back to Birkets for a moment, he might choose to pick a fight with Hayles, but because it is a character in the book, it is more difficult to pick the fight and to attack Hayles.
Another reason she could have created Kaye is to make readers more sympathetic. Since it is a character, you can just think that it is just an imaginary character’s point of view, and not the author’s. Readers tend to be more sympathetic to Hayle’s book and the way she presents her material compared to Birkets book, and the way he presents his material.
I Wonder:
Why Kaye? Why create a character to represent yourself, and tell the reader exactly what you are doing?
At the end of chapter one, she says “She was hooked.” Hooked on what? Reading? Literature? Science? Electronic reading?
Does she think electronic texts are better?
What parts are better? What parts are worse?
Would she change her mind about liking electronic literature given the choice?
Does she really think that reading electronic texts is easier?
Would she publish her own novel on the internet?
Why do some of the words in the book look like they are coming off a television or computer screen?
Why all the barcode looking lines on the sides of the pages?
Why does the side of the book say “Writing” when you bend it one way and “Machines” when you bend it the other?
Tags: Birkets, electonic text, Hayles, Machines, Writing
