These examples give us an
idea of how the literature under discussion differs from
what we normally find in books. In contrast to the aspects
of traditional literature mentioned above, this literature
is marked by one or more of the following
features:
- The narrative employs
words as well as images, sound and movies.
- The text is written
partly by the reader, and sometimes the reader not only
plays the role of the author but of the character as
well.
- The reading process is
partly determined by the author.
- The story is presented
in a non-linear way; its composition is in the hands of
the reader
themselves.
All these features exist
only on the web and through the web. One can not print it
out, or produce it outside the digital media.
The listed characteristics
raise some serious questions, such as: What is the meaning
of an image that literally moves through the text? How does
one read a word that fades out or makes noise? What is the
purpose behind multilinear narration? And if, for instance,
the length of time a given file can remain on the screen is
determined ahead of time by the author, what implications
does this have for the reading process?
More generally, we may pin down
the following questions:
- What new aesthetic
possibilities and temptations does this
multimedia-storytelling bring with it?
- How does this
storytelling reshape the traditional author-text-reader
paradigm?
- To what extent can one
still speak of it as Literature?
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