Using Manovich to examine ‘Memento’

The first reading of the Manovich article introduced me to interesting concepts concerning databases and the relationships they forge with narratives – or challenge, as Manovich argues.  Manovich suggests that database represents the world as a list of items with no cohesive order while narrative produces a coherent trail of seemingly unordered events; hence, the two are at odds with one another.  He explains, with references to literary scholar Mieke Bal’s definition of narrative qualities, that narratives are linear and contain connected events which draw from a database of choices (or items) to do so.  And as the article continues, Manovich discusses the twentieth century’s narration take over with the sequential format of cinema and its place at the intersection between database and narrative.  Overall, my first incident with the article was informatory and did not really jolt me to make comparisons with media I have experienced; especially in the case of film structure.

After watching the mind-f*ck that is Nolan’s Memento, I came back to Manovich’s Database as Symbolic Form (because obviously there is a reason these two were assigned simultaneously!) and started to deconstruct the definition of narrative and its place in cinema.  The first chunk of text that stood out to me was this section in which Manovich discusses cinema as narrative:  “Why do new media insist on this language-like sequencing?  My hypothesis is that it follows the dominant semiological order of the twentieth century – that of cinema.  Cinema replaced all other modes of narration with a sequential narrative, an assembly-line of shots which appear on the screen one at a time…The ‘real’ culture of the twentieth century came to speak in linear chains…the user is following a sequence of elements which are presented simultaneously” (91).  My initial reaction to this (after viewing Memento, of course) was: LIAR!  Memento challenges the very notion of sequential narration or linear endeavors and therefore, Manovich:  you are a big fat liar.  Ahem, I continued to read, however, and realized his inclusion of Peter Greenaway and other revolutionary film directors are indicative of the ability film has to challenge cinema’s conventional storytelling format.  As Greenaway laments, “the linear pursuit – one story at a time told chronologically – is the standard format of cinema” (94).

Nolan’s use of two plot lines – one (the black and white shots) in chronological order and the other (the color sequences) in reverse order – challenge the traditional narrative which dominates film and concurrently works to force the viewer into a state of shared confusion with the protagonist, Leonard.  The sharp distinction between plot and story is what drives Memento to be the whirlwind experience it is; we humans are creatures of habit and such a jarring attack on narrative is foreign to us.  After watching the film, I used my Flixster app to browse what critics had to say about Nolan’s creation (with a 93% approval rating it was difficult to find anything but praise for his distinct choice of format) and found a review which questioned would the film be anything other than a standard crime drama without the use of a nonlinear narrative structure – would it be anything worthy of praise?  While I am clearly no film critic, I must argue that this person’s critique of the movie was missing the mark – what Nolan did here was defy the routine choice of film storytelling and make us question how we can define narrative within the context of cinema.

2 comments September 25, 2011

You Can’t Cuddle a Computer

In finishing up the novel and playing the Galatea game, a few ideas and feelings came to mind that I can’t seem to shake – first, as the other Sarah L. pointed out, Powers’ writing style – his ability to convey visceral emotions onto the page, is something that deeply moved me and made my experience with Galatea 2.2 a rewarding one. (I wasn’t sure if it was me being overly emotional as I found myself tearing up and marking the pages that preempted my waterworks, so I’m glad someone else relates to my sentiments). I think it’s quite ironic for the man who is so detached from the bonds of relationships and feelings to write in a manner that indicates the emotional capacity he truly has/had. Powers’ chronicling of he and C.’s relationship through flashbacks enamored me and at times, I found myself wanting to quickly read past his present day work with Helen and Lentz to get to the fleshed out, raw moments he shared with C. His selflessness to instill comfort and reassurance in her at any cost was one of the plot lines I appreciated the most. Also, his observations of those closest to him in the present day scenes – Lentz and his wife, Diana and her special needs son, and his past relationship with Taylor all elevated the narrative to a text I would lend to a friend and say, ‘give it a chance.’ Overall, the human connections interested me far more than the connection between human and computer. In the game Galatea, I only found myself reinforcing my partial interest or concern for human/computer communication; the game was absolutely interesting and had aspects that excited me, but I grew disheartened with Galatea’s mood swings and inability to actually say something. The predetermined text drove me crazy as I attempted numerous routes of dialogue to reach some level of intimacy with Galatea; however, I could only achieve moments of breakthrough in a sea of disjointed and confusing conversation and actions. I wanted to know if she was lonely or sad because I sensed she was, but I felt inadequate in my quest to ask her such humanly complex questions. The game is very much like Powers’ experience with Helen and the previous models he worked with – the breakthroughs of communication are clearly possible, but the sting of coldness between computer and human appears to be impossible to avoid. There will never be a gratifying, close relationship, and I do not think it has anything to do with humans being restricted to forming bonds with humans; we can communicate with and deeply love our dogs, cats, etc. I suppose I could not suspend my need for emotional closeness in my life to truly latch on to Powers’ journey with Helen, however monumental it was in the world of science and technology.

1 comment September 18, 2011

SAE in the Digital Age

While McGann’s article primarily focuses on how digital technology can improve scholarly endeavors and assist in exploring works in the humanities, what stood out to me were his references to language in the context of both learning to use IT tools and the overall impact digital technology has, and will continue to have, on the evolution of communication and education.  Having minored in linguistics, the synapses in my brain started firing when I saw the quote:  “our sense of language will never be the same” (xiii).  Although McGann does not fully explore the effects the digital age has had on language, I can’t help but think of this concept myself.  Courses from my undergrad experience like “Language and Culture,” “The Development of the English Language,” and “Principles of Linguistics” have altered the way in which I observe words in my primary language.  One assignment I had in “The Development of the English Language” was to go down a few grocery store aisles and note whether or not aisles were marked canned goods or can goods.  We were also told to analyze the way we pronounced certain words versus the way we spelled them (i.e. iced tea spelling/ice tea pronunciation).  These minor tasks were a part of understanding how language is ever evolving (in these cases based on pronunciation and convenience for the majority of the speakers) and how certain words will become endangered or extinct based on certain factors.

While some words may change (for instance, ice cream used to be iced cream) and some may depart altogether, other words – new words – will enter languages and impact the primary speakers and new learners of it immeasurably.  There were numerous discussions in my linguistics courses about how technology is impacting the language of younger generations – how abbreviations/texting lingo are finding their way into students’ scholarly papers.  Naturally, those who worked in the Writing Center complained about the difficulties they were having reviewing freshmen papers and there were others who mentioned how their younger siblings were having trouble deciphering which language (so to speak) to use when writing papers for school, etc.  Overall, my class took a stand against digital age lingo finding its way into the English language.  My professor found our fervor for protecting the English language to be quite amusing and delicately pointed out that the language we know and use today would most likely had been viewed as slang and outlandish to past speakers.  While those educated in different areas of English most certainly appreciate the proper use of the English language, it is undeniable that language is always evolving and the digital age has, and more than likely will, continue to influence Standard American English.

Here’s a short and sweet article from the Huffington Post on how social media and the Internet has forever changed our language: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/sexting-retweet-cyberbullying-concise-oxford-english-dictionary_n_930347.html

Apologies if anyone else in Eng 566 has posted this link in cyberspace!

2 comments September 10, 2011

the times they are a-changin’

Hello, hello. I’m Sarah Lyden – first year grad student/first time blogger.

Take it easy on me, tweeple.

As Kristina mentioned in her blog post, it most definitely feels foreign to be both (in my case) creating a blog and then blogging for a graduate class.  Shouldn’t I be slaving away in a library somewhere – hunched over hundreds of books from decades past?  The tweeting, though new to my academic self, is exciting since I have been accustomed to Twitter for some time now.  My undergraduate experience in Ohio at Youngstown State University incorporated some digital network use within the standard teaching methods; I do vividly remember thinking two of my professors (who were my favorites, to begin with) were the coolest people around for incorporating YouTube clips in a Young Adult Lit and a Shakespeare course.  I suppose that says something about the disconnect in academia and the digital age – most students use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. on a daily basis – why aren’t more professors or colleges marrying the two monsters?  I’ll chalk it up to the universal truth that progress – in any facet – is e x t r e m e l y  s l o w.

In regards to my personal experience, the digital age didn’t really sucker me in until the beginning of my sophomore year in college.  This was due in large part to coworkers and friends staring at me in horror when I said I didn’t have a Facebook.  Since the push into social networking, I’ve been a pretty decent participant in all things avoiding human contact – I have had a Twitter for a year or so (I made a second one – @SarahLyden – for class purposes), use Skype to talk to my sister for 5 minutes and then attempt to communicate with my dogs for another twenty, and truly feel I would be in a corner psychotically rocking back and forth if my iPhone were ever out of my sight.  However, I have just about abandoned the Facebook I was coerced into making – the incessant complaints and mindless grumblings from my peers frustrate me.  I find Twitter offers me an escape from these ‘friends’ and allows me to have a clean, organized way of viewing who and what I am most interested in.  There, I can
follow organizations that promote causes I care about and people I admire in order to keep perspective in a world where twenty-somethings think getting burnt Dunkin coffee is the end of the world.

Overall, embracing the digital age is an effort which I will continue to make.  I never want to feel alienated from forms of communication and possible routes to education.  And I most certainly never want to be one of those stubborn people who close their minds to anything new for fear of shaking up the status quo.

As Bob Dylan says:

Your old road is
Rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.

2 comments September 3, 2011