Thursday, August 30, 2007

Narrative and Technology

As a disclaimer this is my first attempt at using a blog as a mode of discourse. I usually keep my thoughts between me and who ever they are currently relavant. Enjoy
Since elementary school I have always thought of Narrative as giving an account of certain events whether in a linear or non-linear fashion. Today, I believe the same thing except now i know how complex Narratives can really be. This is where i think Technology comes into play. Like we saw in class technology interestingly enough doesnt directly translate as biology and all the other words with the similar root word logos. After class i found myself leaning more heavily towards the definition of Technology as a description of innovative techniques used to produce a certain end. So commenting on Prof. Johns question "Can we, in fact, accurately talk about a narrative (a representation) separately from its technologies (means of representation)?" I think it is possible to talk about the Narrative separately from its technologies but to do so would be to severely limit the scope of the argument because in many cases the technologies used to form narratives are chosen purposefully, enhancing or enlightening meaning in a specific work. In "Life in the iron hills" Davis employs several literary techiniques or technologies (Like the colloquialisms of the puddlers juxtoposed to the speech of the Doctor 
and Mitchell) to effectively ellicit certain emotions and depict certain scenes for her tragic tail, alluding to the inadequacies of the capitalist society. I'm not saying i agree with her because i dont but i think technology and narrative go hand in hand during discussions.

No comments: