The very format of Moby Dick can be directly related to the
diverse mediums of content available
online. Moby Dick has a reputation of being hard to get through as some have
asked the question, "Is Moby Dick
an analogy for reading Moby Dick?"
The difficulties in reading the text come from the diverse forms of text
presented in the text.
In the first part of
the work, we experience a plot-driven narrative by Ishmael that proves rather
traditional and engaging. However, when readers hit Chapter 32, whale cetology
becomes rather dry and disengaging. The plot is suspended and the pages drag
through tedious details of the variety of whale species. Once readers hit
chapter 37, Ahab has a sort of soliloquy, as does Starbuck in Chapter 38. Then,
Chapter 40 presents a full-blown song, sang by the Pequod's crew, as if the
text were suddenly a script for a musical.
How does one
interpret the text through each of its various forms: narrative,
encyclopedia-esque, theater script, etc.?
The text must be
read with an innovative thought process, even like a puzzle. Each of the
different portions of the text offer different types of information in terms of
thematic content, informational content, as well as characterization. We can
interpret the text most efficiently as we put these different pieces together
and create larger meaning from the different strengths the various formats
provide.
Likewise, the
Internet is full of various mediums that help us to efficiently interpret text
if we will simply use the various mediums together. Online, we are presented
with many different platforms that perform different functions: email, instant
messaging, Facebook, Twitter, video, audio, journalism, curation tools, etc.
The list could go on and on.
The internet is
becoming increasingly relevant to our culture. But it's influence as a tool can
only be found if we navigate the various mediums and platforms mentioned above.
Just like our reading of Moby Dick, we
are only successful in the digital realm if we take into account all of the
different online platforms.
For example, we use curation tools to gather
and organize our literary findings. We use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to initiate
topic-centered conversations with relevant and knowledgeable audiences. We can
look at visual content such as videos or illustrative adaptations of text to
enhance our perspective on the primary work.
+Kristen Reber is a
great example of this as she has connected with a skilled editor to launch her
website. She has also crowdsourced information about the term "ERM"
through Facebook. She documented her process of launching the website on her blog,
where she has gained ideas and feedback from peers. Additionally, she conducted
a photo shoot to add visual effect and appeal to the purpose of her website.
Kristen's use of various forms of digital media has been extremely successful
because of the variety of digital resources she has compiled to create a
fascinating project.
Moby Dick helps us to make sense of digital
culture as it teaches us that many forms of text and presentation are essential
to capturing a greater depth within our online experience.
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