Literalisim vs. Magic

Reading Response #1

There didn’t seem to be a common theme shared by the three articles assigned for reading this past week. The first one I read “Experiences with the Alternate Reality Kit, An Example of the Tension Between Literalism and Magic”, by Randall B. Smith, seemed to be more of a scientific study rather than a literary article. It focused on the experiences of users when presented with the Alternate Reality Kit or ARK for short. ARK is like a virtual interface that is supposed to imitate an environment similar to our own space. It has programs of simulation that imitate our world with features such as gravity and propulsion. The key point of the study is that the more the program follows concepts based on reality, the easier it is for the average user to figure out and understand, but than the program tends to become less helpful. On the flip side of that, the more the program follows concepts based on magic, actions not allowed within the realm of our physical world, the harder it is for the user to understand and therefore requires more of an explanation. These magical interactions tend to make the program more useful though.

The next article “Folkvine.org, Ethnographic Storytelling in Folk Art Web Design”, by Natalie M. Underberg and Kristin G. Congdon, is about the website www.folkvine.org. This website tries to emulate the experience of visiting local folk artists in Florida as well as the feel that tourists get from visiting the average local Florida roadside gift shop. The article discusses how the builders of the website work to create a feeling of actually being there and visiting the local artist or gift shop. The last article “WHAT IS DIGITAL CINEMA?” , by Les Manovich, tries to explain what digital cinema is, where it came from, how it differs from analog cinema, and what it has in common with the animation style that gave birth to cinema. I found this to be a very interesting read, but difficult to sum up in one or two sentences. If you are interested in film, arts, and the digital age, as I am; than I strongly recommend that you read this article.

As I write I realize that my first sentence was false. There is common theme shared by all three articles, even though the theme may not be mentioned word for word in all of them. Even though all three articles seem to be about different topics, they are all connected by two keywords, “Literalism” and “Magic”. We are all forced to face the literalism of the real world day in and day out. The monotony of life becomes all too real at a certain point and we, as humans, look for that magic as a way to escape the literalism. Whether it be a virtual simulated interface, a website about Florida attractions and artists that tries to recreate that local feel, or animation in any form, traditional, cinematic, or digital, we turn to it to help us forget about literalism. I feel that I need the magic aspect that digital age has made readily available, in order to continually face the literalism of real life. I’m not sure if that is necessarily a bad thing, but I know I’m ok with it and it has made me more aware of a world that is constantly digitizing. Literalism and magic, two very different ideas that compete to make a balance in life. I know that too much or either one can be a bad thing, but a little bit of both seems to make the world go round, at least from my experiences anyway.