March 21, 2004
Orality = Database + Narrative?
I was thinking about the whole database versus narrative tension that Joseph brought up in the (his) last post to the blog. I'd like to continue the discussion and interrogation of Manovich in a slightly different vein. (In a way I guess, we're building narrative and database at the same time since this post narratively connects to Joe's entry as well as digitally creates two separate entries in the blog database.)
I was thinking about the start of the semester and our encounter with Ong. I was also thinking about "digital" texts like the I Ching. Basically, I'm wondering if it can be argued that in orality there can be a comfortable collaboration or interdependency between database and narrative.
Homeric storytellers did not have written records of the Iliad or the Odyssey. The stories were passed down from one storyteller to another and often in what we today would call "episodes." Therefore, in a session, a storyteller would recount the fall of Patroklos or the pouting of Achilles or the routing of Troy. Furthermore, the poets of Homer's day also had a battery of poetic tropes, devices, mnemonics, and stock phrases, passages, and descriptions to aid in the memory of the sagas. Therefore, to tell the Iliad or Odyssey, required access to episodic and poetic databases and access to the databases allowed for the spinning of narrative. Furthermore, tellings did not always have to follow the chronological thread of the tale. Audiences often clamored to hear past episodes again or the storyteller will pick and choose tellings that may be temporally discontinous.
Another example of the orality = narrative + database is the use of tarot cards (or i ching or rune casting) used for divination (and sometimes for storytelling). Typically, a deck of tarot cards has 72 cards. Depending on the divination, the "spread" or configuration and number of cards will vary. But here is a practice where the drawing of a number of cards, literally dipping into the database, is part of the creation of narrative, the fortunetelling story. Each card has its base meanings; each card has its own story. However, when strung together, when informed by the (extrasensory) perception of the reader, and the questions of the querent, the cards become narrative.
For example, if I were to do a very basic three card reading for Matt:
The first card represents the past. The central card is the present. And the third card is the future.
Looking at these three cards, drawing on my own experience and awareness (perhaps Jung would argue that the collective unconscious is a database that informs the narrative of our lives and dreams), I would offer up this narrative:
"Matt, I sense that recently you are coming out of a period of relative calm, consideration, and balance. The forces of your life have been in check. That is not to say that you have not been active, creative, or busy. But that things have been even and sailing has been smooth. Currently, you are being asked to apply your judgement to important matters. Someone has asked you a difficult question and you feel, at times, caught between two friends. Depending on the balanced energy of the recent past, you are equipped to handle this difficult question. I would say that the matter concerns family life rather than professional or civic life. Moving into the future, the calm energy is going to become capricious, a bit more chaotic. Someone younger than you, perhaps one of the people invovled in the aforementioned question, will act against your advice (or judgement) with risky consquences. As a side note, it is not the right time to invest in a pet."
Narrative, yes? The use of tarot cards is a primarily oral activity; though I suppose you could argue that it borders on becoming literate since there are cards (even earliest cards did not contain text). What do we think about this?
ED
Posted by Ed at March 21, 2004 10:29 AMJust as a follow up, the reason I bring up orality is because when the database/narrative tension is brought up with textual objects, be it cyber or not, the tension seems to be far more pronounced. In a way, oral narratives and oral databases do not seem to be in contention as much as textual ones.
We have a much more difficult time trying to form a satisfying (dare I say "immersive") narrative from a hypertext or a series of web links than we do with a tarot card reading. Perhaps in the hypertext version, the database is so apparent, so obvious as technology, as structure.
I wanted to think about other narrative/database objects. What about a DJ's set? Any groove culture afficionado can tell you that a DJ spins a "tale" at the turntable. The selection of songs, the blending of song to song (beat-matching is an intense and subtle skill), and the interplay between DJ booth and audience/dancefloor are all part of the story of the set. DJs often speak of their sets like a story--there is an introduction, there is emotion, there is conflict, there is the building up of drama, there is climax, and there is denoument. A DJ therefore draws upon the database of his or her music collection imagining how different tracks from different record (funny how we privilege vinyl over CD; vinyl is better though) will fit together to tell a musical tale. Poorly mixed tracks, conspicuous changes in tempo, style, genre, or obvious DJ error can produce ruptures in the narrative and the illusion of the database/narrative object earns boos from the crowd.
I am reminded, here, of Manovich's claim that film is the perfect narrative/database object. I wonder how much of that claim is based on the fact that a film is continuous and viewers are a captive audience as long as the film folls. Like a DJ set, a film that has conspicuous difficulties with the narrative (e.g. poor cuts, poor edits, or a projector error) ruins the database/narrative object's illusion.
As Matt is fond of saying, "Discuss."
Mumbling on,
ED
Well, because I cannot figure out how to make a new posting, I will just link this to Ed's Mumbling.
There was a really interesting article in the Wall Street Journal (for which I can't provide a link because I don't subscribe online) about Avatars. It appeared in Monday's paper, page R4. The point of the article is that online virtual alter egos are big business in Korea, where 3.6 million Koreans shop for everything from cosmetic surgery to clothing for their avatars. The passage that was most fascinating to me follows:
"These colorful avatars are proving to be a popular method of escapism and self-expression. Office drones who long for the slopes have their avatars merrily skiing down digital Matterhorns. Skinny youths who want to project a tough image might purchase stubble and scowling eyes for their online selves. Others might head in the opposite direction, to a virtual beauty shop where you can purchase a tan, blue eyes or a perm for less than a dollar."
The article goes on to say that the expansion of the personal avatar business is dependent on growing and maintaining online communities that are culture specific. There is quite a bit of growth also in the branded "products" available to these avatars like Levi Jeans and Nike sportswear that not only provide the avatar with chic clothing but enhance their performance in the gaming world.
Finally, and really interesting to me, is that the products available for the avatar are time/season/current event specific. During the Sars outbreak, one could buy a mask for their avatar - so it wouldn't catch a virus? The line between the real and the virtual is really blurry.
I'll bring the article on Wednesday if anyone wants to see it.
I agree that a film is a perfect narrative/database object only in that it is perfectly conformable, in that it is mostly the product of one person's imagination, rather than a group project. Things get much more messy (and interesting, I think) when you bring in non-linear hypertext and media that don't usually play together (film and text, for instance, in a flash "movie").
I like your "spinning" of DJ-as-bard, Ed. There's definitely some narrative going on in that scene. I've been very much into electronic lounge music lately (e.g. DC's own Thievery Corporation) for that very reason.
Posted by: Joseph Byrne at March 25, 2004 12:53 PM