Modernizing The Aeneid

Hopefully this upload actually works, I was having a really rough time getting it up. I'm kind of disappointed in this video. The point of it is to show that even ancient texts can be modernized, and although that modernization might cause the text to lose some of its meaning, the modernization itself might cause more people to become interested in the text in the first place. In the case of the Aeneid, I originally made a puppet pals video to illustrate that more people might learn about the plotline of the Aeneid if it was in a format (puppet pals, in this instance) that we could recognize (somewhat like Hannah's disney movie version of Paradise Lost). For some reason, it would not upload to anything (Facebook, youtube, google +, nothing), so you have to suffer through this horrible last minute video instead. Sorry guys!

The Digital Age: a New Frontier

For our literary history class, we are creating an eBook about the Renaissance and Reformation. One could easily question the necessity and purpose of such an endeavor. Indeed, I myself regularly question the intent in teaching this course through the creation of an eBook. One thing I can back on this though is the importance of digital books in this up and coming digital era. Reading chapter 1 of "Writing About Literature in the Digital Age" helped me to better understand the importance of digital books.

Much of today's technology can be found as fabrications of a fictional world. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" promotes a tiny book that contains many other books with all sorts of information compiled together to make a guide for people throughout the galaxy. We have something very similar to this idea today-- Kindles, iPads, iPhones. All of these either are or contain reader devices that help people conveniently access books, anthologies, videos, podcasts, and any other number of medium used to convey information. This idea was once something that was the mere thoughts of a brilliant fictional author. Now, it is reality. The intent of this to the Hitchhiker was to have the answers to all questions at the touch of a finger. Likewise, we can access the answers to questions we have or to musings that hit us at the touch of a screen.

Our digital anthology can accomplish something similar to this. We could create a comprehensive piece containing our six different topics that comprise the Renaissance and Reformation. It is important to remember that this in an unconventional style currently (though it is gaining popularity). Not everyone will embrace this new age of digital dialogue. In fact, many people will push against it and hinder it from becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. We need to be able to connect ourselves to this digital era and help contribute to it. One way our class is doing this is through this eBook.

The Digital Age is ALL About Audience

How do you get someone to read your work? Well, our class is writing an ebook on the Renaissance, and we're working closely with the new medium of digital books. But as we've begun this project, we are facing challenges, one of which is: Just how do we get people to read our book? Well, after reading chapter 11 and 12 of Writing About Literature in the Digital Age, I was happy to discover some examples of how to speak to an audience in a way that engages them, draws them in.

Chapter 11, A Letter from Hell: Screwtape on the Digital Age, was mainly written for people who had read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I have not read The Screwtape Letters, so parts of the essay weren't clear to me. But, I do think that he had the right idea. He knew that the people reading his chapter would probably be familiar with C.S. Lewis, and at least have heard of The Screwtape Letters enough that they could understand his approach. I felt that writing from a literary perspective was effective in helping me to look at the subject differently.The less-formal tone kept things readable. I felt like I was on the same page (pun intended) as the author.

In chapter 12 I appreciated the prominent and very real presence of the author in his writing. He mentioned his wife, and sneaking comic books into the house. He talked about his own passion, comic books. Bringing his personal interests into his work make the topic more approachable. It helps me, the reader, to step into his shoes. I can take a look at the topic from his perspective, as well as my own.

Insta-knowledge

One thing that I noticed while reading Writing About Literature in the Digital Age, was how the writing was not following conventional rules. There was the basic skeleton, but for the most part, the writing deviated from our typical scholarly, textbook writing. Personally, I was a fan. I liked that the writer in the Introduction used personal pronouns to pull me into the ideas he was discussing. I liked that the book felt more like a blog. It was personal, and user friendly.
Writing in the digital age needs to cater to an entirely different pallet than writing from any other time. People today are used to getting the information they need in a matter of seconds. Just the other day I was watching the TV show Friends. In one particular scene, Ross and Pheobe's new boyfriend, Mike, were discussing the difference between loggers and beer. Ross finally spoke up and said "Let's look it up." (View video to see examples. This moment happens around 2:00. I enjoy the whole thing though hah)
 I was surprised when I noticed a dictionary sitting between them in the next scene. I was surprised that I was surprised. Friends is a TV show that hasn't been around for a lot of years, and yet in the show cell phones aren't barely used, and computers are not all that common, when in our society today it is hard to find a teenager without either.
It wasn't that long ago that I was using a paper copy of a dictionary for a school project. But using a dictionary for anything not school related? Hasn't happened for a while. Google, Dictionary.com, and YouTube have become my new sources for information. I use Pinterest to find recipes, ideas for outfits, and ideas home improvement projects. I am living in a society where instant information is the norm. It isn't unusual to have a question and then be able to go to google and find the answer almost immediately. PRESTO! Answers!
Because of this, books and text books in school should be able to change as the times change. I think as a part of our ebook, the tweethis idea is a good one. It gives a good brief summary of the chapter's contents, but caters to the insta-knowledge ideals in our current society.

Waiting for the Movie

I read two articles, "One Nation, Under Google, with Wikipedia Access for All: Information Entitlement" by Derrick Clements and "'Some Text': E.B. White's Web of Primary Texts" by Carlie Wallentine. These two made me think about the attitude of access toward different mediums of novels.

My little brother doesn't like to read. As much as it saddens me, he doesn't. When I read a book that amazes me, that keeps me up reading, I haven't given up begging that he give it a try. He always replies, "I'll wait for the movie." When I explain to him that they might not make it into the movie, he scoffs and says, "Then it must not be a very good book."

With a digitalized world, we've come to expect several different mediums from our primary sources. Why read Great Expectations when PBS made it into a movie? Why spend the time on Shakespeare when you can Sparknote it (for free, no less)?

Having access to several different mediums of a primary text is a wonderful thing. I myself enjoy watching different portrayals of Pride and Prejudice from the traditional Regency, to Bollywood, to a modernized vlogger version. But does easier mediums take away from people's decision to access the original? Do too many people expect a movie, and without a movie the book isn't worth a read?