Caliban's transition from typewriter to computer on page 97 caused me to contemplate the impact technology on speech and communication. Before analyzing Letter SycoraX, I never realized how much I cater my communication in accordance with the platform I'm using. For example, I use completely different words and a different tone when I'm writing in MLA format versus a twitter post. I read my instagram captions in a different "voice" than when I read my research paper. I think it's fascinating to think about how the formatting of a text impacts the way it is received
For my project, I wanted to create a visual interpretation of the writing style in "Letter SyxoraX". As I reread the poem, I was struck by how powerful the custom spacing of the letters and lines are in the poem. Even without reading the poem, one can glance at a page in the poem and know that Brathwaite's writing commands a unique interpretation. Caliban's language is unique it itself, but I found that the spacing is what allows the poem to be "heard" instead of just read. The spaces trick our brains into putting the letters together in a different way, consequentially forcing us to put emphasis on different sounds and hearing the intended pronunciation as we read it. Admittedly, I don't really know how a typewriter works or its capabilities, but I think that the computer allows for easy trial and error, which the typewriter lacks. The freedom to fluidly construct the formatting of the poem until the letter reads as Brathwaite intended is what allows for the language to come to life in the reader's mind. For Caliban, using a computer was something new and different. It allowed him to make a statement because he could format his writing in a way he was unfamiliar with. Through my drawing, I wanted to convey the lack of expression that Caliban would have had if he wrote his letter on a typewriter. I drew a sophisticated typewriter to convey the formality that a typewriter demands, yet it's worn down and broken - keys have fallen off and it has nicks and scratches to represent its age and inefficiency. Most importantly is the word. Caliban began with a typo that couldn't be erased, the font is formal and lacks self expression or emotion, and in the end Caliban is unable to finish the letter because he cannot speak through the typewriter. The "letter" begins and ends with an exclamation - a cry for help as if "mamma" was the only word he could muster.
Caliban's transition from typewriter to computer on page 97 caused me to contemplate the impact technology on speech and communication. Before analyzing Letter SycoraX, I never realized how much I cater my communication in accordance with the platform I'm using. For example, I use completely different words and a different tone when I'm writing in MLA format versus a twitter post. I read my instagram captions in a different "voice" than when I read my research paper. I think it's fascinating to think about how the formatting of a text impacts the way it is received
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|