BLOG PROMPT ONE: Non-linear Narrative
My Boyfriend Came Back from the War (1996) by Olia Lialini and The Godlove Museum (1999-2006) by Entropy8Zuper!
PLEASE ANSWER BY POSTING COMMENTS.
Step all the way through My Boyfriend Came Back from the War (MBCBFTW) by Russian net art pioneer Olia Lialini and spend a few minutes exploring "The Godlove Museum" by the American-Belgian team Entropy8Zuper!.
NOTE: The Godlove Museum may not run well on contemporary browsers. That's okay - just look/play around to get a sense of the "experience" of the site.
What do you think MBCBFTW is about? How do these pieces challenge expectations about web design and linear narrative? Imagine how people might have felt seeing them at the time they were released in the very, very early years of the internet.
My Boyfriend Came Back from the War by Olia Lialini: http://www.teleportacia.org/war/
The God Love Museum by Entropy8Zuper!, artists Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn: http://entropy8zuper.org/godlove/
I think MBCBFTW is about the perspective of the boyfriend coming back from war and visiting his girlfriend however, he is experiencing PTSD or some sort of memory loss as a result of being in combat. It goes against the general rules of web deign because instead of initially giving the viewer information about the website, the viewer pieces together the story line by clicking through the web page. It also challenges the familiarity of a linear story line because the language in the beginning seems to be when the boyfriend first returns from war then as the viewer clicks through the content more and more the viewer can piece together the couples' tragic love story.
ReplyDeleteMBCBFTW seems to be about a man who, upon returning from war, discovers that his girlfriend has not remained faithful while he was away. She tries to repair their relationship but he does not trust her anymore. This coupled with what he had experienced in combat makes living his life normally difficult.
ReplyDeleteBoth these sites challenge the user to piece together a story from little snippets of the complete narrative that are not necessarily in chronological order. There was not much information given about how the sites operated but rather the full attention was given to the story they told. I would say that half of the people who stumbled across these sites when they were first created were probably quite impressed with how they functioned and their mechanics. The other half probably stumbled upon these sites late at night and were confused and a tad frightened by what they experienced.
MBCBFTW seems to be about a man who returns to his girlfriend after going to war. There seems to be flashes from before he went to war, during the war, and when he returns. It almost seems like they are flashbacks of the good times and how their relationship had been to what he went through during the war. It seems as though he has PTSD when he returns so he keeps having all these flashbacks. It seems that once he is back things have clearly changed and they are left in this difficult situation.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these pieces seem to go against the expectations of web design and linear narrative because it's not laid out simply left to right and top to bottom. Navigating them is a bit harder because of this which makes it more interesting. It's also not in a set order as people are used to. You see different parts of the whole story but not in chronological order. You also have to move your mouse around to figure out where to move on to next rather than there being a button or instructions telling you where to go. I'm sure people who first viewed them were very confused and maybe even a little intimidated by the layout of these. I know it was difficult for me to figure them out and I'm more experienced using the internet and how pages work than the original viewers were.
I believe that MBCBFTW is meant to put the viewer in the position of the boyfriend who is experiencing severe memory loss, trauma, and PTSD. This is conveyed through the nonlinear story that we have to piece together ourselves in order to understand and the strange presentation. The nonlinear story helps to better portray the feeling of having to piece together memory while you are physically overwhelmed. People viewing it would've thought it was eerie, overwhelming, and kind of frustrating from it's super exposed photos and spastic styling, which helps to convey the constant fear the boyfriend may now suffer from. It's also meant to be unfamiliar and not have an anchor to reality, which helps to show a disconnect the boyfriend might feel from his old life after being in the war.
ReplyDeleteThe God Love Museum is also nonlinear despite it conveying the first books of the Bible in order. The design of the site challenges expectations because there is barely an explanation for what you are seeing. There is no introduction that explains the choices or the overall story that is occurring, so the audience must put in the work themselves to put together the pieces. This modern interpretation of the stories from the Bible put the viewer into the forefront of the beginnings of man. People would've probably been very confused and concerned, but also intrigued by the interactivity
I think that My Boyfriend Came From The War has a very eminently unapparent meaning. For me, it takes a minute to realize that two people are submerged into two different worlds since the one is within the space of white and the other is occupying the rest of the space in black. The window, therefore, is part of her world. What about these worlds? Well, in most apparent conclusion I come to, is that people change, in this case, it is the experiences of her boyfriend that may have altered their worlds. However, we can tell that she wats to submerge him back into her world yet little does she know she is submerged into his. The widow may be a clear sign that she although is there in his world wants to be free.
ReplyDeleteThe God Love Museum is incredible! Seeing something like this in 1999 must have been immersive and maybe even overwhelming. I would say that linear narrative can be thrown out the window here. This website asserts more of an experience that id imaginative and engaging at the same time.
(Part 1) Well, I won't pretend that I understand what exactly was going on, or what message the author was trying to convey, assuming of course there is a message which there seems to be. But I think MBCBFTW has a plot which is meant to have multiple interpretations. Everything is purposefully disjointed, almost nonsensical, and completely relies on the choices made by the user. It's a choose your own adventure in the sense that the user can explore the story by whichever path and pace he so wishes. With that said, the adventure still seems to be the same. Regardless of what the user interacts, it all leads to the same result. So the choices influence only in so much as to make it nearly impossible to create a timeline of events. The dialogue can be so conflicting at times, that it makes one wonder if some of the dialogue actually does occur, and if it did, when? I think of the dialogue, which seems to be an internal thought bubble, where the speaker talks about proposing, but reconsiders to do it later. Is this before the boyfriend leaves, or is this the return? Or is this way after the return? Because other dialogue implies a conflict which would make it strange if one of the people was about to propose to the other during said conflict. And while the title is worded to imply that it's the perspective of the girlfriend, there actually is no further indicator that's the case, so the dialogue could be spoken from the point of view of the boyfriend, girlfriend, and maybe even more. Acknowledging these points, I still think I constructed at least one plot line in this story. Some time before the male's most recent deployment, the couple were on good terms. There seems to exist a strong bond, love even, for one another and the male, being so infatuated, almost proposes before he stops himself. Always delaying, always pushing it off, he thinks that there must be a better time for this. He convinces himself that things are good now, and that to propose now may possibly ruin their current happiness. But that becomes the tragedy, where because of his contentedness with the now, and his inability to muster the courage to take risks due to the fear of ruining their relationship, as he leaves, she waits. But she isn't just waiting for him to return, but for him to show more, to, for example, propose. And even though both may want the same thing, their actions are conflicting, and so she, in her presumably long wait (especially if one considers the relationship to be rather lengthy) is seduced by another who presumably offers the comfort she longs for and fears she may be lacking, even when the male returns and decides that it still isn't the right time to marry. Upon his return home, this becomes a point of contention, but it isn't the only point. The time abroad has had it's own effects on the male, and now the male is troubled from his experiences of combat. Yet the male, who was content with his home life, content with his relationship, returns to a broken home, and already having few to turn to about his time abroad now finds that a person he trusted at home, can no longer be trusted. I could be completely wrong on this interpretation, but at the same time I wonder if this was purposefully done by the author. Even with its set elements, could the author, in not only trying to get the user involved by creating a site that depends on user input to craft a story, depend on the user to actual make sense a story. And if so, could it be that the story created is more so a reflection of the user than the author, the author merely providing the tools for story creation. The site doesn't make the user craft a story as the user progresses, but only after when the user has to take into account all the disjointed elements at the same time.
ReplyDelete(Part 2) When considering the two pieces, they both demonstrate the ability to create art that utilizes the medium (of computers) to a fuller extent. The medium of an art work can be utilized to fully convey the purpose of the artist. The statue allows for a work to be examined in the third dimension while the different paints on a canvas can allow different expressions and textures. The computer can ofcourse allow a person to make a statue or a painting on the digital screen, but it can go even further in creating an interactive experience which the two works were meant to do. The medium of the computer allows not only more people to interact with a work of art, but also to in a sense, create art through their interactions.
DeleteIf we were to consider the patrons point of view, seeing art that could be created through another medium that could give a more unique experience then traditional mediums through efforts that are in a way easier (for I think it is reasonable to assume that creating a statue is harder than making a website, effort and monetary wise) is probably a mind opener. It gives one more option for the potential artist to work with and in turn creates more art for people to interact with. I think that two words could be used to describe what people were witnessing in the early years of the internet, new possibilities.
I had trouble trying to figure out what exactly was going on in (MBFCBFTW), and i am still trying to figure it all out. In my interpretation, the girls boyfriend comes back from the war and finds out she has not been faithful. She tries to reconcile with him but with everything he has experienced in the war and then coming home to this, he couldn't trust her anymore. It was interesting because you could click different areas and get a different understanding every time you went through it. Back when this was first released people were probably very confused with it, like i still am today. It challenges linear narrative because it can go up and down and all ways.
ReplyDeleteThe Godlove Museum is very cool in how it is setup. There is so much information throughout it and could take a while to get through it all. Both sites were very interesting to me. When they were discovered by someone new back when they first came out, most people probably wouldn't have figured it out. I have a pretty good amount of time spent on the internet and it still took me a few minutes to figure out how to work (MBFCBFTW). All in all these sights challenge linear narrative as a whole. They don't just tell the story left to right but have many options to choose from.
For starters, I found both these pieces to be partially reminiscent of some of the sites that I would interact with as a kid (early Disney/Sesame Street/Carola/Enchanted Learning sites, for example), where the user is prompted to click a large picture or GIF that redirects them to more information about the particular topic.
ReplyDeleteBeginning with the piece "MBCBFTW," I found the work deceivingly simple at first, thinking the entire piece was predicated on just the opening line followed by the hard-broiled picture of the two men sitting and window with a fern in front. I quickly realized there to be an organized chaos to this artwork, demonstrating the scarring effects that service in combat has not only on the veteran soldier, but also on their loved ones. The mechanics and structure of this story are unpredictable, just as life itself is. One detail that stuck out to me was the way in which large, impending and life-altering questions were asked, such as that of marriage or love or life and death. These heavy questions were followed by rather simplistic, often ambiguous answers. I believe this was meant to direct the viewer's attention back to the glaring reality of healing from war's grizzly effects.
Stylistically, the choice of black and white is deliberate, emphasizing a sense of urgency and dramatic tension in the lives of those involved. For the individual viewing this work in the early days of the Internet, I suspect the asymmetry would throw one off, in addition to perhaps the rather bold text (although this is more characteristic of the early days of web design than we are used to now with polished UI and such...).
The second work made me uncomfortable. The overtly dark style combined with eerie music seemed to demonize the Bible, which I found quite distasteful and inappropriate. It is also difficult for me to give a fair (or objective) critique of this piece given that my browser (Firefox) also started experiencing loading issues such when loading pieces from the Book of Numbers section. Regardless, it seemed grossly devoid of anything good.
More objectively speaking, this site's content was organized linearly which is how most Western stories are recited. The graphics were integrated to nearly seamlessly flow with the page.
My Boyfriend Came Back From The War, to me, tells the story of a couple torn apart by infidelity that occurred while one of them was away serving in the military. Of course, trying to boil the story down to a simple summary seems to defeat its purpose, as the way all of this is communicated is almost more important than the actual plot. Fragmented words and statements are presented without context, the browser repeatedly splitting in half or quarters as you click through the links. It takes the concept of frames, which would later be considered a staple of "Web 1.0" design, and uses it as the core of its artistry. Perhaps the most unique element of the site from both an artistic and a web design standpoint is how it confounds any sort of linear order in its presentation - the viewer not only decides their own pace but forges their own path in choosing which fragments to delve into first. Personally, I find the way each individual fragment ends with a blank space to be poignant, especially since the entire piece concludes with nothing but pictures and the artist's signature.
ReplyDeleteThe Godlove Museum is comparatively more linear, guiding the viewer through its narrative through a variety of setpieces. As a primarily Flash-based project, though, it makes much more extensive use of audiovisual effects and deeper interactivity beyond simply clicking on links. It is a very personal and emotional project, delving into uncomfortable territory and representing it through unconventional ways. In some respects, it actively defies what is traditionally seen as good web design: for instance, it forgoes using one cohesive graphical style in favor of blending a wide variety of sources together. (This is made extremely apparent in the beginning of Deuteronomy, where all of the various symbols begin to blend together in an overwhelming sequence.)
In terms of web design, MBCBFTW's confounding narrative structure is timeless, remaining just as confounding and intriguing today as it was back in 1996. The difference is that other web artists emerged in the interim who also used the fundamental aspects of HTML and a browser window as their canvas, making Lialina's work slightly less unusual. Similarly, the Godlove Museum would likely have astounded people in 1999 (when Flash creations were just rising to prominence on the Internet) with its unique blend of aesthetics.
To me MBCBFTW depicts the story of a young man returning home from War. On one hand, he suffers from PTSD hence the constant flashes of war imagery. He is also struggling to respond to his environment normally, as interpreted from the answer "It's beautiful" on the bottom right corner in response to the girlfriend's question about her dress. On the other hand, he realizes that things has changed since he left for war, for example, his girlfriend seem to have started a temporary new relationship with her neighbor. They seem to have promised to get married when he returns and he wanted to fulfill his promise as soon as possible in attempt to pretend the years of absence does not exist.
ReplyDeleteI find MBCBFTW's narrative structure and its web design accomplishes each other in making this story and experience intriguing. The narrative is non linear and the website is not designed to be understood in a glance. You need to explore the page, clicking on various things in order to proceed the narrative. It started from mostly black void, and ended in a black void on now it's divided and broken, like the narrative and the boyfriend himself. The character, the story, the narrative structure, and the web design reflects each other. Even today, a web art like this an intriguing experience. Back in the days when internet just started to emerge, artworks like MBCBFTW and The Godlove Museum most like struck even harder, letting the people who stumbles across these websites see the amazing possibility of this new, emerging media.
From what I could understand from this non-linear story, My Boyfriend Came Back From War told a story of trauma and relationships. As I progressed through, I was very confused by intrigued as I was picking up bits and pieces of the story which was a possible allusion to the boyfriend's trauma where bits and pieces of his previous life and the war arose in the current time. With everything in a black and white posterized filter, it was even harder to make out each memory but I think that's the point. He might have been a little fuzzy of his visual memorization and this could've of also been an artistic choice by the artist. As the visitor slowly reveals more and more info about this sad story. From what I could tell, he wanted to marry her but something must have arisen, my guess being the war, and while the boyfriend was gone, she cheated on him with the neighbor. Their time apart when he was in the war led to temptation but also he was no longer the same boyfriend he was when he left.
ReplyDeleteThis site much of been very strange at the early ages of the internet and still is by today's standards. First off, with its mostly black screen in contrast to the standard white background on websites is an oddity. Second, it allows the visitor to slide the dividers how they please with those sliders changing the size of the image over covering over the content. By allowing the visitor to control the sight by clicking images and using sliders in whatever order they please, it gives a sense of control over the story order and how information is presented. Typically web design presents information designed by the creator in a specific and linear way for the visitor but in this case, the design allows the creator to put in a lot of information but the visitor has to work to understand. This sort of design mixed with storytelling still works in the modern era and it was hard to believe this came out in the late 1990s.
I had looked into the God Museum site and had several loading issues for me so I was able to see much of it. From what I could load, the use of imagery and sound effects were very eerie to the point that it felt cultic. The small bits of images following or interaction with the placement of the mouse was a bit fun such as the head tilts in Genesis. I wish I could mess around with the site more because also it felt very uncomfortable, I was still fascinated with it.
The interactive way the MBCBFTW's narrative made the experience more confusing than just telling the story, but I feel like that is exactly the purpose of the way the story is told. People don't all experience trauma in the same way. The people around the people that experience trauma don't all react the same way either which can just add to the confusion of it all which was very well captured in the artwork. Every time I started over because I was confused about what was going on made the experience of "reliving" the story more confusing for me which I imagine is how people that have PTSD feel when they relive their trauma in their minds. The way the narrative was told made me think so hard it gave me a headache but I thought it was amazing at how the work experience my own bit of trauma like I could understand the story a little more in an emotional way rather than literally.
ReplyDelete