Writing Machines

WRITING MACHINES REVIEW

 

While beginning to deconstruct and comprehend what this complex piece of writing is all about I felt myself experience a rollercoaster of different emotions, Not only in relation to the content of these chapters but also towards the Author ‘Katherine Hayles’ . From the first few pages I began to dislike ‘Hayes’ and her reasons to put forward her ideas through an imaginary persona named ‘Kaye’ and then to proceed to indulge us into her background. I was puzzled why she felt we needed to be aware that she had exhausted all the reading material in her tiny boring town. Books were her only way of experiencing intellectual stimulation due to the fact that in her eyes no one around her reached her level of intellect.

I feel now after deciphering the complicated language of the first two chapters I feel I may have misjudged the writing and its concerns. While becoming increasingly frustrated at times over the use of technical terms and language that are part and parcel of the new phenomena of this digital age, I can appreciate how it highlights the authors concerns or main objectives. To focus our attention on how this digital age is transforming the face of literature, as we know it. Hayes presents a detailed account on her theory of ‘Media-Specific Analysis’, which she feels is essential to the importance of a text’s materiality and the changes it is experiencing. No longer is a physical artifact as a book the main means of accessing literature, it has taking a leap into the infinite world of electronic media. A world where we need to learn to read and write all over again.

It was suggested later into the chapter , whether the book will survive in existence because of all these new electronic elements. It is a lot more complicated than just pen and ink. There are now elements such as polymers, screens and power cord prongs in the equation. This reminds me of a recent article on ‘The emergence of filmic Artifacts’ I had to read. Here it is concerned about the changes in Cinema in a Digital era and whether or not film will vanish, taking with it the meaning and experience of cinema. I can see similarities in both these writings in their concerns and fears for a lost medium. Both of these authors come to the conclusion that all mediums are relevant to its history and any new changes in the characteristics should be embraced. 

Hayles concludes her chapter in urging the reader to be attentive to materiality now that paths have changed. The simplicity of turning a numbered page of a book has evolved into a new world of 'Binary code' ‘Hypertexts’ and ‘Technotexts’ .