Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 5
Vital narratives
Brenda Laurel
Los Gatos, CA
American culture has a hole in its heart. Vital narrative forms that nurture
and define us are vanishing. Our culture also has a hole in its head. We are
unclear about the epistemological roots of the various forms of narrative we
are exposed to, and, more importantly, we are befuddled about how to judge
what sorts of actions might appropriately flow from these narratives.
This is an opinion piece. The paper is fundamentally about different kinds
of narratives that I think we need to have and some that I think we need to
change in the world today. It is about a certain kind of narrative literacy that
can help people to form more complex and appropriate narratives for their
lives. I am focused on kids and teens as an audience because they are the future,
but I think that the analysis applies to adults as well.
Any of the types of narratives I discuss here can be represented as interac-
tive fiction, games, or web-based content. In the case of a story that is written
or told, the widely accepted reader-response theory says that the reader plays
an active role in constructing the story. Readers find ways to make good stories
personally relevant. Empathy, for example, plays a key role in the construction
of relevance.
In interactive media, the reader's role in construction is more pronounced.
It is important that the form not get in the way of this act of construction.
Elements of personal agency - that is, the ability to do something with the
material in the real or virtual world - is a key to engaging kids in interactive
narrative. That said, I leave the formal questions to others (for a change) and
look in this paper at the content and intent of various kinds of stories as they
provide scaffolding for constructing meaning and deriving actionable goals.
