Hello!
I have been terribly sick, and I apologize profusely for the tardiness of this post, but it is finally up and readable. :] Also, I am feeling much better.
In class, I remember it being mentioned that a book on tape or CD is not true remediation. However, I have to disagree. In my opinion, although slightly outdated, a book on tape is an excellent example of remediation. I would argue that they are based on a certain type of audio books: full cast audio books. Without mentioning the book itself in the reading of it, the overall feel of the reading is more of a play using the words from the book. The cast itself brings the story to its audience in a completely different way then even one person reading the story (even if that person is the brilliant Jim Dale.) My memory of this experience comes from grade school, when I listened to Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Its hard to go back to a traditionally read audio book after hearing a large cast perform the same task in a new way.
One of my favourite statements from the reading we were given for class is:
"the new medium can remediate by trying to absorb the older medium entirely, so that the discontinuities between the two are minimized. The very act of remediation, however, ensures that the older medium cannot be entirely effaced; the new medium remains dependent on the older one in acknowledged and unacknowledged ways."
I appreciate this quote because it encapsulates the concept that we will always have our past in what we create in the future. Audio books are an example of this because they will always be part of something written before hand, they are not just improvised right onto the tape, CD, or MP3 that they are given to us in. And though copyrights require the book to be acknowledged on tape, it is for the reader to decide whether or not the author is worthy of our noticing.
Additionally, audio books with casts, specifically, aid in the human race's need for immediacy. They are a way in which to "read" without actually reading, and the cast provides a more real experience, another important aspect to this need. As I stated before, the author nearly disappears in books on tape, in order to create this realistic experience. The reading states the irony: "the artist's success at effacing his process, and thereby himself, became for trained viewers a mark of his skill and therefore his presence." In audio books, we no longer think about the author of the book; they have been erased, giving way for the story. However, if we as readers truly like the story, we will in turn give credit to the author and not to the person whose voice we hear.
~Meg~
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." ~ Groucho Marx
That is a very interesting and not very common way to approach audio books. I can see where you're coming from- a cast can add a lot of dynamic to a story that text can't fully realize. All the tenets of remediation are there- the full-cast tape replaces the book entirely but is still different enough not make the concept of books obsolete.
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at it as words made audible it really removes the idea of a cast of people making a performance, and you dug deeper to bring more of a point to the table. I did write off book on tape as just words become audible instead of an actual performance. Good work!