This post was written inaccessibly on purpose. Please highlight to read.
Before I even touch on analyzing either piece, I have to talk about the accessibility of Twelve Blue. I can’t be that annoyed since it’s an experimental piece from the 90’s, but I straight up couldn’t read it. The sonic blue background gave me eye strain regardless of my laptop’s brightness. The color contrast of light blue against more blue made it difficult to process words. I showed it to someone else to read, and while we both understood the vocabulary and imagery just fine, neither of us could process the words. It wasn’t until I copy and pasted the chapters’ text into UpNote (black background, white text) that I could understand what Joyce was saying.
The story is a mystery in a non-linear format. Joyce uses multiple point of views to relay the story to the reader, and a new chapter is discovered by clicking links within the text. This usage of hypertext is, in Pressman’s words, “…the earliest and predominant forms of electronic literature.” Traditional literature is more restricted by its format, confined to turning pages and arguing with a publisher for something out of the box. The internet allows more freedom because of the versatility of website design or downloadable content. Twelve Blue’s non-linear narrative is supported by the use of hyperlinks because the reader is able to engage the content in whatever order they please. Pressman highlights how the role of the reader changes from passive to active, and this challenges how reading practices can change in the future.
In the year 2025, I’m not sure if I’ve noticed a significant change with how people engage literature, both digitally and physically. Then again, this may be due to the fact I grew up in a time of rapidly evolving internet culture. I can refer back to my earlier point on accessibility, though. Before, people with visual impairments had to use magnifying tech that would enlarge text on a page or purchase books purposefully printed with larger font. In current day, change the size of the font on any site is as easy as a push of a button. Other disabilities and struggles were never accounted for, either, but in modern day there are almost always accessibility options in both digital literature and games. Digital literature certainly isn’t perfect yet, but raises the bar in making reading attainable to everyone.
-SS
