Simmersed

Joanne Drucker’s defines interface as “a boundary space” or “encounter between systems” (216). It can be explored further, as we discussed in Wednesday’s class, as a representation of the (un)real. This interpretation of “interface” causes us to read performativity and gender binaries through our interaction with interface both online and offline. This reading allows us to explore the idea that interface is a space where identities can be suspended, manipulated and constructed. With this definition and the idea of the representation of the (un)real in mind I want to explore the interface of government issued documentation and the computer game The Sims, which is currently making the forth edition. Lora’s case study of the “Gender Binary-ism Online, Representing the [un]Real” and example of the strictly male or female gender choice got me thinking about government issued documentation, such as a passport and driver’s license, as an interface or “boundary space” between the government and the person. The passport process particularly interests me because you need two previous government issued documents. The idea that your identity is constructed by various pieces of documentations or interfaces is interesting in regards to the construct of our personal identity. These documents are necessary representations of ourselves whenever we apply for schools, jobs, visas and so forth.

The other thing that came to mind, which relates more closely to our class discussion, the idea of performativity and online representations, is a computer game called The Sims. The virtual world of The Sims coincides with Ducker’s idea that online interfaces will become increasingly “the experience of being in the world” because it mimics “real life” (Drucker 219). If you’re unfamiliar with the game, basically you create character(s) and control their lives based on wants, needs, interactions, environment and so forth. The original The Sims game options (developed in 2000) were incredibly limited and basic. For example, the character traits were stereotypical (shy, neat, mean, active and so forth). However, over the last 14 years, various expansions and the three additional Sims games in the series has lead to the development of incredibly detailed portrays of “reality” or the representation of the [un]real.

Currently Sims 4 is in process of development and the promo video I posted below about the changes and upgrades in Sims 4 documents the extreme detail and “accurate” portrayal of the “realism” in Sims 4. The narrator describes the animation, reactions, gestures, movements, emotions, wants, needs and so forth as “more appropriate and realistic” (The Sims 4 – Careers, Emotions and Animations). For example, he states in the video that “when sims are feeling sad and upset they’re able to eat ice cream in the bathtub…and is more realistic” so that it “adds a different [and deeper] level of immersion into your actual sim character” (The Sims 4 – Careers, Emotions and Animations). The intense detail to human traits, reactions, gestures, emotions, desires and the acute specificity of the human condition allows the user to become completely immersed in the game; the interface is so smooth you can become completely immersed in what appears to be reality, but really, it’s just an amazing and addictive performative representation of reality.

From D.F McKenzie to McKenzie Zales

Before D.F McKenzie bibliography was only concerned with W.W Greg’s focus on the physicality of the codex. However, McKenzie recognized that this was no longer an adequate definition and developed a wider definition for Bibliography and the “sociology of texts”, which “include verbal, visual, oral and numeric data, in the forms of maps, prints, and music, of archives of recorded sound, of films, videos and any computer-stored information” (13). The “sociology” aspect “directs us to consider the human motives and interactions which texts involve at every stage of their production, transmission, and consumptions” (15). McKenzie’s innovative transformation of the definition of “bibliography” presents a wide range of “texts” beyond the traditional physical codex and introduces a social discourse. One of these “texts” is “YouTube”, which is a social media web source that incorporates written word with visuals and audial “texts” in an interactive forum. Online web series, such as a favourite of mine called Most Popular Girls in School, post weekly episodes and builds a social community of followers. Unlike typical television series the episodes are posted weekly on a social forum where the fans can respond instantly allowing the creators to receive instant feedback, which directly influences the trajectory of the web series. Most Popular Girls in School web series existence and popularity is based on the sociological aspect and accessibility of the internet community. The characters and reoccurring phrases are regular memes which do not exist outside of the internet community. Deandra the new girl, McKenzie Zales, Trisha Cappaletti, Brittany Mathews and so forth have become internet personalities that fans can interact with and follow on other social media networks (twitter, facebook, instagram). The series is so predicated on internet culture that it would likely not exist without the internet itself and thus it is completely shaped by the sociology of the internet social media. McKenzie’s emphasis on the social interactive aspect and wide-ranging definition of what a text is has allowed for new avenues of social media “texts” such as Most Popular Girls in School to exist. Without D. F McKenzie there might not be a McKenzie Zales!