Media-Specific Analysis

In the article “Print is Flat; Code is Deep: The Importance of Media-Specific Analysis”, N. Katherine Hayles explains how literary analysis shifts based on new media being used. The article explains that this doesn’t mean different media are totally separate, rather they “constantly engage in a recursive dynamic of imitating each other”. Different media build on each other, but each offer specific advantages which must be considered when we analyze and deepen our understanding of a text or texts. Inspired by Hayles’ argument that the material and formal properties of a work can shape both its meaning-making strategies and how an audience interprets it, our next project examines how The Great Gatsby has taken on a life of its own well outside the confines of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. We return to an early question I posed on the syllabus regarding the container of a text and its impact on the meaning of that text.

A related term I will use to explore this with you: remediation–the way a newer medium extends and relates back to an older medium, even as it would seem to replace it (for example: film and writing).

Assignment: I want you to think of iterations (or even paratexts) of The Great Gatsby outside of the traditional novel. We are reading the graphic novel but there are many other Gatsby texts including two films and an opera. You might also examine something like the soundtrack or costumes of the various films. You could even look at something like the cultural trend of Gatsby-themed parties for your topic. This would need to be represented by some kind of media like an invitation or other sort of icon, in order to apply Hayles’ media-specific analysis framework to it, meaning there needs to be a way to research and analyze the materiality of the medium (sound, film, image, production design etc) as part of your overall argument.

Questions to consider regarding media and materiality:

How does the materiality of the text contribute to meaning-making?

What is it about the media form that makes it essential to the signifying process (refer to sign, signified discussion)?

How does the medium complicate (or not) our understanding (what we know or think we know) of The Great Gatsby?

Reminder: Unlike a typical literary analysis, this essay is focused on the importance of the medium of the text and how it contributes to the meaning of that text.

Talk to Dr. R about your ideas and challenges.

Details: 6–8 sources should be consulted; may be a combination of primary sources (film, TV, etc), interviews, criticism, and theoretical, cultural texts. Consult with me if you have questions about source material.

Length: 7–10 pages (undergraduate) 10–15 (graduate)

Due date: March 22, 2021