Custom Orthotics Changed My Life by Richard Holeton is a piece of non-interactive electronic fiction cleverly constructed as a business (PowerPoint) presentation. Similar to a kinetic or animated PowerPoint presentation, the work of fiction uses line graphs, bar graphs, tables, and Venn diagrams to illustrate the plot and events of the protagonist as he divorces twice, mourns the death of his son and falls into a solitude bankruptcy. Holeton’s piece uses audio recorded by David Kettler to bring forth emotion to the narrator’s memoir. Although lasting only nine-and-a-half minutes and using very few words, Holeton is able to capture dark humor and irony, as well as a surprisingly detailed description of events. When the protagonist hits rock bottom, in large part due to leg cramps, back aches, sore neck, and other foot related problems, the sentence “then I discovered custom orthotics” is slowly typed onto the screen – a dramatic climax. From that point on, the music is positive and energetic as he describes how improved foot comfort rejuvenates the relationships in his life. In addition to the humorous notion that a footbed can turn a life around, the narrator creates humor through exaggerations in his graphs when they describe his savings account or the amount of instant noodles eaten. Though fictional, this piece unintentionally resembles an advertisement for custom orthotics since it is a customer testimonial giving it rave reviews.
Custom Orthotics Changed My Life is a narrative in which the “reader plunges into imaginative world she ceases to notice the page” (Hayles 32). Called “active participation” by Katherine Hayles, the reader is captured by the narration which is in a digital presentation form. Katherine Hayles discusses the computational nature of twenty-first century literature. She claims that humans are distinguished from other species by our ability to use language to develop complex social formations. In electronic literature, and specifically this piece, the computer language of PowerPoint presentations is one in which many people are familiar with in the 21st century. Hayles goes on to claim in chapter 2 that humans engineer computers, but computers reengineer humans in a “recursive feedback loop” (Hayles 48). The manner in which the story of custom orthotics is presented proves that much of human communication has become based on a computer visual language, PowerPoint. The slides of a PowerPoint presentation, with its sliding and dissolving titles, line graphs sliding across the screen, and bullets with short concise points has infiltrated the way people make meaning. The subtle dynamics of a business presentation has quickly bound together the author, program, and viewer. Hayles’s term “recombinant flux” describes how the aesthetics of electronic literature that have a stronger impression than a worded book. PowerPoint fiction is a child of a narrative fiction and a business presentation. This reaffirms Hayles’s claim that “nothing comes from nothing, electronic literature was not born ex nihilo” (Hayles 80).
The graphs and diagrams in Holeston’s piece present the information in a unique way. According to Heidegger’s terms, the graphs “reveal” or “unconceal” the narration through visual representation. The same way scientific data is framed by a digital presentation (i.e. lectures, statscan), so are the narrator’s marital failures and life struggles.
When new formats of fiction arise, it can be described as a Reading Revolution, coined by Tim Carmody. The widespread use of computers in the workplace, education, and communication has altered the way we read and write. This piece of PowerPoint fiction, along with other electronic literature, is the future of fiction. This advancement of reading methods is echoed by F.T. Marinetti. Futurist sensibility refers to the renewal of human sensibilities brought about by science and today’s swift pace (Marinetti). With information travelling faster and more visually, a nine-and-a-half minute slideshow gets more information across faster to the reader than a book.
Richard Holeton taught in the English program at Stanford University for 12 years. He is now the director of Academic Computing Services. His responsibilities include providing technology resources and expertise for students, faculty and administrators. His previous work includes Frequently Asked Questions About Hypertext , a hyperlink fiction in the form of a F.A.Q. about a 69 word poem called “Hypertext”. He is also the author of “Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age”, a university textbook (Educause). The music is composed by David Kettler, a graduate from Stanford. He studied music, science, and technology (Holeton).
Works Cited
Carmody, Tim. “10 Reading Revolutions Before E-Books”. The Atlantic. The Atlantic Mag. 25 Aug. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
“Richard Holeton Biography Stanford University”. Educause. n.p. 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. http://www.educause.edu/members/richard-holeton
Hayles, K. N. Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 2010. Print.
Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology: and Other Essays. New York & London: Garland Publishing Inc. 1977. Print.
Holeton, Richard. Custom Orthotics Changed My Life. Kairos. n.p. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/14.2/disputatio/holeton/index.html
Marinetti, F.T. Destruction of Syntax—Imagination without strings—Words-in-Freedom. n.p. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. http://www.unknown.nu/futurism/destruction.html