jacob

LabLitArch Final Project.

Of all the books we have read, I find Tropic of Orange to be the most similar structurally to a road map, and like the story’s structure itself the book’s structure reminds me of a highway.  Similar to the effect of cities on road systems, there is a relatively clear point of convergence in both time and space in the map of the novel. To incorporate the aspects of time and space-time, I have decided to represent the 4 dimensional structure of the novel in a 3 dimensional space. The map, in my mind, is in a clear plastic ball and each path is made of wire. The location inside the sphere is arbitrary, as long as it remains relative to the other paths, made from wire inside the ball. I think this map represents well the ways which paths draw near each other but do not actually cross. On a 2-D map, it is impossible for the map I drew to exist without collisions. However, in 3 dimensions not all of the lines have to ever touch. This is important, because 2 dimensional maps represent 3 dimensional space. This means that in the real-life representation of my map occupies time. I think this is an accurate depiction of time-space in Yamashita’s novel, because of the way that things can happen without regard to the function of time. 

LabLitArch does not have a group timeline right now for our project, but we have met once already to discuss our intentions with this project. This led us to choose Tropic of Orange as the subject of our project. I am currently skimming through and taking a small set of notes that I think might help on our project.

I would like to meet with the other members once a week for a few weeks. After that it could be good to work together two times a week when possible as we approach the due date, though I suppose we don’t have too many weeks left.

The product will be a 3-D structure that translates the written novel into a physical representation of its internal architecture. I think there are many ways to build a structure that would encompass the characters, events and themes specific to Tropic of Orange, but I think the table shown at the beginning of the book is an interesting starting point. It maps out each chapter as they correspond to the time and perspective. I would like to look into the possibility of incorporating the 7x7 grid somehow.

I thought the introduction to Grandma Toby’s post was well designed and got me thinking about the impact that the internet first had on my when I was a child. I also felt that it was presented in a generally positive light, and I don’t think that that needs to be flipped, but the way that this post addressed the problems of this perspective was important. My first thought in reading it was how my views on the internet have developed over time. I think, in some ways, that the internet has grown with me. It is not nearly as one sided as it once was, and now it not only supplies information, but as Grandma Toby pointed out, people have the ability to contribute their own opinions, feelings and ideas, and corporations have a heavy influence over who sees, and internalizes or dissents to them. It has become a more complex machine. This has made the internet an immensely cluttered space which, and I think Grandma Toby touches on this implicitly, makes it increasingly difficult to diagnose or even notice a problem in the mechanisms used to present problems. The corporations mentioned control any individuals accessibility to an issue or topic, and further intertwine capitalism and ideology throughout the reach of the web.

During our first session, Yanagi’s World Flag Ant Farm helped us to begin to dissect aspects of globalization and diaspora. I felt that this was a rewarding process as the rules and limitations of the piece forced me to analyze closely the connections that it holds to these concepts. By studying a structure that did not perfectly replicate human expansion and communities, I realized that I would like to further understand the ways in which people struggle to fully understand and relate to the effects and structure of their diaspora. 

Literature is a quite effective medium for this style of analysis, which is another draw this class has for me. New World Border has pushed me to consider the ways the form of the novel speaks to the conveyances of Peña’s writing. The divisions within the prose and its self contained quality remind me of Ant Farm by pointing at the natural process that inhabit globalization and diaspora, while also drawing attention to the challenges of fully understanding these concepts.