My initial experience:
Beautiful opening page. The sound is awesome, seductive.
But the text–light on dark–that begins with the Intro–turns me off so much!
Is this a database? An archive with an interface orienting one as she chooses to explore the information in prescribed or pre-designed or pre-curated ways?
I wonder who would be interested in which “pathway” and why? What do each ways have to offer that the others don’t?
INTRO:
“The Roaring ‘Twenties website is dedicated to that challenge, attempting to recreate for its listeners not just the sound of the past but also its sonic culture. It offers a sonic time machine; an interactive multimedia environment whereby site visitors can not just hear, but mindfully listen to, the noises of New York City in the late 1920s, a place and time defined by its din.” (2)
“The goal is to enable each visitor to chart their own unique journey through this material and thereby transport themselves back in time, constructing a historically-oriented mindset through which to perceive the images and sounds.” (3)
“The solution offered by these digital devices, however, may also offer a clue to the problem, for it may be that such digital noise is what truly threatens to overwhelm us today. We are increasingly inundated by an onslaught of signals competing for our attention, an on-line cacophony of inbox alerts, Twitter feeds, Facebook updates, and cell phone ringtones demanding our attention. David Foster Wallace called it Total Noise, the “tsunami” of information that constantly challenges our human capacity to focus.” (8)
Samiul Mirza says
Oh My God, after reading how each complaint was started and where it ended up, I felt like I was actually there witnessing each event which adds on to actually being there and experiencing the Roaring Twenties. My favorite event has to be the Coney Island Carnival Baker levitating his assistant because it looked so real and in my opinion beats all the magic tricks I’ve seen so far. I’ve always wanted to feel how the Roaring Twenties would be and this site has literally taken me to i, even showing a truck backfiring. Oh and I found the video about the two kids acting out a street cleaning scenario really really really funny.
PDArrington says
(15) You clearly enjoyed this site. Awesome. Will you go back to it? Is it the kind of experience you enjoy indulging in? If this was a textbook for a class would you still enjoy it?
Rachael Schultz says
The Roaring Twenties is such an interesting time in history! All you talked about in history class, when talking about the roaring twenties was all the happiness and spontaneity that happened during that time period. I am very interested in reading this and getting to take a look at what you were turned off by in the beginning. It seems like the author or narrator gives a clear goal that is supposed to be reach when reading this, like traveling back in time and getting to experience the sounds and music from that time. I love when David Wallace says that all our technological ringtones that are striving for our attention are called, “Total Noise, the “tsunami” of information that constantly challenges our human capacity to focus.” It seems as if we are so focused on our technology today and rely on it for our music and sounds that we don’t pay attention to where we can listen to sounds and create images from other things.
PDArrington says
(15) Yes the 20’s were so interesting! The kind of mythological sense of the 20’s that has evolved over time… I wonder if this site contributes to a kind of glorified idea of that time period? Or if it helps to inject a little reality into it. What do you think?