This article was fascinating to me because I had never heard of this genre before, but it sounds like strong new literary form that's here to stay. My first thought after reading the article was that it would be really hard to write an entire novel using just a cell phone! I don't think I'd have the patience to do that and I would definitely switch to my computer screen. However, like the article said, computers aren't as common in Japan, and people have used cell phones as their means of private personal communication and as a means of writing. I think this is a really great thing, because it allows average people to express their views and write. I don't think there's ever been a mass popularity of novel writing before. I also think it allows the culture to see the world through the eyes of the average youth, which is important.
I also liked the use of pseudonyms in the Japanese culture. After reading "You're leaving a digital trail," pseudonyms sound like a great way to protect your identity in a world where privacy is becoming more of a concern. I think that cell phone novels wouldn't survive in our culture, because people wouldn't have the patience for it and nobody would want to use pseudonyms because they would want credit for their work. I think this demonstrates a cultural difference between Japan and the United States.
I think it would be interesting for teachers to discuss cell phone novels with their students and possibly have them write a cell phone short story. I think they would be really interested in this and it would not only teach them about new literacies, but it could also teach them about differences in culture between Japan and America.
I agree that it would be cool to have students attempt this writing style. It would open their eyes to other cultures and other forms of writing. In my blog post I mentioned an American website for text novels. It would be a cool class project to make a class account on the website and have the students text it to that. It would be a great way to share what the students had written, get them involved with a multi-modal type of learning, and introduce them to a different community of writers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Julie. I think it would be interesting to have students attempt this style in a creative writing class. I wonder if students will like it because they will be able to use their cell phones, or if they will become impatience after typing so much on their cell phone. I like this because it would introduce students to a new style of writing and students would actually be writing and critiquing each other's work.
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