{"id":52259,"date":"2018-05-23T11:51:59","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T10:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/centmagazine.co.uk\/?p=52259"},"modified":"2022-03-21T18:00:29","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T17:00:29","slug":"frame-fiction-and-the-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.centmagazine.co.uk\/?p=52259","title":{"rendered":"Frame; Fiction and the Digital Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being written in the latter stages of the 19th Century, Oscar Wilde’s\u00a0The Picture of Dorian Gray\u00a0<\/em>was created in a pre-digital age, set in a pre-digital age. This is obvious. But what this story does do is revolve entirely around the mere idea of one single frame, and this one single frame inspired a work of fiction so multifaceted and\u00a0psychological that it went on to become one of the most important literary achievements of all time.<\/p>\n

We all know that the 20th Century was revolutionary in the arrival of the digital age. Technology expanded at an unprecedented pace, expanding and changing the connotations of the word ‘frame’. Cameras\u00a0now fit in our pockets, ready to capture and share. Footage glances by the crowd and the lens flares as it catches the blinding light reflected in a skyscraper building. A billboard ad with a photo of a model that you\u2019re sure you recognise. Crowds panic for a reason you\u2019re not quite sure of at first. Your partner doesn\u2019t like it; they turn over before you can find out. On the next channel is a mind-numbing reality TV programme.<\/p>\n

Today, we (especially millennials- sorry to say that word) are exposed to disparate media outlets, the effects of which we are, on the whole, uncertain about.<\/p>\n

Like all phenomenon, the event of the digital age was bound to influence contemporary writers, and not only influence them, but elicit a response. So can you think of an example of literature that centres around a digital image? Here are some of Cent\u2019s most captivating and terrifying examples.<\/p>\n

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Don DeLillo<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the major themes of Don DeLillo’s work is media consumption and debilitating entertainments. He is mostly known for novels such as Underworld <\/i>and White Noise<\/i>, but his short story VideoTape <\/i>is a great little one to start us off. This easy-read short draws you into a man repeatedly watching some frightful news footage. He rewinds, replays the images. Behind the camera is just a little girl; the camera is a toy to her as she playfully films a stranger in the car behind her. It explores a man\u2019s desensitisation to a violent act, captured entirely by coincidence. If you think you might be interested in DeLillo\u2019s work but don\u2019t know where to start, VideoTape<\/i> is probably the answer.<\/p>\n

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Flicker\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author Theodore Roszack is an academic generally credited with creating the notion of ‘counterculture’, though his fictional work proves to be spellbinding. Flicker involves the research of a film scholar, who gradually finds himself sucked into an obscure conspiracy that underlies the work of a fictional B-movie director. Real-life director Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem of a Dream, Mother!) has been associated with a possible film adaptation.<\/p>\n

Throat Sprockets<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next suggestion concerns an unnamed protagonist’s relentless hunt for information about an enigmatic porn film called Throat Sprockets. The man\u2019s obsession consumes his personal life as he develops a sexual fetish for women’s throats.\u00a0Repercussions\u00a0of the film’s growing status become catastrophic. It\u2019s more than just a comment on toxic masculinity though- Tim Lucas’s novel is an unputdownable erotic horror.<\/p>\n

Snuff<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sticking with the pornography theme (for now at least- don\u2019t worry, not all of our suggestions are porn-orientated!) our next recommendation is\u00a0Snuff<\/i> by Chuck Palahniuk. You may have heard Palahniuk\u2019s name for another reason, but… the first rule of Fight Club is you don\u2019t talk about Fight Club.<\/p>\n

Actually, very quickly, remember that bit in Fight Club<\/em> when Tyler Durden has a job in film editing, and he sneaks one frame of a porn film into a family movie?<\/p>\n