- 期刊
- OpenAccess
The "Digital Other": Self-Objectification and Narration in Contemporary Fiction
摘要
The "digital Other" is a useful description for a phenomenon we often face in contemporary literature. Many characters act as if an invisible observer is judging them, even when they are alone or in an intimate situation. They continuously undergo acts of self-objectification, which require an optical medium, like a camera shot. The "Other" who holds the camera has no physical presence in the story but a psychological presence in the character's mind. I call this internalized authority the "digital Other," and it refers to today's omnipresent digital visual media. The power of the digital Other could be compared to the power the air has from the perspective of an aircraft pilot. Even though the air cannot be seen or touched, it moves the plane and forces its pilot to react to it. The internalized idea of an invisible observer has the same effect on literary figures. It makes them not only decide what to wear or say but also whom they are allowed to regard as desirable and how they should perform their sexuality. Hans-Georg Moeller and Paul J. D'Ambrosio claim that nowadays having an identity feels like presenting yourself through a social media profile, and the digital Other can be described as an agent supporting this profile-based identity. The burden of permanent self-objectification also has an impact on modes of literary narration. The digital Other entails a remarkable connection of internal and external focalizations. Literary voices seem to simultaneously describe actions both from internal and external points of view. The narrative voice sounds odd because it is subjective and yet inauthentic. Through this bizarre voice, characters are staged as objects even when they are presented through first-person narration. The narrative voice presents an imaged, idealized ego, a mode of self-presentation that obeys the digital Other.