Principles from Modern Imagetext Media -- Late 18Th Century to Present
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Interface Rhetoric, or A Theory for Interface Analysis: Principles from Modern Imagetext Media -- Late 18th Century to Present Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Neill, Frederick Vance Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 30/09/2021 12:01:07 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194179 1 INTERFACE RHETORIC, OR A THEORY FOR INTERFACE ANALYSIS: PRINCIPLES FROM MODERN IMAGETEXT MEDIA —LATE 18TH CENTURY TO PRESENT by Frederick Vance Neill _____________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC COMPOSITION AND TEACHING OF ENGLISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2009 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Frederick Vanc e Neill entitled Interface Rhetoric, or A Theory for Interface Analysis--Principles from Modern Imagetext Media—Late 18th Century to Present and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 22, 2009 Ken McAllister _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 22, 2009 Thomas Miller _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 22, 2009 Karen Zimmermann _______________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________________________________________ Date: Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: April 22, 2009 Dissertation Director: Ken McAllister 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: F. Vance Neill 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................8 ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 1 CONCEIVING OF A THEORY FOR INTERFACE RHETORIC..............14 Scholars Observe That Contemporary Culture Has Changed and Imply a New Kind of Rhetorical Practice………………………………………...14 The Cultural Moment Demands Increased Complexity in Rhetorical Theory…………………………………………………………………..15 The State of the Discipline Is Two Centuries in the Past……………………………..18 The Discipline Can Embrace Both/And Instead of Either/Or………………………...21 The Semantic Flexibility of the Term “Interface” Has Been Denied…………………28 The Relation between Creator and Technology Is Embodied and Informs the Rhetoric of the Interface……………………………………………..29 The Living Experience of Perceiving an Interface Alters the Audience…………………………………………………………………………..32 Methodology………………………………………………………………………….33 What Is the Raison d’Être for Interface Analysis?........................................................40 Why the Rhetoric of the Interface Matters to the Discipline?.......................................48 CHAPTER 2 BEGINNING OF THE IMAGETEXT REVOLUTION IN THE MODERN ERA, OR INTERFACE RHETORIC OF THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK.........................55 The Interface of the Illustrated Book Embodied the Combination of Image and Text..............................................................................55 Established, Anglophone Neoclassical Aesthetics Favored Text and Monomodality……………………………………………………………….56 New Printing Technologies Enabled the Medium of the Illustrated Book and Supported a Different Aesthetic………………………….57 Thomas Bewick’s Wood Engraving Makes the Mass Production of the Illustrated Book Possible……………………………………………………….57 Bewick Influenced a Generation……………………………………………………...59 William Blake’s Visionary Aesthetic Challenged the Hegemonic Neoclassical Aesthetics………………………………………………59 Blake and Bewick Influenced Anglophone Culture…………………………………..62 Blake and Bewick’s Innovations Proliferated Anglophone Culture…………………..64 The Illustrated Book Was Not a Niche Market……………………………………….66 Dickens and Twain Popularized the Illustrated Book…………………………………67 Dickens Promoted the Imagetext Aesthetic…………………………………………...68 Twain Popularized the Illustrated Book in the United States and Advanced the Application of the Imagetext Aesthetic……………………………72 The History of the Illustrated Book Teaches How to Combine Image and Text……………………………………………………..75 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Alice Reveals the Relationships between Image and Text in Illustrated Books……………………………………………………………………77 Delving into Theory Helps to Discover the Rhetorical Principles of the Illustrated Book’s Interface…………………………………………………….80 The Interface of the Illustrated Book Has Its Own Rhetorical Principles…………………………………………………………87 The Principles Apply to Later Illustrated Books……………………………………...89 The Interface of the Illustrated Book Is the Summation of Historical Forces and Represents the Early Alteration of Public Rhetorical Practice………………………………………………………….90 CHAPTER 3 FULL ASSERTION OF STATIC IMAGETEXT, OR INTERFACE RHETORIC IN COMICS.....................................................................92 Prelude to Comics: A Transition from the Illustrated Book…………………………..92 A Definition of Comics via Example…………………………………………………93 Comics Theory: An Overview Respective of Interface……………………………….96 Theorizing the Panel…………………………………………………………………..98 Theorizing the Sequence……………………………………………………………...99 Theorizing Lettering…………………………………………………………………101 Theorizing Sound Effects in Comics...........................................................................102 Theorizing the Speech Balloon....................................................................................104 Theorizing the Perceptual Experience of Comics.......................................................105 Rhetorical Principles of the Comics Interface: An Outline.........................................107 Explanations of the Principles.....................................................................................108 History of Comics and Its Interface.............................................................................115 History of Comics: Technology...................................................................................116 History of Comics: Development of Aesthetics and Interface....................................119 Pioneering Phase of the Comic Strip...........................................................................120 Professional Illustrators Come to the Comic Strip......................................................121 Maturation of the Comic Strip: The Era of Milton Caniff...........................................122 The Rise of the Comic Book.......................................................................................122 Golden Age of the Comic Book: Late 1930s-1950s....................................................123 Silver Age of the Comic Book: 1960s-1970s..............................................................126 The Comix Movement: Late 1960s-Early 1970s........................................................126 The Dark Age of the Comic Book: 1980s-Present......................................................127 Birth of the Graphic Novel: 1970s..............................................................................127 Popularization of the Graphic Novel: 1980s...............................................................128 Development of the Graphic Novel and Experimentation in the Comics Interface................................................................................................129 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...135 CHAPTER 4 INTERACTIVE, DYNAMIC IMAGETEXT IN VIDEO GAMES..........138 From Comics to Video Games……………………………………………………….138 Defining the Anglophone Via Example: Asteroids (1979)…………………………..140 Video Game Theory Related to the Medium’s Interface…………………………….143 Applicable Ideas from Conventional Software Interface Design……………………150 “Look and Feel” as the Master Trope for Video Game Interface Design Theory à la Fox……………………………………………………154 Atmosphere, Feedback, and Control as Major Tropes of Video Game Interface Design