The E-Volving Picturebook: Examining the Impact of New E- Media/Technologies on Its Form, Content and Function (And on the Child Reader)
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Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2014 The e-Volving Picturebook: Examining the Impact of New e- Media/Technologies On Its Form, Content and Function (And on the Child Reader) Stella K. Reinhard Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3669 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Stella Reinhard 2014 All Rights Reserved The e-Volving Picturebook: Examining the Impact of New e-Media/Technologies On Its Form, Content and Function (And on the Child Reader) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. by Stella Kaufmann Reinhard Ph.D. in Media, Art & Text, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 M.A. in Children’s Literature, Hollins University, 2003 B.A., Greenville College, 1979 Director: Noreen C. Barnes, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies & Associate Professor Department of Theatre, VCUArts Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia ii Acknowledgment The author wishes to thank several people: To my husband, James, and all my children—Each of you offered consistent support and understanding through all these years of getting my partial attention. And your willingness to listen to me discuss my research was a true act of love. To my mother and father—Your constant faith in me throughout my childhood and my life instilled in me the firm belief that I could make a difference. To Dr. Noreen Barnes—I will never forget your unfailingly perceptive editing and your enormous patience in helping me achieve this goal. And to Dr. Marcel Cornis-Pope, Dr. Eric Garberson, and Thom Didato, as well as Dr. Valerie Robnolt, Dr. Elizabeth Hodges, Jorgé Benitez, and Paula Otto—I appreciated the reliable support network you provided throughout this entire experience. My heartfelt thanks. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations ……… ……………………………………………………………………iv Abstract …...………………………………………………………………………………..…….vi PART ONE. Gutenberg’s Press Gives Way to the Computer Chip: Introducing the Research....1 Introduction: Identifying and Presenting the Discussion …….….…...………………..………....2 Chapter 1. Evolution, Qualification and Value of the Question, and a Review of the Literature...............................................................................................................37 PART TWO. A Pair of Pairs: Two Case Studies ……….….….…......……………….………..67 Chapter 2. Old and New Mediums Attempting Similar Goals: Moveable, Paper-Engineered Picturebooks, Precursors to the Emerging e-Picturebook…….…68 Chapter 3. Viewing the Children’s Picturebook as Artist’s Book: An Examination of Whether Some Picturebooks Fulfill the Criteria of This Emerging 20th century Publishing Form…………………………………….…….……….…187 PART THREE. Children’s Narratives Take Flight .….…………………..………...…...……..273 Chapter 4. e-Volving “On the Page:” How Printed Picturebooks are Adapting to Influences of New and often Non-Linear e-Media within the Codex Book Form …………..274 Coda: Some Final Thoughts…………………………….....……….……….….…...…….……400 REFERENCES ………..………………………...…………...……………………………….. 421 Works Consulted ……………………………………………………………………….………422 List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………… 448 List of Videos & Screen Captures…..…………………………….………………………....... 466 Vita ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 473 . : iv . : List of Abbreviations App Application software BLOG Web-Log CD Compact Disc for data storage, often used for digital audio files DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition DVD Digital Video Disc, or digital versatile disc for data storage, often used for digital video files e-Book Electronic Book e-Media Electronic Media 4G Fourth Generation mobile telecommunication technology FTP Federal Theatre Project, a 1930s federally funded part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s second New Deal, one of five sections of Federal Project Number One of the WPA that employed, artists, musicians, actors, writers, and directors in large public arts, drama, media and literacy projects IMDb Internet Movie Database is an online database of information about films, television programs, and video games. It contains information about the involved actors, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, and historical and miscellaneous information about the productions Indie Independent, as an independent bookstore or independent film iOS Formerly iPhone OS, or mobile Operating System developed by Apple, Inc. IUD Internet Use Disorder, listed in Section Three of the DSM-5 IGD Internet Gaming Disorder, listed in Section Three of the DSM-5 LED Light-Emitting Diodes used in flat panel video display screens. v MMO Massively Multi-player Online game MMOG Massively Multi-player Online Game (same as above) MMORPG Massively Multi-user On-line Role-Playing Game MOO MUD Object Oriented (see MUD) MP3 MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3; MP3 is a popular compressed audio file format that made musical downloads much easier in the 1990s MUD Multi-User Dungeon or Domain NEA National Endowment for the Arts OED Oxford English Dictionary PDA Personal Digital Assistant RPG Role-Playing Games 3G Third Generation of mobile telecommunication technology UI Mobile User Interface design, used when designing for mobile devices USB Universal Serial Bus interface) connection will dock with almost any computer. USB flash drives are small portable data storage drives with a USB incorporated connection VLOG Video-Log Wi-Fi Local area Wire-less Fidelity, requires connection through “hot-spot” access point WPA Works Progress Administration (later, Works Projects Administration), part of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s to combat the Great Depression by employing millions of unemployed to complete public works projects Abstract THE E-VOLVING PICTUREBOOK: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF E-MEDIA/TECHNOLOGIES ON THE FORM, CONTENT AND FUNCTION OF [PUBLISHED] CHILDREN’S NARRATIVE AND ON THE CHILD READER By Stella Kaufmann Reinhard A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014. Major Director: Noreen C. Barnes, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Theatre, VCUArts The technology of the codex book and the habit of reading appear to be under attack currently for a variety of reasons explored in the Introduction of this Dissertation. One natural response to attack is a resulting effort to adapt in a bid to survive. Noël Carroll, leading American philosopher in the contemporary philosophy of art, touches on this concept in his discussion of the evolution of a new medium in his article, “Medium Specificity Arguments and Self-Consciously Invented Arts: Film, Video, and Photography,” from his Cambridge University Press 1996 text, Theorizing the Moving Image. Carroll proposes that any new medium undergoes phases of development (and I include new technology under that umbrella)). After examining Carroll’s theory this Dissertation attempts to apply it to the Children’s Picturebook Field, exploring the hypothesis that the published children’s narrative does evolve, has already evolved historically in response to other mediums/technologies, and is currently “e-volving” in response to emerging “e-media.” This discussion examines ways new media (particularly emerging e-media) affect the published children’s narrative form, content, and function (with primary focus on the picturebook form), and includes some examination of the response of the child reader to those changes. Chapter One explores the formation of the question, its value, and reviews available literature. Chapter Two compares the effects of an older sub-genre, the paper- engineered picturebook, with those of emerging e-picturebooks. Chapter Three compares the Twentieth Century Artist’s Book to picturebooks created by select past and current picturebook creators. Chapter Four first considers the shifting cultural mindset of Western Culture from a linear, word-based outlook to the non-linear, more visual approach fostered by the World Wide Web and supporting “screen” technologies; then identifies and examines current changes in form, content and function of the designed picturebooks that are developing “on the page” within the constraints of the codex book format. The Dissertation concludes with a review of Leonard Shlain’s 1998 text, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image, using it as a departure point for final observations regarding unique strengths of the children’s picturebook as a learning tool for young children. PART ONE Gutenberg’s Printing Press1 Gives Way to the Computer Chip2: Introducing the Research [NOTE: All hyperlinks are operational as of date of publication. As hyperlink addresses can change frequently for various reasons, if a problem with a link occurs, searching YouTube or the Web by video title could find the video which may still exist under the same title at a different address.] 1 Figure 1.1. Jost Ammon’s 1568 Woodcut of Early Printing Press. (Ammon