This website features a narrative developed in response to the pleasure text of Detroit. By exploring the complex associations that I have developed with the city, I attempt to create a text which produces a series of images for the reader. Instead of representing Detroit, this narrative works to present a figuration.
Undoubtedly, music contributes significantly to the development of this narrative. In order to properly express my pleasure text (Detroit) it is necessary that I include particular songs as references. The following passages are provided structure by the ways in which music has suggested, contributed to, and propelled each figuration. Selecting an artist (pages) will enable one to interpret the image with which a particular song is intricately interwoven.
This narrative purposefully defies the methodologies one generally utilizes when approaching a text. It attempts to subvert the conventionality of sequential progression to afford the reader important liberties. Specifically, this manifests in the reader’s ability to determine the manner in which he/she drifts. In order to understand the suggested process by which one proceeds, it is essential that one comprehends the action of drifting. Barthes provides that this occurs when one disrespects the whole by allowing oneself to be driven about by seductions and illusions (The Pleasure of the Text 18). In this text, the drift is propelled by one’s ability to transition between various passages. Links provided in blatant underlined form, and via various photos allow the reader to encounter images through seduction. The methodology of the drift is demonstrated in the following selection from The Cruise. This documentary suggests the method by which Timothy “Speed” Levitch approaches the city of New York. Levitch encounters an image which propels an extended monologue relating to the “grid system.” His concept of “the cruise” is similar to Barthes’ conception of the drift. Throughout the film, Levitch approaches images which propel intense discussions of identity.
Finally, while drifting, one is provided the opportunity to respond to individual passages. The narrative embraces and encourages participation.
Acknowledgment: During the creation of this text, I focused extensively on the literary theories forwarded by Roland Barthes. Specifically, the concepts that he promotes in The Pleasure of the Text, and A Lover’s Discourse had the greatest influence on the way the text evolved.
