Connotative : Infusing the text and context | |||||||||
|
Connotative meanings force us to "read between the lines," to interpret the literal meaning in various ways. Chandler notes that these connotations can change depending on the form: "changing the form of the signifier while keeping the same signified can generate different connotations. [79] " We contend that changing a word, image, or icon
into an anchor imbues it with more significance and thus generates connotations.
Further, connotative anchors do not merely denote their destination, but
add another layer of meaning.
Efferent sites tend not to use connotative anchors as a
primary scheme, and we did not find
any that did. Aesthetic works, on the other hand, tended to use more anchor
schemes that opened up more interpretive avenues. Anchor properties lead to different interpretation schemas Potential for connotative interpretation vary with anchor
properties:
Location. Anchor clusters in menus and maps are usually thought to be denotative, as they point directly to nodes and usually name the node they point to. Site and node names in efferent sites can be connotative or ironic, but links to these tend to denotatively name the site or node, rather than adding another layer of content. When some venture into connotative realms, readers can interpret these in relation to the overall hypertext structure. Isolated anchors, usually embedded, can be connotative as they directly connect from the departing content to the arriving content. Further, the embedded anchors stand out from the non-anchoral content and invite readers to play with polyvalent interpretations. This is seen mostly in aesthetic sites (compare efferent embedded links such as A List Apart's [2] with an aesthetic ones such as The Pines at Walden Pond's [39], Reagan Library's [47], or The Jew's Daughter's [45]). Embedded links at the end of a non-anchoral lexia can also be either denotative or connotative. Adaptive Path's [1] end embedded links ask the reader just to read more while Afterimage's [7] end links emphasize the last word of the text, giving it a special resonance: "the letter." "afterimage." Decoration. Hidden anchors (non-distinguished and not in a menu) attract more notice from the aha! reward of finding them and tend to reveal more secret or underlying interpretation. The more striking an anchor, the more attention and thus interpretive weight. Animation can also have a connotative aspect: The single anchor in What We Will [66]that orients the reader to a time and space in London moves slightly during the node, indicating thatthe time of the day is passing.
Uniformity. Exceptions gather more interpretative status as readers question why this anchor is different from the rest.
Zenobia, Queen of Palmyria [10] forces the reader to explore to uncover the connotative meanings of an anchor. As the reader must work for the hidden anchor, the only way to access more material, this aha! payoff moment imbues the anchor with a great deal of significance. "Stabs where the gaze centers" takes on a new meaning when the reader discovers that the anchor is in a bull's eye gaze at the top of the screen rather than in the gaze in the two swordsmen at the center. On the other hand, Marble Springs [36] hides connotative non-distinguished anchors deep under layers of more obvious anchors and content. The graphics on character cards lead to unexplained connections. Rachel Cole's pen drawing of an upright Victorian woman leads us to the Ladies Aid, as she is proud of being attached to that institution. Other cards have darker connections as the town whore's card connects her to both the graveyard and the Pastor's wife. Even a homosexual relationship between Penny and Ida is implied primarily through these hidden graphic anchors.Repeating embedded
text anchors The Unknown [56] provides a commentary on control through their use of repeating embedded anchors. In the node "Okay, let's talk about aesthetics," the word "control" functions as an anchor 5 times in one paragraphs.
Double entendres Connotative links in efferent sites seem to be relegated
to the side as in-jokes: Saturn [60]
has a series of street pictures with nearly connotative textual remarks
in the anchor maps (hover over a leather jacket or shoe to find out about
leather accessories, implying luxury). At Fuddruckers
[19], mouse over "the greatest" in the corner to find out
about Fuddruckers. Aesthetic works also use puns. High Crimson
[11] uses some embedded links as connotative plays on words: sighed
goes to an aside.
|