Scalar Class Project: Loss

summary

     "my hands/wishful thinking" is a memoir for Amadou Diallo after his unfortunate death.  it is intriguing because it never directly references him or his death, except for in the background images.  the story follows a much different path.  in second person, the story describes your ideal situation; you, the reader, takes the form of a number of different black characters, from a boy of four years to a grown adult.  in all of these situations, you are in a a place where you feel valued in society for your differences.  this work describes the feeling of being unbothered by a policeman pulling up behind you at a traffic stop.  the story tells you that your brother was not murdered in your neighborhood two years ago, and that the place where you live thrives.  your language is valued and thought of as beautiful.  your back is not a target.  as shown in one of the more prominent examples on page 7, you are not thought of as different for being black,  your culture is not thought of as ghetto, you are not treated differently by others of another race, and you flourish with ease in school.  
     
     through these countless examples, the authors of this piece of digital media create an idealized situation that points fingers at every shortcoming of society that impacts those that are not white.  as you finish the story for the first time and read the author's note at the end, a wave of understanding washes over the reader; this is not a made up story about a group of people.  it is the hopes for the future of the black community after such a tragic loss occurred.  in this project, the loss of Amadou Diallo and the meaning behind this work will be analyzed using the minimalistic and limited interactivity of the piece.  

next page: interactivity and loss 

by: maddie tobias

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