Tailspin
By: Akil Sirguroh
"Tailspin" is a piece of electronic literature in which the reader clicks on Archimedean spirals in order to view memories of a daughter, Karen, whose father's tinnitus and partial deafness creates friction among the family. There are six pages with six to eight spirals on each. An individual spiral can represent the memories of the daughter, who is affected by her father's condition in which there are broken dreams, interrupted playtimes, and overall dysfunctional and rowdy behavior. Karen and her children live everyday in a state of fear towards her father, who refuses to buy a hearing aid or get help for his tinnitus and deafness. What the reader finds out later is that this capricious behavior displayed actually stems from a more noble cause. Earlier in his life, Karen's father joined the Air Cadets and later served as a pilot in World War II.
The images, audio, and video present in "Tailspin" present an user experience in which the reader can sense what it was like to live as Karen's father or be among the family. When the cursor does not hover over one of the Archimedean spirals, a piercing tone is heard throughout as if the reader was living with tinnitus. When the cursor is over a spiral, the images and audio displayed correlate with the specific memory shown. One such memory includes the father yelling at the grandchildren. "George scowls at the children. Bloody kids. Wish they'd bloody shut up. In his day they played outside, rain or shine." In this memory, grumbled shouting can be heard, but also sounds of a video game or some toy is heard. The auditory element in "Tailspin" establishes a vicarious setting that allows readers to feel the pain and troubles of the family and individuals with tinnitus. The theme of relationships is displayed in "Tailspin", the majority of which are quite unhealthy. While Karen tries to help her father for his hearing, every time she suggests such, she is yelled at and shooed away. "Tailspin" takes a real outlook on how medical problems can affect individuals and their relationships. Due to the visual and auditory elements of "Tailspin", a greater insight into the relationships within families affected by medical problems, specifically tinnitus, is ascertained as well as a vicarious immersion into "Tailspin".
