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“The Fall of the Site of Marsha” by Rob Wittig

February 3, 2014 by Samira Nadkarni

The Fall of the Site of Marsha 1 — “The Fall of the Site of Marsha” by Rob Wittig

Rob Wittig’s 1999 digital text The Fall of the Site of Marsha chronicles the changes to the website of the narrative’s protagonist, Marsha, through the spring, summer and fall of 1998. The narrative opens with three narrative threads, each of which corresponds to the state of the website during the season indicated. The reader can click on each thread in order to view the website during that phase, and navigate it as one would have conventionally navigated any website’s homepage. Marsha’s website focuses on Throne Angels, a subclass of Angels that are conventionally associated with the Throne of God and therefore linked to divine justice and authority. Marsha’s original intent in creating the website is to produce these angels as beautiful and protective, asking people to share angel stories and linking these angels to her own performance of spiritual renewal. She intends to use the website to cheer herself after having been depressed due to the loss of her job and the death of her father. However, as time passes, Marsha’s website is vandalized repeatedly in order to reveal the unsaid buried beneath Marsha’s statements, and this vandalism is ascribed to the Throne Angels and their thirst for justice and divine retribution. Marsha’s invitation to the Angels to play on her website results in its vandalism and in Marsha’s own descent into depression and madness upon having to confront the events they reference or reveal.

As is characteristic of the gothic genre, Wittig’s tale plays upon the pervasive fears of one’s current society; that is, The Fall of the Site of Marsha reveals the societal horrors associated with current aging middle-class women – that of alienation, depression, affairs, and family secrets revealed. Wittig’s modern gothic tale allows for the reader to read the events chronologically and note the changes made to the website’s homepage and its various links as these reveal the larger narrative in play; i.e. Marsha’s complicated relationship with her father, her husband’s affair with her best friend, Elizabeth or “Bits”, and Marsha’s own depression and issues with self-perception. Playing with conventions of terror, unheimlich or the uncanny, death and the supernatural to advance its narrative, Marsha’s presumption of Angels being protective and nurturing is revealed to be false. Instead, they are shown to be vengeful and unrelenting in their pursuit of what they feel to be the “truth”. Yet despite the fact that these acts of vandalism are ascribed to vengeful Angels seeking justice, this claim cannot be verified and the reader remains aware that this vandalism could very easily be the work of Marsha’s husband, Mike, or an unknown hacker. However, given that the vandal is aware of events that are otherwise unknown by anyone other than Marsha, the events continue to seem uncanny and inexplicable, and linked to the supernatural.

The website moves from a relatively clear, ornate interface to one that is darker, largely unreadable, and has numerous additions that are then marked as strike-throughs, misspellings, and cut up or manipulated pictures. This movement of the website from seeming innocence to decay and ruin creates the gloomy and frightening scenery that is conventionally associated with the gothic genre. The image of the changed website thus not only recalls its origin as clean and thriving, but displays its downfall as the result of the hidden secrets that lay under its façade.

Featured in: Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 1

“The Fall of the Site of Marsha” por Rob Wittig

February 14, 2019February 3, 2014 by Samira Nadkarni

El texto digital de Rob Wittig de 1999 The Fall of the Site of Marsha narra los cambios en el sitio web del protagonista de la narración, Marsha, durante la primavera, el verano y el otoño de 1998. La narrativa se abre con tres hilos narrativos, cada uno de los cuales corresponde al estado del sitio web durante la temporada indicada. El lector puede hacer clic en cada hilo para ver el sitio web durante esa fase, y navegarlo como lo haría convencionalmente navegando en la página de inicio de cualquier sitio web. El sitio web de Marsha se enfoca en los Ángeles del Trono, una subclase de Ángeles que están asociados convencionalmente con el Trono de Dios y por lo tanto están vinculados con la justicia y la autoridad divinas. La intención original de Marsha al crear el sitio web es producir ángeles hermosos y protectores, pidiéndoles a las personas que compartan historias de ángeles y vinculen a estos ángeles con su propia actuación de renovación espiritual. Ella tiene la intención de utilizar el sitio web para animarse después de haber estado deprimida debido a la pérdida de su trabajo y la muerte de su padre. Sin embargo, a medida que pasa el tiempo, el sitio web de Marsha es vandalizado repetidas veces para revelar lo no dicho enterrado bajo las declaraciones de Marsha, y este vandalismo se atribuye a los Ángeles del Trono y su sed de justicia y retribución divina. La invitación de Marsha a los Ángeles para jugar en su sitio web resulta en su vandalismo y en el propio descenso de Marsha hacia la depresión y la locura al enfrentar los eventos que ellos hacen referencia o revelan.

Como es característico del género gótico, el cuento de Wittig juega con los temores omnipresentes de la sociedad actual; es decir, The Fall of the Site of Marsha revela los horrores sociales asociados con las mujeres de la clase media que envejecen actualmente: el de la alienación, la depresión, los asuntos y los secretos de la familia revelados. El cuento gótico moderno de Wittig le permite al lector leer los eventos cronológicamente y observar los cambios realizados en la página principal del sitio web y sus diversos enlaces, ya que estos revelan la narrativa más amplia en juego; es decir, la relación complicada de Marsha con su padre, la aventura de su marido con su mejor amiga, Elizabeth o “Bits,” y la propia depresión de Marsha y problemas con la autopercepción. Jugando con las convenciones del terror, unheimlich o lo misterioso, la muerte y lo sobrenatural para avanzar en su narrativa, la presunción de Marsha de que los Ángeles son protectores y afectuosos se revela como falsa. En cambio, se muestra que son vengativos e implacables en su búsqueda de lo que sienten que es la “verdad.” Sin embargo, a pesar de que estos actos de vandalismo se atribuyen a ángeles vengativos que buscan justicia, este reclamo no puede verificarse y el lector permanece consciente de que este vandalismo podría ser fácilmente el trabajo del esposo de Marsha, Mike, o un pirata informático desconocido. Sin embargo, dado que el vándalo está al tanto de eventos que de otro modo no serían conocidos por nadie más que Marsha, los eventos continúan pareciendo extraños e inexplicables, y vinculados a lo sobrenatural.

El sitio web se mueve de una interfaz relativamente clara y adornada a una que es más oscura, en gran medida ilegible, y tiene numerosas adiciones que luego se marcan como tachaduras, errores ortográficos y imágenes cortadas o manipuladas. Este movimiento del sitio web, desde la aparente inocencia hasta la decadencia y la ruina, crea el escenario sombrío y atemorizador que se asocia convencionalmente con el género gótico. La imagen del sitio web modificado no solo recuerda su origen como limpio y próspero, sino que muestra su caída como resultado de los secretos ocultos que se encuentran debajo de su fachada.

Presentado en: Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 1

Traducido por Reina Santiago

“@Tempspence” & “#tempspencepoets” by Mark Marino, Rob Wittig, et. al.

March 29, 2013 by Leonardo Flores

Open “@Tempspence” & “#tempspencepoets” by Mark Marino, Rob Wittig, et. al.

This Twitter character came to life in the “Reality: Being @spenserpratt” netprov, was christened “Tempspence” by Pratt’s followers (as a “temporary” Spencer), and lives on in this Twitter account, along with a community called The Tempspence poets. Their symbiotic existence was sustained by social media interactions of a group of people that came together through this netprov, and extended the life of the performance beyond its metaphorical covers.

“Reality: Being @SpencerPratt” by Mark Marino and Rob Wittig

March 28, 2013 by Leonardo Flores

This Twitter fiction netprov is based on a simple enough premise: reality star Spencer Pratt lost his his cellphone while in London for Celebrity Big Brother, and it was found by a struggling poet who began to use it in whimsical ways to promote poetry. During the three-week performance, the poet prompted Pratt’s followers to write poems based on constraint he provided, was outed as an impostor, dubbed as Tempspence, continued to develop a relationship with his readers as he shared details of his life, and eventually migrated (reborn?) to a new account, @Tempspence, as Pratt regained control of the account.

“Occupy MLA” by Mark C. Marino and Rob Wittig

March 27, 2013 by Leonardo Flores

Occupy MLA is back!

Open “Occupy MLA” by Mark C. Marino and Rob Wittig

But don’t be alarmed just yet, since this resurgence of the controversial netprov, takes the shape of a published archive (linked to in this entry’s title). This documentation is exemplary, including a 3-minute introductory video, a link to an artists’ statement at The Chronicle of Higher Education (with a fascinating comment thread), an indexed and color-coded archive of the tweets, and an Excel file with the raw data from the four Twitter accounts that form the heart of this work. With this resource, you can read most of this timely performance that blurs the lines between fiction and reality, satire and activism, and virtual and embodied spaces.