Geo-disaster!

My geo-narrative is complete and I am quite proud of it too!

The strength of the geo-narrative is definitely twofold. Firstly you can develop a physical idea of the scope of a story though the distances travelled and the places visited. I used this to aid in creating the almost surreal nature of an empty city. The protaginist is a local and she knows the area well, when all the people are removed from the equation, she becomes confused. Disoriented in a place she knows like the back of her hand.

Secondly, I used Google Maps' ability to reference external material. Using images from flikr, video from youtube, blogs and other links I developed a sense of authenticity. You get the feeling that not only would this be a an accurate depiction of hypothetical disaster but you can also start to image these things happening in reality. I think this makes the geo-narrative form an excellent vessel for modern horror stories similar to mine.

Of course this kind of story wouldn't be relevant in previous years, with the advent on ubiquitous mobile technology and terror warfare this story could only work in the modern day. All the external material would be out of reach for the one girl to have in her pocket. Now, however, things like cameras, GPS, phones and note taking devices are all condensed into mobile technology.

This leads into what I believe is the heart of my narrative. How would these events unfold if they took place today? This is my take on the question taking into account cultural context: Mobile technology is everywhere, we use it everyday and everyone has access to it. We have even learnt that twitter can work quicker than an earthquake. It is the forseeable that we would use these devices to record any kind of disaster situation, which we do. In order to understand an event others too must view it through the "lens" of mobile technology.

The geo-narrative incorporates all of these aspects and that is why I used it to write and to tell the story that I did.