When approaching this assignment, my mind was immediately
drawn to subjective nature of interpretation. My first thought was of my home
town; how would my simulation of my hometown differ from my mother’s or my
brother’s simulation? My mother didn’t grow up in the town and she didn’t work there,
either. Her interactions with Hartselle existed strictly in the nightlife when
her husband wanted to go out for dinner. My brother didn’t attend the high
school, didn’t have friends in town, and left when things got boring. I, however,
was left without a car and thrust into a brand new social circle with no
knowledge of how things work. After at least a year of fumbling in the metaphorical darkness, I built an intimate knowledge of local hotspots,
places to avoid, and overall “fun” areas in the Hartselle area. My family has
none of this knowledge. If asked to create a simulation of the town, I would
have an intricate web of zones, color coded and labeled to be easy to read. My
mother and brother would have a map of the interstate leading out of town.
Moving farther out of the reality, I wondered how
individuals of a fantasy world would depict their own environment. Thinking of
Middle Earth, I realized that there could be no one true simulation. If you ask
the dwarves to simulate Middle Earth, you would receive a detailed depiction of
mineral veins, gem deposits, and underground fortresses dotted around the subterranean
landscape. They would have pirate map-esque warnings of “Danger in the tunnels”
and “Beware the silver tongued elves.” The map would be lacking in “superfluous”
details; nothing but essential information would be included in the maps. Also,
the maps themselves would be built to withstand the tumultuous environment of
the underground mines. Juxtaposing this industrially efficient mindset, the
elves would have a sprawling map of the entire land mass; their map would have
geographical landmarks, constructed cities, and hidden messages interwoven into
the very fabric of the map. The images would be elegant, detailed, and often
decorative.
This isn’t anywhere near being a finished thought process,
but I have to submit this now. Woohoo.
Oh, yeah. A map. Here's Middle Earth: http://blog.lefigaro.fr/hightech/middle-earth-map.jpg
Oh, yeah. A map. Here's Middle Earth: http://blog.lefigaro.fr/hightech/middle-earth-map.jpg