Using Multimedia to Expand the Audience of ... - Richard Repp

Using Multimedia 44
temptations of hype in multimedia, but promotes hypermedia as an ideal method of
demonstration:
The influence of software engineering culture, particularly in its orientations
toward entertainment, is often evident. The semiotic content of these graphicstwirling
globes, montages, miniaturized photos often contradicts the grounding of
ethnomusicology in the real actions of real people. Hypermedia seems to offer a
more full representation of the subject than do print or audio recordings alone.
(p. 134)
These aforementioned statements encourage the use of multimedia as one of the most
effective formats of presentation to expand the audience of Huichol culture. The World
Wide Web system can efficiently link digitized creations to a world wide audience
connected to the Internet with a browser and QuickTime plug-in. Researchers and
hypermedia authors should be careful not to misrepresent the conventions of a scholarly
discipline with flashy ornamentation in attempts to catch the attention of an audience.
Titon believes that “…film has undeniable evocative power” (p. 91); sound and
moving images intensify an experience. Allowing a narrator to enter the minds of the
viewer is risky because an outsider may tell the audience what to see instead of allowing
the spectators to become involved directly with the performer. The author urges film and
video ethnographers to be intensely mindful of ethics with sensitivity towards other
cultures, especially if the final product is to be broadcasted (Titon, 1992). Multimedia
also excels at capturing, preserving, and presenting the intensity of life found in cultural
events.