ISP Blog Post #5

     For this post I will be viewing Douglas Coupland's JPod through the lens of the reader response theory. In order to grasp a clear concept of what is going on the book, I had to learn about certain aspects of the video game industry. I learned some while I read and through additional research I found information to help my understanding.

     The video game industry is a rapid paced environment filled with excitement and deadlines. Many diverse people with different backgrounds, skills, and personality traits work together to reach a common goal. In JPod, Coupland showcases 6 individuals working together to make a video game. They are all very different and unique. In fact, they should not even be working together. But Coupland puts them together through words to showcase the idealism of working together. When I was first reading I was concerned because the book appeared to have no concrete plot or any kind of chronological events. There were times when the book was focused on the game they were designing, then the book would move to the protagonist's mother suddenly having homosexual tendencies. At the time it was a big deal, but the very next page we're back to the game, as if it never happened. The group known as "JPod" also play games in the book. One in particular was them looking for a certain number in the first ten thousand digits of pie. Coupland included all ten thousand digits in the book, taking up over 50 pages. Although this seems completely random at first, it is clear the Coupland is doing this to make a reference to the ever changing and adaptive game industry. Just like the industry, the employees have to be just as malleable, and the constant change of plot and topic reflects this.

     JPod in many ways, reflects life. Life is not plotted out. Life does not have a predetermined beginning middle and end. Life changes, life can change at the drop of hat, much like how JPod does. When something major happens and people act like it never happened, is accurately representing how humans move on from changes in their life. Whether it is death or other significant changes, we persevere. This is exactly what JPod is depicting. From the view of reader response, I believe that having a basic understanding of the human life you are currently living is enough to understant the ever changing and adaptive environment that JPod so relentlessly depicts.