# 3. What is the meaning of the title of Murray’s book? What is Murray’s own narrative?
When Janet Murray named her book Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, she was referring to the potential for “new narrative formats” (Murray p. 280) as a result of technological innovation. By combining the reference to a Shakespearean character (Hamlet) with the fantasy environment made popular by a television program (Star Trek) she is also sending the message that stories/ narrative are a legitimate field of study no matter what their genre. Traditional high brow culture can mix with low brow in a digital environment. She’s also implying that the “stage” is being set for a future in cyberspace, and if there is a bard of the future as great as Shakespeare then what medium will his, her, or its narrative be in?
In her first chapter, for anyone unfamiliar with Star Trek, Murray includes a nice explanation of the concept of a Holodeck. It is a computer generated fantasy environment where stories are programmed to enable the participant to act out adventures with various scenarios. It is a place where imagination is the boundary, much like a dream. Murray sees this as a possibility for the future. She uses creative scenes derived from Hamlet to provide examples several times in the book, such as a live action role playing game scene (LARP) and her poetic conclusion about the promise of the narrative for the future.
Janet Murray’s primary theme is how the narrative has changed format over time but is still a necessary and joyful part of the human experience. She defends the narrative as a tool for communication no matter what its form or genre. She makes the point that the medium has little to do with the content and presentation; it is unfair to judge TV and computer presentations inferior to the written word based sole on the medium.
One of her meta-narratives is that games are acceptable as a form of expression and story telling, and she imbeds stories within her examples as well as a brief autobiography in her acknowledgments. As a result, her book is very readable, her references familiar and comfortable. Technological developments and enhancements will pave the way for a revolutionary use of the narrative in a new digital form or genre. In her vision for the future, the narrative is so engaging, entertaining, and powerful that the medium is not even noticed.
She is however, overly optimistic, almost Pollyanna-like, in her belief about the potentials of technology. While flexibility in story telling and multiple nonlinear plots may indeed have social value among the world community and do provide entertainment, Murray seems unconcerned with the potentially addictive properties of fantasy, role-playing, and computer games. Interactive games do engage the user but may promote anti-socialism as a result of interacting with technology instead of directly with other humans. Also, while Multi-User Domains (MUDS) create a networks for their members, they promote an exclusionary society.