Blog Post 2: Alan Bigelow “How to Rob a Bank” (2016)  

Literature resources and promotion was named as one of the most important topics for a teacher librarian in O’Connell’s (2014) study. I would like to argue that this also includes online literary texts. An electronic literary creation can be described as an artistic expression made from computer processes (Heckman, 2018). I think this could be an important genre to introduce to students, as in my experience, students are largely dependent on using Google search or social media as their only avenues of online behaviour. The prevalence of smartphones and similar devices has contributed to superficial reading habits and the habit of multitasking, which can overshadow the ability to engage in profound reading and sustain focus for extended periods. There is a strong need to encourage more in-depth reading habits. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2013) has discovered a decline in the academic performance of Australian 15-year-olds in reading comprehension, in contrast to the improving performance of their counterparts in other countries.  Students need to be exposed to a diverse range of literary materials for their intellectual growth. 

Alan Bigelow’s creation, “How to Rob a Bank” (2016) reimagines the Bonnie and Clyde story to suit the contemporary digital era. This piece can be experienced either on a smartphone or within a web browser, with users moving through the story by touching the screen or space bar. The storyline is uniquely told only through the interface of the main characters in iPhone web searches, text conversations, and interactions with various applications. The most convincing part of the story is how the main character’s frenetic changes between social technologies managed to convey his emotions and state of mind, as well as the main action. The speed keeps the story interesting as it moves through a string of surprises.  

The story is cut into search queries, applications downloaded, mobile games and text exchanges, resulting in a substantial volume of information despite the limited use of direct conversation. This storytelling technique offers an engaging insight into the characters’ thoughts and embraces a modern style of narrative presentation. Because of this method, this digital text cannot employ varied hypertext (beyond a next or back) and does not allow the reader to explore or make changes to the evolution of the narrative. We still need to answer the conundrum: how to have the sophistication of narrative and production alongside a level of interactivity and reader autonomy. 

The use of simple images from highly recognisable online interfaces to tell the story creates a string of indexical codes for the reader to derive meaning from, which gives the work a very ‘movie-like’ feel and tone. By making the reader connect the dots, the work becomes a higher order thinking skill, according to Bloom’s taxonomy (1956). Additionally, the suspense created between the images is truly funny (for example, the main character googles how to stop a female hostage from complaining after he kidnaps a woman from the bank).  

The work shares the elements of serious literature when we look at the fundamental theme or idea conveyed by the narrative which is closely intertwined with its structure: the concept of media plays a pivotal role. Throughout the entirety of the story, media remains an integral and essential component. The utilization of platforms like Instagram to display the places Ted and Elizabeth have visited, coupled with online maps and Google searches for directions, serves to offer readers insights into their locations, activities, and the progression of the robberies. Yet this also directs us to the realisation that all of this is achieved exclusively through the media accessible on their phones. “How To Rob a Bank” leverages our dependence on media, particularly through cell phones, to create a narrative that resonates with contemporary society. As cell phones have become indispensable in the lives of many, telling a story through this medium provides an intimate glimpse into the characters’ perspectives. Remarkably, Bigelow achieved this without relying heavily on written text or dialogue, instead utilizing instrumental cues in the background to complement each segment of the narrative. 

The character has to rely on a Google search to learn how to rob a bank; the irony of this is amusing and on top of this, the reader will have the knowledge that Google uses cookies to track online users – your online behaviour is recorded and can be used against you in a court of law.  He even uploads, and through this he is essentially promoting, his actual walk to the bank to rob it on Instagram complete with captions. 

It is subtly sophisticated as the work also effectively reflects the psychology of our online behaviour in the form of social mirror theory. Social mirror theory states that our own self-perception is dependent on how others respond to us (Fishwick, 2016). Attention paid to our social media posts is inevitably incorporated into our own level of self-worth, through a trend to believe that mundane, ordinary events are worthy of sharing, within a subconscious competition to win the approval of strangers. The user also performs another very recognisable behaviour in feigning happiness online. His girlfriend ignores his texts, yet he posts positive captions on Instagram. Each of these behaviors have been normalized, and the final irony is that the reader is being directed to this realisation by further use of their phone.  

Word count 914/1651 

Bigelow, A. (2016) How to Rob a Bank. Accessed on 06 August, 2023 from https://webyarns.com/fjfjjf/  

Bloom, B. S. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: Davis McKay Co Inc. 

Fishwick, C. (2016) I, Narcissist – vanity, social media, and the human condition. The Guardian. Accessed on 08 August, 2023 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/17/i-narcissist-vanity-social-media-and-the-human-condition 

Heckman, D. S. (2018) Electronic Literature: Contexts and Policies. Literary Studies in the Digital Age: An Evolving Anthology. Accessed on 01 August, 2023 from https://cora.ucc.ie/items/4b5f6dc2-cbc0-4087-bd0a-44436513279e 

O’Connell, J (2014) Researcher’s Perspective: Is Teacher Librarianship in Crisis in Digital Environments? An Australian Perspective. School Libraries Worldwide. 20 (1) Accessed on 06 August, 2023 from https://heyjude.files.wordpress.com/2006/06/1oconnellfinalformatted1-19.pdf 

OECD (2013) A country note: Australia. Accessed on 06 August, 2023 from https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/Country%20note%20-%20Australia_final.pdf