The affordances of the specific medium chosen helps to assist the narrative in different ways. Film and text are two examples of different types of media that can be used. One could compare Erik Larson’s book The Devil in the White City and Christopher Nolan’s film Memento. The comparison of these two media, which both show the protagonists committing murder, is able to portray the advantages and disadvantages of each medium. By comparing the murder scenes in each of these works, one is able to define the aspects in which each medium succeeds or fails. The Devil in the White City portrays the building of the Chicago World’s Fair. This should have been a time of wonder and awe for the people of Chicago and the visitors to the city. People were coming from all across the United States and others were planning on going to Chicago because “firsthand accounts of the fair were sparking heightened interest” (Larson 274). Besides worries about the completion of the fair and the fear of the economic crisis of the United States (Larson 241), people were still coming to the fair and it seemed as though everyone was having a positive experience in Chicago (Larson 247). However, with the sudden influx of people and the incompetence of police and detectives, disappearances were …show more content…
The viewer cannot look away from the screen because if even a couple minutes is missed a revelation could be missed. For example, towards the end of the film Teddy is talking to Lenny and explaining how they had already found the John G. Teddy begins to explain that Lenny has really experienced what he thought Sammy Jankis did. Then for a split second Sammy Jankis sitting in the psychiatric hospital is replaced by Lenny sitting in the hospital. This makes the viewer question who is telling the truth and what is truly happening. This also shows an interesting aspect that film offers that text does