Bookapp Bitterveld

The Bookapp Bitterveld is a recent example of a nonlinear narrative about ‘trauma’. Bitterveld is about memory and forgetting, revenge and forgiving and the need to remember. In the Bookapp Bitterveld the reader travels with the subway of Berlin and visits the commemorative monuments and memorials of World War II in the city, while observing the public in the underground. Starting point of the journey is a (fictitious) map of Berlin. By tapping on the map, the corresponding text pops up. The reader can read the fragment that belongs to this location, or hop on to another storyline. Therewith the reader creates, within boundaries, his or her own story about the (memory of) World War II in Berlin. Bitterveld  creates, as it where, a virtual space to remember  and contemplate (traumatic) histories.

Bitterveld offers a nonlinear story for a mobile platform. The navigation structure is innovative in such a way that it shows how disruptive technologies such as internet and apps make it possible to narrate about, and at the same time keep alive disrupting experiences. The disrupting experience of World War II is made visible by navigating through the app, also for generations who have never experienced it themselves. This counts for the Bookapp Bitterveld, with its story about World War II, but also for other nonlinear narratives such as The Silent History (by Sudden Oak). Nonlinear narratives therefor seem highly suitable to tell and show traumatic story and the lasting impact on people and their (collective) memory.

Approach	Diversity as a common viewpoint
Target Audience	Online
Materials	App for iPhone and iPad
Geographical scope	Worldwide
Start of practice	2015
Country of origin	The Netherlands