Michael Renov, "The End of Autobiography or New Beginnings?..."

Renov introduces the article by mentioning Elizabeth Bruss' argument about the subtle disappearance of the genre of autobiography. It is clear that his argument is in response to Bruss' canonical article. I agree with Renov that both Benjamin and Bruss acknowledge the change that occurs moving from literature (and painting) to film (and photography), but it is Bruss who is unable to see the positive side.

Renov uses mostly the internet and personal web pages to communicate his argument. With the invention of the internet and the advancements of web pages, there is actually an increased interest in sharing autobiographical information. More and more people are interested in creating their own web pages - blogs, myspace, facebook, etc - to communicate information about themselves. Written words are still used, but are enhanced with pictures, photographs, sound (music), videos, and a variety of other media. The creator of a web page is the author, the narrator, and the protagonist of his/her own page. Other people become involved when they interact with someone's web page. Perhaps with others responding to a person's web page, this provides another view point of the person's ongoing autobiography.

Technological advancements have altered the ways that people are able to participate in the autobiographical impulse. Not everyone must write an autobiography in book form (however some still do), and autobiography is more accessible to people through the internet. Therefore, as Renov suggests, the genre of autobiography has actually been reborn and not extinguished. It is different from Bruss' understanding of the autobiography; however, with changes in technology and in our culture, so too must the genre of autobiography change.