“The Struggle Continues,” by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (YHCHI), explores the struggle for love through a 7-minutes, 35-seconds-long Flash animation with a jazz score. The narrative unfolds through black or white text set in varying sizes of Monaco font and displayed at varying frame rates, which change in accordance with the tempo and rhythm of “A Night in Tunisia” (afternoon take), performed by Sonny Rollins, Donald Bailey, and Pete LaRoca. The controlled delivery of poetry in relation to music creates crescendos--including the textual depiction of sexual climax--to emphasize the importance of connection, community, and, ultimately, love.

Like other works by YHCHI, the Seoul-based duo of Young-hae Chang and Marc Voge, “The Struggle Continues” offers a repeated message via minimalistic text set to music. In this particular work, the struggle for for love includes explorations of equality--”EQUALITY FØR ALL!”--as well as the demand for sexual fulfillment in the form of “STARK NAKED LØVE.” As both struggles suggest, the body is primary. The text explores the body’s relationship to larger systems, including capitalism, asserting that “ “STARK NAKED LØVE” belongs to those who are not constrained by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Arguing for human connectedness through rallying cries, hyperbolic statements, and explicit sexual references, “The Struggle Continues” challenges audience members to join in the endeavor for achieving (and giving) love and pleasure.

"The Struggle Continues" connects to other poetic traditions, including slam poetry, which utilizes repeated messaging and musical accompaniment and emphasizes the immediacy of the poet's message. The focus on public communication is also conveyed through the multiple languages in which the text appears. YHCHI's website notes that in addition to English, "The Struggle Continues" is published in "K0REAN," "FRANCAIS," "MEXICAN0," "P0RTUGUÊS," and "JAPANESE."

This entry was drafted by a participant at the Introduction to Electronic Literature course at DHSI 2017 at the University of Victoria.