Visible is being introduced to its client, “You must be Thomas.” Tom must be blind if he needs Visible. Tom is 5’10 with brunette hair that is due for a trim, and caramel brown eyes set just the right distance apart. Tom is a grumpy man in his mid 30’s who is not fat, but not skinny and might live in an apartment so it is easier to navigate with his lack of eyesight. This is my Tom. What I have just described to you is the character my mind has created from listening to the first 30 seconds of Visible. The Tom another listener imagined might be blonde, in his 20’s, and wearing a red checkered shirt, but by using a podcast as the medium of this story it has left the element of imagery up to its listeners. Just as Tom cannot see his world, Visible’s listeners cannot either, creating an active audience and a simulation making it possible to relate to the main character more than they ever could if there were visual media to follow along with. Visible is a futuristic technology for the visually impaired, but the message is universal. Technology can bring an individual freedom and independence, but never a level of intimacy with life humans chase.

Towards the end of Visible it is unveiled that Tom had lost his eyesight; therefore, he had not been born without it and knows the sensation of once having that sense. As a podcast, void of visuals, it is full of auditory ques. Once Tom steps outside, with the device’s help, there are birds chirping. An immediate assumption is that it is a beautiful day out, which is confirmed as Visible describes the weather, “scattered clouds, 74 degrees, and a breeze from the northwest.” Not only do we have to listen to verbal ques but background sounds to gather as much information as possible about the setting and situation. Visible proceeds by describing Tom’s surroundings, “There is a tall juniper tree in the center, with shaft of sunlight spread across the bark causing it to appear a shade lighter” as well as “Song sparrows bathing in a puddle to your left.” This is a prime example of the benefits technology affords us. 

Visible gives Tom back his eyesight to some capacity while allowing him to travel alone. In the start of the podcast Deedee exclaims that she is his “caretaker” which is a necessity for someone who has lost their sight. It can be disheartening to the disabled individual to be codependent on another human being for basic life skills. Once Tom first started using Visible and he responded “No, let’s keep going,” or when asked if he wanted to return home, “No, not just yet, which way is the front entrance?” Tom wanted to explore this new world, although scary, he saw his freedom lying ahead. 

The tone of the podcast is crucial. The audience cannot see a facial expression while experiencing this piece; therefore, even slight changes in a character’s voice coupled with a scene change or conversation twist help indicate what is happening. When Tom is crossing the street auditory ques suggest the road is very busy with sound effects of cars zooming by and horns honking as if he is in the middle of Manhattan. As Tom begins to cross the street after Visible’s go ahead, his voice becomes shaky and breathy as he stammers responses to the device. The tone of voice suggests Tom’s panic, again, confirmed when he says, “that was terrifying.” The use of this medium was especially effective in this instance because it allowed the listeners to close their eyes and imagine blindly wobbling across a buzzing city street at the mercy of a device. 

Once in the museum, Tom’s tone suggests his anger that Visible cannot express emotion, “You have to make ME, see IT” after Visible describes Tom’s painting as “Two woman standing side by side, both are physically elongated in a mannerist style, and both are peering out at the viewer, the pallet is dominated by combination of vermillion and cadmium yellow with thick applications of paint.” A woman is beside Tom when he yells this, and Tom asks her “How does it (the painting) make you feel?” The woman replies, “Warm and small and personal. Evoking a sense of memory. There’s something bittersweet about it. When I look at it, it makes me think of the time when you’re drifting off to sleep, when an idea becomes really vivid, and then it vanished, it has that afterglow to it.”  The point of these two descriptions and their placement one after the other is to see the juxtaposition between them. The first explanation was by Visible, which was very factual and analytical, contrasting the response of the woman which was emotional and bias. Tom wanted a personal opinion but the device was unable to express feeling. Although Visible could bring Tom to the art gallery without his aid, Tom could not extract the expression he craved from technology because that could only be found in another human being. 

Tom was aggravated when the device could not give him the response he was looking for, showing that in order for Tom to gain independence he must become dependent on Visible. There is an aspect of vulnerability that goes along with relying on technology, but a lack of reaction to sentimental parts of life.
