Blog #3

While reading Persepolis and March #3, I thought about how this was vastly different than the comics I usually read. I am an avid Marvel comics fan. Most Marvel comics aren’t like this. The majority of them are light-hearted and fun. For those that are not, they are still fiction. There is a sense of distance between me and the comic. When I read Persepolis and March #3, it was too close to home. These are real people going through real problems in the real world. That was why it was a bit jarring for me at first, especially March #3 because that takes place in America. Going along with that point, the actual style of the comic was different as while. Because these books are memoirs, they are lot more text heavy. Often, traditional comic books don’t have a narrator. These books did in order to provide context on events and the thought process of the protagonist. They also felt super long. Because these memoirs are so powerful, every struggle and noteworthy moment felt like a climax. It was like a roller coaster going nonstop downhill. One thing I did not like (and this is a problem for graphic novels in general) is the lack of continuity. I felt like these books jumped around a lot which makes it harder to figure out where you are. In a movie, it’s more reasonable to figure out. However, in comic form, the reader is left to their own devices to figure out what point in time the event is taking place in.

The idea of hot vs cool medium is a very important one. I believe it plays directly into level of understanding. Take the Wolf of Wall Street as an example. Anyone can watch Wolf and have a basic understanding (drugs, money, jail). However, if you read Belfort’s book, you will have entirely different, a much deeper understanding that takes place. When reading, you have to conceptualize. You have the understand the words on the page, how they interacting, and form images in your head. This is largely the same with comics. Yes there are pictures, but the pictures are still images they act in unison with your brain filling in the gaps. With movies, all the information is given to you visually. It takes all the deep thinking out of consuming by watching casually. No one has ever passively read a book or comic, but many people have passively half watched a movie before.

The essay I read in Journalism is called The Hauge. It was about the War Crimes committed in the Netherlands. The Hauge is very graphic. Because it’s only six pages, it packs every panel with a memorable image and loads of information. The version I read was also in color, so that added to how disturbed I was. One thing I thought that was especially interesting was the lens the author had. He was so against the court system. He painted everyone out to be a bad guy in this situation. I felt it almost took away from who the true bad guys were. Yes, all the people who participated in this should be punished. However, the court system did not cause this problem. It was created to punish people for crimes we can prove, not that we’re almost certain about. Justice must be served without a shadow of a doubt. The article I read from the time period was on where other countries stood in this conflict. This is article was mostly straightforward and factual, but took a biased turn toward the U.S. at the end. All the countries had one sentence status updates, and the U.S. had a long paragraph with clear patriotic bias. It was interesting to see the different biases. One article was factual, but had a nationality bias. The other was subjective while staying neutral in term if international blame.

I think the idea of using comics to raise awareness has pluses and minuses. There are a good amount of positives. Using comics allows you a wider base. Some people cannot or will not read, so the picture invite them in. It also makes it easier to digest than a 500 page book. Also, using comics can really focus your audience. If you have an issue that affects the group of people who reads comics, it’s best to use their medium. Bouncing off that point, it may also exclude other audiences. Some people don’t read comics. If an otherwise interesting book comes out in comic form, you might lose a portion of an audience. This hurts when you’re trying to be informative because you want as many people as possible to see your message. Another problem is the message. In comic form, things may be lost in translation compared to how they may be with photographs.

In terms of Madaya mom, I think’s it’s a wonderful idea that Marvel and ABC came up with. This was a struggle where traditional journalists couldn’t do their job. They had to get creative. The idea of Madaya mom really shows off the ingenuity of reports. I think it’s also a great idea because it gives readers a character to hold onto and an easy way to follow the issue of the war. It also was a good way to expose a new audience to the world of comics.