Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

class notes 9/16

mkarol's picture

 - looked at maps on pages 126 and 144 in Fun Home: they show the same map, but the second one is labeled. highlights how maps can be selective and labeled/changed in different ways --> map are fictional representations

- read closer: EVD lead us in reading page 3 --> "think and hear"what the people are saying in the pictures rather than just read what is written

- there's an interrelationship between text and images: Bechdel uses different types of framing:

  • words above pictures
  • words in boxes on top of the pictures --> used to highlight the images
  • word bubbles

- in one image, Bechdel drew an intricate carpet: shows how fussy her father was and the complexities that are present throughout the whole novel

- we should read graphic novels by thinking of them as stills from a film

- maht91: English is her second language, so she found the pictures and dialogue bubbles helpful in decoding what was happening

- some students said they weren't allowed to read comics as children

- graphic novels are about the interaction between words and pictures, and their meanings

- the difference between comics and graphic novels --> graphic nivels have more critical value than comics (entertainment)

- SandraG expressed concern about how much was revealed about Bechdel's family --> a violation of propriety and family secrecy

- in order to tell her own story, Bechdel had to tell her father's story

- everyone's lives are intertwined and their stories shared

- graphic novels are often used to tell horrific stories --> signifies the "unrepresentable" nature of really terrible events

- Why did Bechdel write Fun Home? : to help deal with her father's death? to make sense of her own life?

- read pages 220-221 outload --> discussed the strategy of using the same sized boxes with very little variation --> emphasizes the awkwardness of the moment/experience

- drawing as a form of representation IS fictional

- saw older forms of "graphic novels":

  • illustrated bibles
  • Chaucer's text/drawings
  • 18th century cartoons (Hogarth)

 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
5 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.