Skip to main content

Week 7- Maus

"The Jews are undoubtably a race, but they are not human." These chilling, horrifying words quoted by Adolph Hitler start off our retelling of WW2, perfectly introducing us into the world of death and misguided slaughter depicted further in. Many could initially confuse "Maus" with a children's story variant of the Jewish genocide during the Second World War; but the themes explored are just as adult as any other version. Based off of the real life experiences of one, Vladek Spiegelman and his son, the story shows life mostly outside of the infamous concentration camps but instead the hardships of a Nazi-controlled city. We see a relatively peaceful existence be taken over completely by the oppressive Nazi regime, as trigger happy brutes are given any excuse they want to imprison, enslave, torture and kill anyone with a jewish star. While perhaps not as graphically depicted in its violence as other comics, this one explores the psychological torment along with the oppressive and depressing state of affairs present in the city on a daily basis. One of the most haunting events for me was when a Nazi patrolman stops one our main character demanding his identification papers, "Or else I'll shoot yer brains out!" When the character returns to his friends later on, they discuss how the man is known as "The Shooter," who finds an excuse to kill "a jew a day, just for fun." This and other depictions of cruel injustice towards the jews is sickening, and cements how even cartoonist interpretations of events can carry just as much impact as any other interpretation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of Shaun Tan's, "The Arrival"

Jarod Frank Analysis of Shaun Tan’s, “The Arrival.” Shaun Tan's, “The Arrival,” is a fantastic example of conveying narrative themes and complex character interactions without the use of dialogue. Through the emphasis on gestures, body positioning, and facial expressions, we are able to “fill in” to a great degree what we imagine the characters are conveying; regardless of anything literally being said. One such fantastic example of this is when the main immigrant man is trying to find an apartment, beginning by asking another man where it could be. We see the quizzical look he local man as he looks over the immigrant, who pulls out a drawing pad and draws a bed, pointing to it. Such a natural progression of actions, reactions and continued actions are the basics of human communication, not necessarily needing words to convey an experience we all are familiar with: questioning. While the situation is mundane, the comic being able to convey this series of emotions here and n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week 13- "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" - In class assignment

1. My initial reaction to the text I read was sadness followed by acceptance, while certainly a MUCH darker overall tone that ANY golden age Superman story, this joint collaboration by Alan Moore, Curt Swan, George Perez, and Kurt Schaffenberger, is a damn near perfect end to this "run" of the Superman story. Focusing on the dramatic end of Superman, the story throws all of his most, and a few of his lesser, memorable villains and allies at him at once, a sort of collage of the entire Alan Moore run with the character. As Batman later describes it, "like walking through fragments of a legend." This comic celebrates everything that built Superman, from his allies and backstory, to his bitter enemies and emotional struggles; it ties up and ends practically every loose end previously left open in previous issues of the Superman story, while also providing one massive, yet satisfying cliffhanger at the story's end. 2. I grew up loosely following various versions ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Emergence of the Graphic Novel, (Week 5)

Will Eisner’s approach to archetype is an interesting one, somewhat influenced by his religious background. Using his characters as a mouthpiece for his ideals, such as in his story of “A Life Force,” where our primary characters, one of which is a hobo, discuss how “they” perceive life and the human experience. In one particular scene I adore, the homeless man is sitting in an alleyway talking about the struggles that both a man and a cockroach must face; and relates this to the shared idea of survival that the sane human race collectively agrees on, regardless of personal ideals or religion. “It seems to be the only thing we can agree on!?!” Comparable to his energy filled discussions is his approach to art, especially the way he designs his characters and their expressions. Many of Eisner’s characters are very expressive, using their whole body to convey an emotion. Using their shoulders, hands, faces, even the positioning of their feet or where their eyes are ...
Post a Comment
Read more