ALSO: The Presentation is getting closer! Here's the link to the post that explains the assignment (a few posts below this one): https://grassocomics.blogspot.com/2020/05/presentation-assignment-due-no-later.html
If you want to do the paper option, try to imagine that you're writing a script to the audio tour that viewers can listen to if they tour the pictures (museums often allow you to rent headphones to do just this). You should introduce them to each 'painting,' and explain why it's beautiful, important, artistic, and how they all relate to each other. Try to group the images you choose around a common theme that you can explain to the audience. Don't just choose a bunch of pictures at random and say, "here's one...and here's another...and here's a third." Try to think about it first, and once you have a theme, you'll be surprised how easy this is.
For example--today's video is the exhibit I put together for my own amusement. Watch the video (13 min.) and then respond to the question below. This is your last blog response for the class!
RESPONSE QUESTION: Watch the video carefully and explain what 'theme' or general connection you think links each of the images I chose. Why did I choose these images? What common themes or 'echoes' between each image jumps out at you? How are they related? (Hint: I give you a few clues throughout the video, so be sure to watch it!)
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The theme that I picked up on was the representation of the duality of identity for characters. Is the subject a hero or a villain, superman or just a teenage boy from a small town? Is Vision an Avenger or father? The images support this through the use of perspective. Batman is half in shadow half in light, it hints at the division of his character. The perspective of Clark causes him to look like he is looming over the house, he is bigger than reality; alluding to his unmatched strength hiding in the form of a unassuming human teenager. Vision is a powerful entity yet he is made small by the environment of his dead son’s bedroom, this hints that everyone has vulnerabilities. Rascal fades into the background of the mysterious dimension she keeps falling into suggesting that she belongs there or at least is connected to it in some way. The perspective of Maude in which we only see her back suggests that she is hiding her identity in some manner as we find out in the next frame as the empty bottles come spilling out of her closet. Maude also fills the frame giving this young girl a perspective of power and dominance despite the bubblegum pink hat. The last image is a close-up of a characters face. The character is wearing headphone it suggests that all external influences are blocked out and that the character is participating in some deep cognitive evaluation we are at the cusp of an important decision. Perspective tells us as much about the story as the words. How the character is placed in the frame is informative. Because each of these images center around the character/subject the viewer can identify that analyzing who the character is in that moment is the purpose of the image.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great connection--the duality of identity! That's perfect. That's not the only connection I saw, but it's one of the best (if not the best). Each of these characters is at a crossroads at this point, especially the younger characters: they can take any number of roads at this point, and it really depends what kind of "hero" they want to be. Batman isn't at this point in his journey, but you do get the sense that he could become more like Dent and cross the line, and become a villain to Gordon. I think we see the same thing in the last panel, where Syd has to choose whether to be one of "them" or reject them. And she's tentatively making a choice by putting on the headphones. Great response, and some ideas to think about with your own (or anyone's) presentation! You can borrow my ideas and even my images--just don't use them all verbatim.
DeleteI love this, Kari!
DeleteOne theme I see repeated throughout your presentation is that of darkness. This seems to be the low hanging fruit, so I thought I would get it out of the way up front. The subject in each of these panels is enveloped in, or at least surrounded by, darkness. The darkness seems to be as much a character as the subject. The darkness in each entry is intentional and is meant to show isolation or secrecy. In “The Long Halloween”, the subject is Batman, who is literally hiding in a lady’s basement and basically jumps out and says “boo”. In the selection from “American Alien”, Clark has not yet been seen by the characters in the house so he is the actual secret. The panel chosen from “The Vision” shows him isolated away from his remaining family members, and he is plotting his revenge on the Avengers/ Victor. The scene from “Man-eaters” shows Maude opening her closet full of darkness, and a secret stash of empty bottles of her “contraband” drinks. In “Umbral”, the section shows us Rascal just emerging into this dark secret world, where she is essentially running and hiding from the darkness and monster/demon things. As for the last panel, I've not yet read “They're not like us”, but from the description in your video and the artwork, it is safe to say that the subject character is enveloped in darkness and, due to various crimes alluded to in the aforementioned video, I think she is in some sense hiding, or at least being secretive. You happened to pick two of my favorite scenes from all we have read for this class, the two sections from the Batman and Superman comics.
ReplyDeleteHa, thank you! Yes, darkness is both literal but also figurative here. They're all emerging into (or from) darkness, but they're also experiencing a "dark night of the soul." Darkness is symbolic of facing our inner demons but also blotting ourselves out, and being forced to see ourselves without the surface sheen. What are we when we're NOT looking in the mirror? This is the first time Clark has had to face true darkness in his life, and it unleashes his own monsters...the same is literally true in Man-eaters and Umbral. In Vision, he's facing the fact that he IS a monster, and hasn't acted like the hero he thought he was, at least not to his own family. And in the last panel, Syd is suicidal, running away from her parents, and is now confronted with an even darker present--becoming part of a roving gang of telepaths who exact revenge on society. Which identity fits? You can only really know by looking into the darkness and seeing what looks back (to badly paraphrase Nietzche).
DeleteAll the artwork makes me believe that the theme may be the "dark epiphany." They all realize something in one way or another and none of it is necessarily good. They're all facing a dark part of themselves or a dark part of the life they're living. Batman came to the realization that Dent was the one he was after the whole time, Superman realized he had to do what he had to do, vision realized that he had neglected to show love to his only son, in Man Eaters she realized that she had the power to change her reality, the girl in umbral realized she was in a very bad situation and in the last comic she realized she finally had a purpose for living. In all of their own ways, they realized something, but it all had to deal with a dark part of themselves or the area around them. I believe that you chose these images because they show a part of the characters that we do not always see.
ReplyDeleteAh, I like that phrase, the "dark epiphany!" That's where we often get it--in the dark, at night, in doubt, or in fear. My best thoughts always come at night. And these images do capture that sense of finding the way when you're furthest from 'home.' Nice response!
DeleteA common theme I noticed from the images you used was a sense of darkness. Not just the pictures were dark but each character was facing a dark moment. Batman's image was nearly all black and that is because he knew what would happen next to Harvey. He knew Harvey was the killer and Batman had to do his job and put him away. Superman knew he would have to go inside that house and save that family and more people would know his secret.He had to make a tough decision that could possibly change how people saw him. Vision just lost his son and that is a dark moment in his life. Even though he wasn't human he still had emotions and losing a child is a dark heavy feeling. The picture of Maude is not so dark but her closet is, and we know that in that closet she was keeping a dark secret from her parents. The image of the girl from Umbral is dark as well. She has just entered a new world that she had no clue about and for anyone I think that would be a scary moment. I think that all of these characters even though they are somewhat superheroes also go through dark moments just like regular humans. Just because these superheroes have these cool super powers does not mean they can't feel what we feel. Maybe that is not what you saw in these images that you used but that is what I noticed and understood from them. Then again I am all about feelings haha
ReplyDeleteBut you're right, a sense of darkness and the feeling of being powerless and simply scared, is one of the biggest themes in each one of these books. To be a superhero IS to be afraid, since you're not only afraid of what you will become, but of failing those who believe in you. I think we see this in each image, particular in Vision, who has already failed his family--BOTH of his families! Some superhero!
DeleteI could get a strong sense of darkness from each of these images you chose. Each image characterized that the characters themself were dark or they were facing a dark moment. As you described, Batman could be a hero or a villain in certain ways, and the image you picked had Batman in light and dark. Superman is not dark himself but he was about to face a dark event. The Vision had just lost his son and he was feeling a sense of darkness inside of him. In Maneaters Maude isn't in the dark but the scene behind her was, she was changing and this was considered evil in the book. I did not read Umbral but the way you described that image was awesome! I loved how her hair went into the background, while the image was neat I could still feel the darkness and scary mood about it. The image of the girl in They're Not Like Us is dark too, like you said the whole background is dark and I did read this one so it is a darker story that contains suicide and other dark things. I like how you took this dark approach and made the characters seem almost normal, like it is okay to feel sometimes - even if you have special powers or something!
ReplyDeleteYes, darkness is one of the controlling themes here, and how darkness can hide our true self--or force us to think about who we really are behind the 'mask.' But as you suggest, they're all pretty normal beneath it all...because even if you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, you still want to be loved, and you fear losing those you love. Nothing changes with superpowers, but the stakes DO get a little higher!
DeleteThere were a couple of things that I felt linked the images that you chose. One of them I felt was showing the superhero in a normal setting or situation as opposed to the action filled clips we normally see. Each Frame did not have them doing anything heroic but rather had them in a very relatable setting for a normal person. Another things that I noticed about each of the images you chose was that all of the characters seemed to be in a state of contemplation of some sort. They all looked as though they were in deep thought.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's good--these are 'normal' moments for each person, when their super-persona is stripped away and they're just who they are. In some cases, they haven't found the other person yet, whereas in others (Batman) it's a question of who they need to be to get the job done. It reminds us that we never settle on one static identity--it changes as we change, and as the situation around us changes.
DeleteJordyn Moore: I believe a possible theme or general connection that links the six images in the presentation together would possibly be the mood, attitude or feelings of the characters in the images. At the moment the images depict the characters are all dealing with something fairly large. A few examples of this from the six images would be when Batman is searching hard to find Dent, when Maude is dealing with turning into a giant murderous cat and how Vision is having a hard time dealing with the loss of his son. The images all show dark and gloomy colors rather than the normal color schemes of each book. I believe the change to dark gloomy colors helps back my theory that the general connection of these images could possibly be the mood, attitude or feelings of the characters.
ReplyDeleteGood point--most of the images employ a darker color scheme, suggesting symbolically the 'darkness' overwhelming their lives. It's a moral 'gray' area for each of them, where they have to decide who they will become in the next frame. And while Man-eaters remains relatively bright, she's opening a closet full of dark clothing and peering in, as if shedding her skin and adopting a new identity. Almost all of them are putting something on...clothing, headphones, shadows, memories. And sometimes wearing a disguise only places your real self in greater focus.
DeleteMayra Munoz: I think that the theme that I could see repeated in the graphics is that of heroes having a dark side too, where the dark calls them at a certain point, or during certain situations that they have to decide what side to take, they have the power to go either way like you mentioned. These graphics show the heroes also have a dark side.
ReplyDeleteYes, as I responses in a few of these, this IS about the dark side of each hero...and who being 'good' is a choice that needs to be made after much experience. It's not something you're born into or you do accidentally...to be a hero is a choice, and it's definitely not the easy way out. And as Batman knows, following the rules may get you (and those you love) killed.
DeleteBrittany Davis: I see a couple different connections in your photos, but the one that stood out to me was that these were all pretty pivotal moments in these characters stories, but it is also where they all seem their most normal and most human-like. Each of the images to me showed a human like picture, with Batman it was more the words than the image itself, but all the others these were very vulnerable, human-like scenarios for them.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like this--they're all very vulnerable in these images, even though Batman looks menacing, even terrifying. But he needs an answer, and has to appeal to Dent's wife to get it. He literally doesn't know how to stop the murders. Each one is a pivotal moment to the next stage of their journey, wherever that takes them.
DeleteAll of the images you selected (I think, since I didn't read Umbral!) show the characters in moments where their heroism is on shaky ground. Their actions are moving them forward indubitably, but there's still everything at stake; they haven't yet decided which path they will take. Batman, of course, is at risk of committing actions outside of his code of ethics, and Superman is about to use his powers without full knowledge of how he will react to situations of violence. He doesn't really know what to expect, even from himself. Umbral, again, I don't really know about, but the revelation of Vision's weakness and fallibility as a father is maybe his least heroic and most human moment. Maude's face is hidden in the image you chose from Man-Eaters, but the suspense that has been building tells us that we're about to see something incriminating; and the image of Syd shows us her defenses crumbling as she becomes more open to this new and nearly amoral lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteNone of these characters are really GOOD in these images. They're at a crossroads.
Yes, great readings here...and we can definitely say that every hero has to really question what it means to be 'good,' and who is going to suffer for this moral decision. Batman realizes that following the rules will get many people killed, which is why he prefers to dress up as Dracula and terrify people. In the same way, Syd is told that the only way to survive as a telepath in this disposable society is to be terrifying--and to take what you need. So she's learning that being a 'villain' is a matter of perspective; and in a world of villains, being good almost doesn't exist. Even the more light-hearted Man-eaters plays with this idea, since if everyone assumes girls are monsters, then why not simply BE a monster? Especially if it means they're going to destroy who you are anyway.
DeleteCallie Farley: The connections that I see between all of these images is that they all feature darker colors. I think that this is important because they all are important turning points in the story that have a pretty big impact on the story, in my opinion. Like you mentioned, even with Man-eaters being a more lighthearted and fun story this image is grim and gives off a serious tone. And, like Amily said, they're all facing an inner darkness about their society or even themselves, so the images really reflect those feelings and add a lot to the story without necessarily saying anything at all.
ReplyDeleteYes, good response--not just external darkness, but the darkness within them and in the story itself. What's so great about comics is the mere coloring of a frame can suggest an emotional state, whereas if you wrote "he walked into a room," you don't see anything--not even the room!
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