Week One (Feedback)-Alice

Gutter

I found this graphic novel-exclusive jargon mentioned by Mr.Mcguigan and Ms.Brownrigg very interesting, because it made me think of how our brains work. Acutally, the process of filling in the gaps are done everyday; even when we read, our brain doesn't regester words as we think it does--it actually reads the first and the last letters of a word to figure it out!

here is an example =D

aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porblem. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Interesting, eh?

As people read that, their brains unscramble the words to make them fit. I believe that is what happens when we are reading graphic novels, too.

Week One (class act)- Alice

Class Act

When Ms.Brownrigg explained the development of the graphic novels to us on thursday, she said that Persepolis by Marjane Satratpi was published when graphic novels were not popular. However, Persepolis has succeeded as a comic book, and flourished to become a famous, Oscar-nominated animated film as well. It strikes me as amazing how a story of a person's life can affect millions of others. If I was asked the question, "what drives us to tell our stories?", by Mr.Mcguigan once again, I think my answer would be: we tell our stories to open other people's eyes, like Persepolis opened my eyes. Before I read the book, I didn't have a clue what a revolution can do to a person. Now, if I study revolutions, I can not only have a third-party perspective, but also connect with the people from the period.

This is a link to the trailer of the movie Persepolis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqoyqekKqj8&feature=related
it's in French, but there are subtitles.

Week One (literary feature hunt) -Alice

Irony

Pg. 41

The very first panel of this page demonstrates dramatic irony, because the narration on the top states that the Shah "actually did try: he tested a dozen prime ministers", although the picture shows the Shah rejecting every candidate for unrealistic reasons, such as their physique. This panel implies that the Shah just looked as though he was trying to please his people, when in reality, he didn't want to let go of his power as a dictator.

Week One [class Act] ---[Fi]

On Thursday Ms. Brownrigg spent a class with us talking about how to read or approach grahpic novels. Knowing different literary terms we have learned from 1984 can also apply to the pictures in Persepolis. (Scroll down if you want to see how I apply the lit terms to Persepolis) We've also learned about the gutter, which is the space between panel to panel presented as a transitional of time.

Week One [Feebacks] ---[Fi]

This panel was led by Gab, he talks about how the dragon is framing the panel which signifies the evil is around them. Mr.Mcguigan add to gab's idea that Marjane's parents cant see the danger around them since their eyes are closed, unlike Marjane who seemed to understand what is going on in society and looked directly at the reader trying to communicate with us. The comment Mr.Mcguigan made to this panel made me realized the importance in paying close attention to the details.


Pg.309 From Denitza's blog

Although it is really ahead as Denitza said, but it applys to what Ms.B taught us from to the other day about the types of relationship from panel to panel. In this case, the relationship is action to action . Through pages 308 to 309, it is plainly pictures, not a single word that go along with it: the aurthur assumes that the readers could fill in the words for themselves, similar to the idea of closure. This brings up the meaning of graphic novel, the story line can be gleaned by perusing the pictures without the text.

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Week One [Literary feature hun] ---[Fi]

Page six

In this panel Marjane is dreaming herself as being a prophet. Marjane’s head appears to become a part of the sun, you might wonder why and this is what I think. The photo below is the symbol for Zarathustra (a religion in Iran, refer back to page 7 in Persepolis). There is a circle in the middle, and as a circle, it has no beginning and no end that means eternity (just like god). Mazda (the god) is surrounded by a yellowish-orange circle which we can interpret it as the sun. In other words, the sun is the representation of god and prophets in their religion. That might be why Satropi chooses to use the sun when Marjane dreams herself as being a prophet. Another reason why the sun is chosen is because the sun is an essential element for all life; in this panel the sun could bring out the importance of religion and prophet in the society.

It is a hyperbole when Marjane was dreaming about herself of becoming a prophet as Denitza mentioned in her blog.

I think it is also a verbal irony when she said she wants to become a prophet, but considering her age and her gender, it is unrealistic and unmatched.

six years-old little girl V.S Prophet

Page fourteen

This is a example of flash back. Marjane's parents are thinking back to what had happened in the last demonstration where there was a fire and the police didn't come until 40 mins later.

I find it interesting that in panel 2, they seemed like separate panels yet they are connected by a wall.

Page thirteen

This is a example of irony. Majane was comparing Marx, who invented communism, to god. When I think of communism, I think of struggles and control which I would have a different perspective when I think of god. Therefore it is ironic to compare Marx and god, because they are oranges and apples, not comparable.

Page eleven

This panel shows Parallelism through the sequence of arrangement of the sodiers from different period. From top to the bottle, you could perceive the changes made to the sodiers over time, and they are presented in similar constructions.

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