http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/blog
This is a link to Alison Bechdel’s Blog. As you’d expect it’s full of big vocab words and a sassy tone. I find it interesting because you get to see all the other projects she’s interested in, as well as what an artist does in there free time. It’s a fun place to check out if you ever want to learn more about her, her projects, and some of the vocab words you’ve missed.
Above you’ll find a link to watch the trailer for the Japanese movie, Uzumaki. Obviously there are a number of scenes from the book to be found in the clipshow, especially the hair part. If you search around some more on Youtube you can find the whole movie. Unfortunately the movie doesn’t come with subtitles. It’s an interesting clip, that even comes with snail people, enjoy.
First Readers
After finishing Persepolis, I’m still trying to figure out what were the main points that I should take away from it. Of course yes, it’s a wonderful autobiography but I believe there are other themes that we should take from it. One thing I’d like to focus upon is the art. The first thing you notice is that it’s in black and white, and that the animation isn’t the best. I think the black and white nature of the comics could draw a direct relation to how there are two sides to the conflict between Iraq and Iran. In the comic there is no gray area between this war, you are either for one side or another. I felt quite strangely about the animation. When she was a kid, I felt the animation suited it very well. It was a war, a revolution, and the experience of death through a kids world. When she was older I felt that the animation didn’t fit in with the adult world. There is a scene in the second part of the book that I’d like to refer to how the kiddy animation style played out but I’ll save it for another time. My opinion of the book isn’t solely about just the imagery. I feel one of the things that I enjoyed in the book that played out consistently well was her narration, and dialogue. Her writing style worked well when she was a child, a teenager, and even surprisingly when she was a more mature adult. This was a fun book, and I’m actually excited to report on this in a few weeks.
If Davec had not posted about the Monkey King mythology a few days ago I certainly would have. He did a great job pointing out the main ideas. I just want to build upon certain ideas, mainly the idea of Son Goku from Dragonball Z and Son Goku from Journey to the West. Like Davec mentioned two of the main comparisons are their accessories. Both of them use a staff in battle and ride on a cloud.
One of the first things I noticed in American Born Chinese, was the use of the cloud, especially on page 71 when he was being chased by Tze-Yo-Tzuh (God). In Dragonball the cloud is given to Goku as a gift, that only the pure of heart could ride. The cloud is introduced in American Born Chinese as a discipline to master. In Journey to the West the Monkey King could perform a move called the cloud somersault that allowed him to leap to vast distances in one leap.
For both of them, the staff’s main power is to grow from the size of a needle to a coliseum column. In the story of Journey to the West the staff was actually used a support column for the Sea Dragon’s palace and weighs 13,500 pounds. In the Dragonball franchise, the staff is dubbed as the Power Pole. The pole can even reach the moon if the owner wishes it so. The staff is used throughout all three stories (American Born Chinese, Dragonball, and Journey to the West).
American Born Chinese and Dragonball draw from Journey to the West and represent the same two ideas in different variations.
The following link focuses on one of the many subjects we’ve frequently discussed in class: Art’s relationship with his father. It’s an interesting piece were it discusses the role of the father in a son’s life, and how Vladek is a very poor father figure. I don’t wish to spoil the read for anyone, but the author Ms. Withers, makes an interesting point is saying that Vladek is a living Holocaust Memorial, and anyone who comes in contact with him will share his pain. This basically summarizes not only simply Vladek but even the relationship between Vladek and Art.Check it out when you get a chance, it almost makes you want to read the book again just to see the defined relationship between Art and Vladek and to learn how Spiegelman crafted such an interesting relationship.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1785466/essay_on_maus_i_and_maus_ii_graphic.html?cat=38
Chapters 7-9 of Watchmen was a great blend of chapters that focused on character development, and keeping the plot moving seamlessly. I’d like to focus on the end of Chapter Nine, where Mr. Mason, the previous Owl Man, is killed. This scene was not in the film, and I have had little quality time to digest the reasoning behind removing this from the film.
First let me discuss the importance of this scene. Though it only last through pages 27-28 it really captures one of the important themes of the story: The good old days and how they relate to today. As Mr. Mason is attacked by the angry thugs who are enraged that the masked vigilantes have sprung Rorschach from his cell, there are several flashbacks to Mr. Mason’s earlier days. These were days where he could take on an angry mob and dispatch them with a smile. However as we read here, it doesn’t turn out so well now that he’s older. It really captures the ideas of past and future and the people caught in between. The scene doesn’t just relate to the previous Owl Man but to the ‘current one’, and the rest of the heroes who are all still trying to recovery a sliver of their glory days.
This scene could have easily been put into the movie (and whose to say it wasn’t when the DVD comes out with deleted scenes). But in the final cut, I think it could’ve worked really well to give us more of an emotional connection to Daniel, as well as to show us that the director is not playing around and that these characters deaths are right around the corner and we won’t be aiming for an everybody goes home happy ending. Watchmen the movie can only be as good as the source material, and even skipping 1-2 pages in the comic can have dire results for the movie.
I’d like to agree and build upon what Moria mentioned in her First Readers message, that Rosarch closely resembles Batman. I’d like to push this idea a little more, and say that a number of characters have resemble certain aspects of Batman. While Batman’s true element and most well known characteristic is fear, there are a number of other aspects that complete him. The costume as well as the gadgets, the heavily conditioned and near perfect body, and last but not least the mind; let’s not forget that Batman is one of the comic book world’s greatest detectives.
Niteowl is most closely related to Batman when it comes to costumes, (I mean come on, they both represent winged animals of the night), and they both have highly stylized vehicles. Batman has the batmobile while Niteowl has Archie; both of these vehicles are outfitted with a nice array of weaponry. Another connection between ‘the Owl’ and ‘the Bat’ are their bank accounts. Wayne inherited Wayne Enterprises from his father, while Dan’s father was a banker who also left him a large inheritance.
Ozymandias or Adrian Veidt is a combination of the other two characteristics, he is incredibly smart as well as well conditioned. The media calls him, “The World’s Smartest Man”, and in his chamber he is sometimes seen watching more than 2 dozens televisions at once. He has built an incredible powerful financial empire which he seems to have a steady rule over. Batman, or Bruce Wayne rather has an empire and according to the DC Wiki (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_%28Bruce_Wayne%29) he is a genius who is a master of numerous languages. Ozymandias is also world renowned for his physical prowess, in one scene he is seen performing acrobatics, later he catches a bullet with his bare hands, and towards the end he is seen easily lifting a full grown man over his head. Batman is an example of physical perfection, even for a fictional human some of his achievements seem superhuman, as we’ve witnessed time after time, Batman single handedly takes down a mob of men, beating people twice his size, and even healing from a broken back.
I’m not here to say that any of the Watchmen’s characters are a rip off of Batman, but that they have small similarities which connect them. I think these connections are just qualities that most human super heroes. If you’re human super hero character doesn’t have any flash gadgets, a nice vehicle, an incredible intelligence, or a great body, what makes them so Super?