Week One

Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics, and graphic novel? According to Varnum what distinguishes comics from other media?

Personally I thought that Varnum (2001) didnt neccessarily define the difference between comics, cartoons and graphics moreso than acknowledging "that comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, single panel cartoons, wordless comics, animated cartoons and various other kinds of visual texts bear family resemblences to one another. None shares one feature in common with all the others but any two share common features"

Essentially Varnum takes on a nonchalant stance, noting the heated discussions over whether or not comics are a form of visual art or literature. Critics debating the issue, argue over the blending of visual/verbal elements of comics, but at the same time assert their concerns over the importance of each. Varnum uses the arguments from each critics to suggest to readers that comics are more "unitary rather than a hybrid system of expression" and to also "indicate the advantages of looking at comics as an integral language on the one hand, and as a partnership of words and pictures on the other".

Overall, I gathered that its not what Varnum finds distinguishing about comics but what the reader believes it to be. Yes, artists and authors manipulate the readership to believe the messages or ideas they convey through their illustrations and text but it is up to the reader to determine what is and isnt apprehended.


How might Herge address or relate to what Said (1977) terms 'orientalism'?

'Orientalism - a term introduced by Palestinian cultural critc Edward Said is the process by which the east (Orient) was created and socialised to be different, subordinate to and exotic by those in the west (Occident). The discourse of Orientalism erects and establishes borders of otherness and exclusion. Herges 'The Blue Lotus' exemplifys Said's (1977) opinion that the "Orient is an idea that has a history and a tradition of thought, imagery and vocabulary that have given it a reality and presence in and for the West .."

In the beginning the story is set in India where TinTin and Snowwy are 'guests of the Maharaja of Gaipajama, enjoying a well-earned rest'. Here TinTin is introduced to the 'famous fakir Ramacharma' as he demonstrates his remarkable abilities - these abilities turn out to be acts of the bizzarre as the illustrations of the Ramacharma depict him performing harmful acts to himself yet he remains completely intact. These illustrations show the Ramacharma to be walking over shards of glass, balancing on his nose over spikes and to make it more dangerous he starts spinning. However when asked to be seated on a comfortable couch, the famous Ramacharma who virtually seems indestructible cries out in pain after sitting on a cushion so a bed of nails are brought in for the Ramacharma to perch himself on. It are these images that relate Herge's 'The Blue Lotus' to Orientalism as Said (1977) outlines 'The Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences' which in short reflects how much the Western influence had over the Orient and what was and wasnt showcased to rest of the region.


References

Varnum, R. & Gibbons, C. (Eds). (2001). Introduction. In The Language of Comics: word and image (pp.ix-xix). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

Said, E. (1977) Orientalism. In Ashcroft, B. Griffiths, G. & Tiffin, H. (Ed.), The Post-colonial Studies Reader (pp. 87-91). London: Routledge