Tracing back the evolutionary process of graphical novels highlights moments in time that were captured and shared among various groups of people. The cultural impacts they have created are still prevalent while reviewing some popular samples, those impacts are quite clear.
As Gillian Whitlock refers to “cultural exchanges” (7) in Word Made Flesh, she acknowledges the work of Marjane Satrapi’s 2004 graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood has on bridging cultural binaries between Americans and Iraqi’s during the war on terror. This incredibly powerful graphic novel is also explored by Hilary Chute in her own research The Texture Of Retracing In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in which she quotes what “L’Association publisher Jean-Christophe Menu correctly terms a “phenomenon” (94).
As technology has also evolved, comics such as Marvel’s Spiderman and DC’s Batman have been thrown into the international spotlight. People traditionally associate a “comic” with clever images of fun loving characters like Garfield, Archie, and Calvin and Hobbes. As fewer people are having newspapers delivered to their door, and instead are accessing news stories online, these traditional comics have become as old-fashioned as the ways in which they are delivered.
Negative effects of this genre can be seen in blatant racist examples throughout various segments of The Adventures of Tintin written by Herge. Often cast as the villain, minorities were clearly the target of discrimination.
Similarly, throughout World War II, Germans used propaganda posters enforce their beliefs and oppress Jewish people. Same can be said in Canada, in 1914 when Indian passengers aboard the Komagata Maru were denied the right to disembark the ship and enter Canada
The evolution graphic of novels can arguably date back as far as hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, or even further. And understanding the history of this genre makes it’s the cultural impacts even more fascinating.
Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Hey Jenn,
I really liked your concept of the evolution of life narratives, connecting all the way back to Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics! Your post made me wonder if the advancement in technology has actually been beneficial for life narratives. In Persepolis, for example, the meaning that Satrapi is trying to convey can be found in both the words and pictures. Sometimes the words can contradict the pictures and it may be difficult to interpret the true meaning and emotional impact of the event. In a way this can relate to hieroglyphics, because even with our current technology we cannot completely decipher their stories and documentations, some aspects may always be “lost in translation”. As the world become more globalized, language barriers do not seem to be as much of an issue and it is easier for people to connect with each other and share their voices and life narratives. However, to what extent is language part of a life narrative? It is simply a way for one to voice their opinions, or does it have a cultural or emotional aspect that may no longer be evident if it is translated?
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