Graphic narratives are currently taking the world by storm, and not just with books as its medium; but also with movies and, most recently (amongst the younger generation), with video-sharing websites such as YouTube. I, as well as many experts in the field, believe that graphic narratives are in high demand, as they effectively represent emotions of trauma, frustration, etc. by providing what Hilary Chute calls ‘productive disjunction’ (Chute 101). The word ‘disjuncture’ is synonymous to disconnection, thus, graphic narratives present a disconnection from reality, which creates a child-like and cartoon-like effect productive of frustration, trauma, irony and critical reflection (Chatterji 141). In other words, productive disjuncture means that the lack of realism in graphic narratives allows the author’s/narrator’s issues to resonate more with the readers/viewers.

The viral ‘Draw My Life Challenge’ makes the current graphic narrative phenomenon quite evident. It involves famous YouTubers narrating their life story with a fast-motion video of their comic-like drawings on a whiteboard, highlighting key figures and events (usually unfortunate events) in their lives – a more modern type of graphic narrative. The ‘Draw My Life’ videos are one of the most viewed videos on the Internet; Dan Middleton – a British YouTuber – got more than 20 million views for his ‘Draw My Life’ video, which lead to the highly used ‘Draw My Life app’ on iTunes to be developed.

There are even well known YouTubers that dedicate their whole channel to comic animations and have one of the highest numbers of YouTube subscribers – people that stay updated on their latest videos – on YouTube. An example is Dominic, a YouTuber from Canada who has more than 3 million subscribers and uses simple black and white, comic-like animations to share different aspects of his life on his YouTube channel, Domics – a modern-day graphic narrative.

In one of his most viewed videos, ‘Short’, Dominic uses his voice and simple black and white animations to tell the story of how being short has been one of his main struggles in life. Though his drawings don’t accurately represent the real world, it could be argued that the simplicity of his drawings act as a strategy to allow viewers to develop a strong bond with his main character (himself) – ‘As Scott McCloud (1992) tells us, it is easier to identify with characters that are sketched in broad strokes since they have a universal, truth-telling potential’ (Chatterji 141). Therefore, the productive disjuncture causes the emotion of frustration felt by Dominic to be effectively transferred to his viewers.

Towards the beginning of ‘Short’, Dominic shows his irritation with how he’s frequently reminded by others that he is short (as if he’s been unaware about it throughout his life), by slowly having his narrated response of ‘shock’ and ‘enlightenment’ juxtapose with his drawings, i.e. having his eyes read ‘You Suck’ as he looks at the person that reminds him that he’s short. This uniquely and effectively expresses his sarcasm (which in turn highlights his annoyance) when ‘thanking’ people for reminding him about his physical appearance; as Michael Chaney (an expert in graphic narratives) said in his 2011 TedTalk, ‘…graphic narratives constantly juxtapose the symbol systems against each other, creating unique and inimitable effects’. Additionally, one could say that this scene provides a productive disjuncture, as the lack of realism (i.e. his eyes producing the words ‘You Suck’) effectively highlights his anger and results in the successful representation of his frustration towards being short.

Another key event in ‘Short’ is when Dominic drastically increases in size and becomes a giant (overtaking his tormenters). This fantasy, however, disappears after clouds of smoke cover the scene and ‘POOF!’ he becomes short again. Once again, productive disjuncture is present, as his disappointment with the reality of his height is emphasized and well represented through his child-like/cartoon-like drawings.

So, why do giving examples of productive disjuncture matter to us as scholars when evaluating graphic narratives? Well, as is said in Philosophy, ‘what would an argument be without any premises’? In this case, the argument is that graphic narratives are very effective in representing powerful emotions of frustration and discouragement, while the much-needed premise (in order to support the argument) is the productive disjuncture.

Works cited:

Chatterji, Roma. “Comic Gags and the Mahabharata War.” Society and Culture in South Asia, vol. 1, no. 2, 2015, pp. 127-46.

Chute, Hillary. “The Texture of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis.” WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1-2, 2008, pp. 92-110.

Dartmouth. “TEDxDartmouth 2011- Michael Chaney: How to Read a Graphic Novel – March 6, 2011.” YouTube. YouTube, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

D0MICS. “Short.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

TheDiamondMinecart. “Draw My Life – TheDiamondMinecart | 1,000,000 Subscriber Special.” YouTube. YouTube, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.