Barefoot Gen was a really heavy way to begin this class. The
perspective was both tragic and very humbling. It hurt to watch, but I’m glad
that I was exposed to it. Even though the medium of animation doesn’t typically
handle heavier topics like that, I think that the story accomplished what it
set off to achieve, and was probably able to convey the story in a more
palatable way than a live action version would be able to. I’ve always
appreciated Manga, (my gateway to the world of manga being through FLCL) but I
think its safe to say that my appreciation has been greatly increased, at times
forcibly so, since my time studying at Ringling. Building on what Scott McCloud
wrote in understanding comics, I think its ability to be so expressive through
various levels of magnification and representation makes it an extremely
powerful style, and one that is extremely adaptable, handling both serious and
entertaining topics alike.
I really loved how music was integrated into this weeks reading. Both the music and the art styles seemed to twist and flow together in one moment of nonlinear expression. It’s like you could feel the culture of the time, dripping out of its conventional constraints through any and every available crack or gap. The religious experience of Phillip K Dick, was really intense. I've heard a few people talk about his experience before, but had never realized that it was centered on Christianity. I also really enjoyed some of the underground stories and art styles in the Mothers Oats Comix. The pinnacle of this particular reading experience was listening to In-a-gadda-da-vida, while flipping through “The Dope Dealer”. I also really appreciated the diversity of style and storytelling, in “Gay Comix”. It was pretty awesome hearing about different things people had experienced, and seeing the individual ways they wrote about and expressed those experiences.
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