Thursday, March 27, 2008

My 6 Word Autobiography

Love. Family. Hope. Dreams. Determination. Laughter.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Persepolis

1.Satrapi’s book seeks to convey a complex political history stained with national and individual tragedy. Would you say she’s achieved her goals while using a graphic novel?
I would definitely say Satrapi achieved her goal by using a graphic novel. The illustrations allow us to visualize the emotions of people during the war. Satrapi conveys more of the impact the war had on her than on the nation though.



2.We’ve discussed the use of color as a way to evoke emotion. What does Persepolis gain or lose in its utilization of black-and-white (with no shades of graywhatsoever) illustration?
I feel that as much emotion isn't expressed in Persepolis when using black-and-white as it would have been if color was used. We associate certain feelings and emotions with colors. So without the use of color it makes everything seem dark. Despite the use of color, you can still see the expressions in the illustrations of the peoples' faces.



3.Choose one frame (a single box on any page) to analyze. Briefly discuss its visual rhetoric: Who or what is being depicted? What emotion is being conveyed? What doesthe text add to or take from the picture? What tone (sincerity, irony, humor,information) does the picture exhibit? What figures in the frame remain stationary?What figures imply action? What is the purpose of this? What shapes are used? Is there a sense or lack of realism? (Hint: make sure you can discuss several visual rhetoric techniques in the frame you’ve chosen. If you can’t you’ve either chosen too simple of an image or not looked hard enough. Over-analyzing is the name of the game.)
I chose the frame that had the caption: "Everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil." This frame shows the fury and animosity of some demonstrators that were against the veil as well as the demonstrators that were for wearing the veils. It seems as they were chanting very forcefully and sincerely. Both sides had their fists balled up symbolizing the strength and power they had in which side they were for. The ones for wearing the veils, were chanting "The Veil" while the ones opposing chanted "Freedom". I also noticed the demonstrators for wearing veils had their eyes closed as if they were trying to block out the light and truth. Satrapi also portrayed them in black while the opposers were in white and had their eyes old open.