Answer TWO of the following...
Q1: As a visual medium,
comics are uniquely qualified to help readers imagine far-off places or
unfamiliar moments in history. How does Boxers help us ‘see’ through the
eyes of another culture, and particularly, a Non-Western one? What ideas or
concepts make more sense through the comic than they would in a traditional
novel?
Q2: Despite the historical
aspect of Boxers, the work is also a classic (fictional) hero narrative.
Where do we see the story of heroes such as Gilgamesh and Rama informing Bao?
In other words, how does Yang incorporate an ancient story within more modern
historry?
Q3: Like the last
Akutagawa stories, Boxers discusses the presence of Christianity in the
Non-Western world. How is this portrayed by Yang in the opening chapters? Is
his approach similar to Akutagawa’s? How much of the Western criticism comes
from the narrator rather than the author?
Q4: Discuss a passage
where the images alone couldn’t tell the story the same way without the words. Remember
how we added words to the wordless comic in class...how might Yang have done
the same thing, and used words to help us see a very different story, or
perhaps a much more effective one?
Q1: Comic’s allow us to view characters in a different way that normal prose does. I think the most important thing to remember is that comics give us a less interpretive view of characters visual appearances, but I would say that they give us a more interpretive view of their emotions. In prose, we are given what the character is feeling at all times, what is going on through their head. In a Comic, the author only has to give us what they want us to know. Boxers uses this interestingly by having the Englishmen speak in Mandarin, while all of the Chinese speak to us in English. This helps to show what I think is meant to be seen as a mirroring. The Chinese hate the English for what they do as much as the English hate the Chinese.
ReplyDeleteQ2: Bao draws his own inspiration from the ancient operas. Which are the Chinese equivalent of the Epics of Gilgamesh and the Ramayana. Bao is being inspired by the same ideals and heroic idols that the epics were written about, and that motivates him to work towards what he believes is right (even if perhaps it isn’t entirely moral). This is similar to both Gilgamesh and Rama, as both of them do things that once we get to understand it are pretty evil. Humbaba wasn’t exactly doing anything that was hurting everybody, and it was even implied that he was there because of the gods. And Vali was simply doing what his culture normally does. Yet our Heroes interrupted and pushed because they thought that their ideal was right, which I think is an interesting, and perhaps dark, aspect of Eastern cultures.
Q1: Boxers allows us to see the importance of religion and beliefs to those of the Japanese culture. Also, Boxers shows us how knowing kung fu makes the men some kind of hero. Knowing kung fu is like being a doctor in today's world, you are thought to be some kind of miracle worker. The comics depicted the action scenes better than any traditional book could have. The comics could also show what each person was thinking. For example, when Red Lantern was talking to Bao about the women in the village and you could see what each man was thinking about.
ReplyDeleteQ3: Yang portrays Christians as being rude and evil. He makes them look like the bad guys for destroying the villages beloved idol. Yang and Akutagawa have the same interpretation of Christianity. They both believe that the Non-Western civilization way of life is the right way, and neither of them have open minds about any other way of life. The narrator has very strong beliefs about his way of life, so we can see insight into what he truly believes about the priests and the opera gods he talks to.
Q1: I think the use of images gives Western readers an advantage because it helps us to understand the text better, especially if we aren't familiar with some of the words or customs of the culture. I know it cuts out a larger use of our imaginations, but it can help us to understand what the author wanted us to get from the story.
ReplyDeleteQ4: On page 41, if we didn't have the text telling us that Red Lantern Chu voluntarily helped the people who were in pain, we might think that the villagers made him their own slave who they required to rub their feet. Then the final picture could be him bowing in front of a villager so that they would give him food, when in reality they were kindly giving him the last of the food that they had because they liked and respected him so much.
Q1. Everything in Boxers has to be visual. The ideals, the ideology, the thoughts, everything that goes on in this story is visualized from Bao’s point of view. So not only are we seeing an unfamiliar place, we’re viewing it from unfamiliar eyes. But this person through whom we vicariously see this world is a native, so he guides us through the new territory. In this comic specifically, the visual aspect helps us to see the raw emotion going through all of the characters’ minds when something happens to them, like when Mei-Wen’s mother gets killed while begging for the family’s cow. (124) The grief that her daughters showed at her death, and the thugs’ fear when the Big Sword Society shows up are most effective when you can see the artist’s interpretation of how they should be responding.
ReplyDeleteQ4. The scene where we first see the foreign devils would be the most interesting for me to see without words. Especially since we’ve already read it. It’s difficult to go back to something you already know the answer to and pretend you are seeing it for the first time. Since I already know what happens, it’s very difficult to think about what the panels would look like without words. But it would be interesting to see this man just walk in to a village, steal someone’s corn, and then destroy their idol. I think that I could eventually come to the same conclusion without words that we come to with the words, but it would be interesting to see what would happen.
Q1: Boxers needs images to help the readers properly understand what is happening. If it weren't for the images, I wouldn't have understood how the Brother-Disciples become "opera" gods. In fact, I most likely would not have understood any of this book. It is easier to see the differences in a culture, rather than read them. Pictures show the little things that words alone cannot capture.
ReplyDeleteQ4: Page 77 is one that without words would be hard to understand. Why would the big belly master start trying to kill Bao but stop? It would be like the scene in Gilgamesh comforts Enkidu then suddenly goes to we need to kill Humbaba.