| Original Message |
Drew Burke (no login)
Posted Apr 25, 2007 2:24 PM
Before, we spoke of the right to connect the Holocaust with 9/11. After reading the forward of No Towers, I feel Spiegelman used his history to inspire the book rather than using it to defend opinion. Defining something as a 'September 11th' book has been a side topic we have often resorted to, and I think this is a clear cut example. As I have stated before, I feel the topic of book is more easily defined by the Author's inspiration and intent. Spiegelman was clearly affected by September 11th, and his words do hold more clout with me after hearing the ordeal narrated by his personal caricature. This was very easy to enjoy, as I hold many of the same opinions. One particular bit that caught me was the mass display of flags. I have described this before as forced partiotism, and I still feel the same. "Nothin like the end of the world to help bring folks together". The mesh of his personal paranoia and the Risk of Terrorism Alerts (pg. 7), leading up to Red, White, and Blue Alert: Virtual Certitude of Terrorist Attack. Was this describing our nation hiding under the flag, as a virtual certitude that we will perform terrorist attacks on other countries? (Iraq)
Using Comics as a medium for expression is a great way to incorporate subliminal messages, for example the one I interpreted above, without actually writing in text an opinion that may come back to haunt you. Spiegelman describes the fear of dissent, and this was obviously his personal answer to that fear. Comics are also very easy to understand, and lend something extra to a visual learner like myself. With a novel, the reader can easily get mixed up with rhetoric, but when a depiction of the president throws oil on children representing the flaming towers, there is no need for 1000 words on Authors Intent. For my psychology class in highschool, we were forced to read pages on pages of Freud and Jung, but to supplement I bought a comic novel similar to 'No Towers' called 'Freud for Beginners', that allowed me to lead discussions about his theories. If education is entertaining, the student will learn far more. Comics may take much more effort, as Spiegelman described, but they also give a much better 'picture' of the message the author is trying to get across. |
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