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Week 7 - Maus

The Holocaust is never an easy subject to depict in any form of media (books, films, comics, etc). It's always bound to make people uncomfortable with its gruesome imagery and terrifying stories. Of all the Holocaust stories and films I've witnessed, I read one this week that definitely ranks among the top based around the subject. Art Spiegelman's 1980 graphic novel Maus is undoubtedly a masterpiece. A deeply personal and powerful tale of survival and the hardships of family. It tells the story of Spiegelman's father, Vladek, and his experience in/surviving the Holocaust. The story is told in interview format, including Vladek's question responses/story at the bottom of almost every panel. The narrative also goes back and forth between Vladek's past and the present day when Art is interviewing him. This was a great way to pause Vladek's experience in Auschwitz before getting too intense and for the audience to learn more about Art and Vladek's strain...
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Assessment - The Killing Joke

1.) What is your reaction to the text you just read? As a Batman fan, I've sadly never read The Killing Joke before. It was very powerful and pretty disturbing. Each panel is exceptionally well drawn, the compositions are all stellar, and the story is very compelling (despite reading a while back that Alan Moore was very disappointed with this book). The most interesting part of the story was that it centered primarily on the Joker (the antagonist) more so than Batman (the hero). To see a monster character like the Joker be given a very human backstory (and very sad) was intriguing, given that the character's past was almost always a mystery. 2.) What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect. I was able to connect this story with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films and Tim Burton's 90's Batman movie. In Tim Burton's film, the Joker seemed to be the center of attention a...
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Week 10 - Manga

I will start by saying that I was never a fan of anime or manga. It never really appealed to me as a child nor as a young adult and I'm still not entirely convinced/converted to a fan of the medium. All the classic cartoons and stories like  Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Yo , and Miyazaki films were just never my cup of tea. However, that's not to say that I am against manga and anime at all. I do think it's important to study/read/view this type of medium as it sends vital messages on topics such as family, culture, and respect, and has the power to inspire a wide audience with its storytelling techniques and characters. I do see why people love the medium so much. So for this week, I decided to read  Buddha, Volume 1  by Osamu Tezuka, one of the most influential manga artists in history. The story essentially depicts the beginnings and spiritual quest of the Enlightened One himself and focuses on the poor conditions the people of India were facing during this...
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