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 strained relationship.
To categorize this book is quite tricky. It's a comic book/graphic novel, but its also a true story (nonfiction), conducted as an interview, and narrated as if it were a memoir. It's a huge mix mash of elements/genres that seamlessly combine into one. The drawings are quite rough and loose, which is pretty fitting given the background of the story. This period was far from a pretty era in time and the drawings help convey the gritty tone very well. The book also takes an ingenious approach with depicting their characters. Rather than humans, the Jews in the story are characterized as mice, Nazis are depicted as cats, the French are frogs, and the Polish are pigs. It's a creative touch, matching each party as it were a specific animal and depicting it in the story as it were a circle of life. But regardless, the story is still honest and raw at its core.
What makes Vladek an interesting character, despite his many flaws, is how human he is. He may prove to be frustrating for some readers due to his broken English, his self-centeredness, and racist remarks. Before Art's mother killed herself, Vladek confessed that he burned all of her recorded accounts/journals/her Holocaust story, infuriating Art. What really kept me interested throughout is that I had to keep in mind that this wasn't just a character we were dealing with. This is a REAL person who had been through hell and back. Vladek takes the reader on a journey unlike anything I've seen done in a comic book before.
Prior to taking this class, I had heard of, but never read, Maus. The first time hearing about this story was in a magazine (I believe Entertainment Weekly), where it ranked number one of their list of the top ten graphic novels of all time. And now, I can totally see why. It's a wonderfully mature and haunting story handled with a ton of care. It contains some images that I feel are going to stick with me for quite some time after finishing. I'm not sure when I'll pick it up again, but I can't wait for when that time comes.
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 strained relationship.
To categorize this book is quite tricky. It's a comic book/graphic novel, but its also a true story (nonfiction), conducted as an interview, and narrated as if it were a memoir. It's a huge mix mash of elements/genres that seamlessly combine into one. The drawings are quite rough and loose, which is pretty fitting given the background of the story. This period was far from a pretty era in time and the drawings help convey the gritty tone very well. The book also takes an ingenious approach with depicting their characters. Rather than humans, the Jews in the story are characterized as mice, Nazis are depicted as cats, the French are frogs, and the Polish are pigs. It's a creative touch, matching each party as it were a specific animal and depicting it in the story as it were a circle of life. But regardless, the story is still honest and raw at its core.
What makes Vladek an interesting character, despite his many flaws, is how human he is. He may prove to be frustrating for some readers due to his broken English, his self-centeredness, and racist remarks. Before Art's mother killed herself, Vladek confessed that he burned all of her recorded accounts/journals/her Holocaust story, infuriating Art. What really kept me interested throughout is that I had to keep in mind that this wasn't just a character we were dealing with. This is a REAL person who had been through hell and back. Vladek takes the reader on a journey unlike anything I've seen done in a comic book before.
Prior to taking this class, I had heard of, but never read, Maus. The first time hearing about this story was in a magazine (I believe Entertainment Weekly), where it ranked number one of their list of the top ten graphic novels of all time. And now, I can totally see why. It's a wonderfully mature and haunting story handled with a ton of care. It contains some images that I feel are going to stick with me for quite some time after finishing. I'm not sure when I'll pick it up again, but I can't wait for when that time comes.
I also enjoyed the depiction of different races in the book. I even found it interesting how they differentiate Americans from African americans by making the african americans dog black. It shows that even though it's about a racial topic they take their time to differentiate people within culture.
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