1. Do you think comics are a children’s or adult genre/media?
2. How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin’s appeal to adults?
3. According to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé research China for The Blue Lotus? How might Hergé’s The Blue Lotus address or relate to the issue of what Said (1977)terms ‘orientalism’?
4.Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics, and graphic novel?
5. According to Varnum, what distinguishes comics from other media?
6. How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art form? Can/should they be regarded as a literary genre?
7. What do you think of McCarthy's(2006) ideas about Tintin?
As Deli said, I also think comics are a adult genre although there are a lot of comics for children. There are many contents that children must not read. That's why parents do not want their children read comics, and it is said that reading comics might cause lack of imagination, because of image, compare to other genre like books.
opps thanks kristy...sorry i made a mistake...heeheh...well lets comment frm here den...yes as u sed kristy, parents are not allowing their own children to read comics as its not appropriate as i mention before and this is due to the content..
Hi, how are you guys~? First of all, i agree with what Kirsty and deli said ^^ most of parents do not allow their children to read comics because some contents could bring some bad effects for them as they are too young to have right discretion.
But after i read 'the blue lotus' my thought has bit changed! if the contents are good enpugh, it will be really helpful for children to read them, especially for the children who do not like to read books...kkk
Also, i used to think 'the comics' are just for children or teenagers, but the 'Tintin' showed me different aspects! - the comic could be a genre for both adults and children. It could be a just simple comics when children read them but it could be more serious,political and even ideological when adults read them. Also it provides indirect experiences,adventures or dreamings for whoever read comics. Especailly, 'the blue lotus' dealt with serious things, like history and plolitics in china, in a lighter and humorous way so it is enough to appeal for both children and adult readers.
Farr(1991) said, "Tintin was aimed at all young people aged from seven to seventy-seven." and "the child will be gripped by the excitement of Tintin, the comedy, even farce. The adult will additionally find political satire and parody, puns and prescience."
According to Farr (1991),Herge researched China through his chinese friend "Chang Chong-chen". He totally changed Herge's perception for China. Herge said the image of China for him (before he met Chang) was peopled by a vague, slit-eyed people who were very cruel, who would eat swallows' nest, wear pig-tails and throw children into rivers...(p.51) The meeting with Chang and getting rid of wrong prejudices was so important to Herge(p.51)as he kept working on his tintin story.
And of course'The blue lotus' is related with 'orientalism'. As we talked in the lecture, the orientalism is the set of eastern by westerners. The story of the blue lotus was researched and written by Herge who was a westerner and the china's history, politics and ideologies were represented by him.
Edward W.(1977) said "Orient and Occident are man-made. Therefore as much as the west itself, the orient is an idea that has a history and a tradition of thought, imagery and vocabulary that have given it reality and presence in and for the west." (p.89)
I have to say that since I’m growing up, I’ve never read comics. In my mind, comics are only for children for fun, it seems ridiculous if a big man read comics in public places.
But I found I am totally wrong after reading The blue lotus. I found that comics are also a genre for adults although there are mainly pictures in it. There are attractive plots, related world evens in comics. An adult also can fall in love with it easily!
As Kirsty & Deli said, some comics may include bad content such as violent, and it may cause lack of imagination which is not good for children. But I think every thing has two sides. Like Hanna said, because comics are really attractive for children, they can learn a lot from this new leterature.
In the article Tintin, an imaginary hero in a real world, Farr(1991) points out that Tintin appeals to both children and aged reader in that each of them can “finds their own level of understanding and appreciation”, and what is more, it becomes a tradition which carry on from old generation to young generation.
According to Farr, in 1934, Herge was introduced to a Chinese young man Chang Chong-chen, a promising sculpture student in Brussels. Chang showed Herge a true China from the areas of history, culture, religion and philosophy, which helped Herge to sweep away the prejudices and to portray an accurate picture of China and Chinese.
I can't find the definition of the differences between a cartoon comics and graphic novel from Varnum(2001). Reversely, both of them are comprised of words and pictures.
According to Varnum(2001), comics are distinguished from other media in that it includes images, texts and some special features such as word balloons, zip ribbons and panel frames.
hey hanna.i think u do have a point.as i was cooming across Farr(1991 text he does state that Tintin can be also for children and adults.The basic age for those who read comics could be frm age 7 till 77.I think as some of you mention although certain parts may not be appropriate for young clildren,i think both young and old are still able to read comics.As Farr mentioned children are interested in comedy and are exctied to read tintin.As for adults they will be more interested in the political issues.As a result,i think children can also read comics as they might ignore the content that they do not understand.So its not a big deal afer all.
Yes grace i totally agree with u..about varnum text i can only find the difference between pictures and words...but as i continued read there was one part that Varnum(2001) metioned that comic strips,graphic novels,cartoons and various kinds of visual text bear "family Resemblances to one another".He also mentioned that almost all of it do not share one feature in common.Hmm im quite confuse with this part.Im not sure whether there are any differences..any ideas??
I agree with what Grace and Deli said! i couldn't exactly find from Varnum that there are special differences between cartoon, comics and graphic novel... except they are constructed with pictures and words.
According to Varnum(2001), when the images and words are combined together it is so natural that images get more attention and remain primarily whereas the words become secondary source for readers. I really agree with what Varnum said- because when i read comics, somtimes i just look at the pictures/images and go to next page, but i still understand! ^^;;
I think one of the most important characteristics for comic comparing with other medias is that 'the images' carry lots of things. - like semiotics theory, ideas, values- and represent reality in a very vivid way. And it is more universal than the words of any language.- everybody can understand the pictures! Also as Varnum said the comic has the system of 'hybrid' - mixed origin & crossbreed.
So i think that's why the comics becoming more accepted as time goes by as well as the perception for comics has been chagned from negative ways to positive ways.
And it is definately becoming as a literary genre because there has been already many academic researches done and i think it is quite worth to study them as one of literatures. - very interesting!
And....deli....the sentence that you mentioned...make me quite confusing too....!t.t I tried to find them from the context but i couldn't....can you let me know what page is it from?.....! ( i'm sure i read that sentence but can't find it again...!!)
Like to add one thing! I like the McCloud comment for the comics - "words and pictures are like partners in a dance and each one takes turns leading" (Varnum 2001) As he suggested the comics have to have both words and pictures to across the exact meanings to readers.
hey hanna,yes i agree with what u have to say about the images.I think images are important exp in the area of comics.Pictures are the main foucs instead of writing.oh ya hanna that part that i quoted is on page xvii.The 1st part.hp u can find it.hehe...yeah this part is quite confusing.let me know if anything.thanks=)
I will answer the first question of the discussion thread.I think comics used to be more for children but eventually more adults seem to be interested in comics as well.According to Zorbaough(1994) states that over half of the nation who reads comics are mostly adults.Therefore most comics these days appear to have more of a adult content and because of this it may not be siutable of children.However there may be some comics as well that are still created for children for instance marvel adventures,archie,spiderman,disney comics and so on.But at the same time many websites encourage parents to take note on what their children are reading as some parts may be unappropriate for young ones.I think political issues,the use of bad language or bad ideas and sexual issues could applied in some parts of the comic.Another example would be in tintin.This comic appears more for children but soon or later the content seems to be more suitable for adults as it talks about political and governments issues which i think children may not be able to understand.As a result i feel that these days comics are more catered to adults than children but in some stages some comics could be also suitable for children...this is my idea...what do u all think??=)cheers
I agree with hanna’s point about orientalism. According to Said(1977), orientalism is about both cultural and political fact, which includes the distinct and orient follows thoughts, utterances and behaviours. Herge’s The blue lotus relates Said’s issue tightly. It’s not difficult to find there are prejudices between both Orient and Occident; also there are lots of Chinese characters, traditions, and philosophies throughout.
14 comments:
Discussion threads:
1. Do you think comics are a children’s or adult genre/media?
2. How does Farr (1991) justify
Tintin’s appeal to adults?
3. According to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé
research China for The Blue Lotus? How might Hergé’s The Blue Lotus address or relate to the issue of what Said (1977)terms ‘orientalism’?
4.Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics, and graphic novel?
5. According to Varnum, what distinguishes
comics from other media?
6. How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art
form? Can/should they be regarded as a literary genre?
7. What do you think of McCarthy's(2006) ideas about Tintin?
As Deli said, I also think comics are a adult genre although there are a lot of comics for children.
There are many contents that children must not read. That's why parents do not want their children read comics, and it is said that reading comics might cause lack of imagination, because of image, compare to other genre like books.
opps thanks kristy...sorry i made a mistake...heeheh...well lets comment frm here den...yes as u sed kristy, parents are not allowing their own children to read comics as its not appropriate as i mention before and this is due to the content..
Hi, how are you guys~?
First of all, i agree with what Kirsty and deli said ^^ most of parents do not allow their children to read comics because some contents could bring some bad effects for them as they are too young to have right discretion.
But after i read 'the blue lotus' my thought has bit changed! if the contents are good enpugh, it will be really helpful for children to read them, especially for the children who do not like to read books...kkk
Also, i used to think 'the comics' are just for children or teenagers, but the 'Tintin' showed me different aspects! - the comic could be a genre for both adults and children.
It could be a just simple comics when children read them but it could be more serious,political and even ideological when adults read them. Also it provides indirect experiences,adventures or dreamings for whoever read comics.
Especailly, 'the blue lotus' dealt with serious things, like history and plolitics in china, in a lighter and humorous way so it is enough to appeal for both children and adult readers.
Farr(1991) said, "Tintin was aimed at all young people aged from seven to seventy-seven." and "the child will be gripped by the excitement of Tintin, the comedy, even farce. The adult will additionally find political satire and parody, puns and prescience."
I want to talk about "question 3."
According to Farr (1991),Herge researched China through his chinese friend "Chang Chong-chen". He totally changed Herge's perception for China.
Herge said the image of China for him (before he met Chang) was peopled by a vague, slit-eyed people who were very cruel, who would eat swallows' nest, wear pig-tails and throw children into rivers...(p.51)
The meeting with Chang and getting rid of wrong prejudices was so important to Herge(p.51)as he kept working on his tintin story.
And of course'The blue lotus' is related with 'orientalism'.
As we talked in the lecture, the orientalism is the set of eastern by westerners. The story of the blue lotus was researched and written by Herge who was a westerner and the china's history, politics and ideologies were represented by him.
Edward W.(1977) said "Orient and Occident are man-made. Therefore as much as the west itself, the orient is an idea that has a history and a tradition of thought, imagery and vocabulary that have given it reality and presence in and for the west."
(p.89)
hi,guys
All of you did good jobs!
I have to say that since I’m growing up, I’ve never read comics. In my mind, comics are only for children for fun, it seems ridiculous if a big man read comics in public places.
But I found I am totally wrong after reading The blue lotus. I found that comics are also a genre for adults although there are mainly pictures in it. There are attractive plots, related world evens in comics. An adult also can fall in love with it easily!
As Kirsty & Deli said, some comics may include bad content such as violent, and it may cause lack of imagination which is not good for children. But I think every thing has two sides. Like Hanna said, because comics are really attractive for children, they can learn a lot from this new leterature.
In the article Tintin, an imaginary hero in a real world, Farr(1991) points out that Tintin appeals to both children and aged reader in that each of them can “finds their own level of understanding and appreciation”, and what is more, it becomes a tradition which carry on from old generation to young generation.
According to Farr, in 1934, Herge was introduced to a Chinese young man Chang Chong-chen, a promising sculpture student in Brussels. Chang showed Herge a true China from the areas of history, culture, religion and philosophy, which helped Herge to sweep away the prejudices and to portray an accurate picture of China and Chinese.
I can't find the definition of the differences between a cartoon comics and graphic novel from Varnum(2001). Reversely, both of them are comprised of words and pictures.
According to Varnum(2001), comics are distinguished from other media in that it includes images, texts and some special features such as word balloons, zip ribbons and panel frames.
hey hanna.i think u do have a point.as i was cooming across Farr(1991 text he does state that Tintin can be also for children and adults.The basic age for those who read comics could be frm age 7 till 77.I think as some of you mention although certain parts may not be appropriate for young clildren,i think both young and old are still able to read comics.As Farr mentioned children are interested in comedy and are exctied to read tintin.As for adults they will be more interested in the political issues.As a result,i think children can also read comics as they might ignore the content that they do not understand.So its not a big deal afer all.
Yes grace i totally agree with u..about varnum text i can only find the difference between pictures and words...but as i continued read there was one part that Varnum(2001) metioned that comic strips,graphic novels,cartoons and various kinds of visual text bear "family Resemblances to one another".He also mentioned that almost all of it do not share one feature in common.Hmm im quite confuse with this part.Im not sure whether there are any differences..any ideas??
I agree with what Grace and Deli said! i couldn't exactly find from Varnum that there are special differences between cartoon, comics and graphic novel... except they are constructed with pictures and words.
According to Varnum(2001), when the images and words are combined together it is so natural that images get more attention and remain primarily whereas the words become secondary source for readers.
I really agree with what Varnum said- because when i read comics, somtimes i just look at the pictures/images and go to next page, but i still understand! ^^;;
I think one of the most important characteristics for comic comparing with other medias is that 'the images' carry lots of things. - like semiotics theory, ideas, values- and represent reality in a very vivid way.
And it is more universal than the words of any language.- everybody can understand the pictures!
Also as Varnum said the comic has the system of 'hybrid' - mixed origin & crossbreed.
So i think that's why the comics becoming more accepted as time goes by as well as the perception for comics has been chagned from negative ways to positive ways.
And it is definately becoming as a literary genre because there has been already many academic researches done and i think it is quite worth to study them as one of literatures. - very interesting!
And....deli....the sentence that you mentioned...make me quite confusing too....!t.t I tried to find them from the context but i couldn't....can you let me know what page is it from?.....! ( i'm sure i read that sentence but can't find it again...!!)
Like to add one thing!
I like the McCloud comment for the comics - "words and pictures are like partners in a dance and each one takes turns leading" (Varnum 2001)
As he suggested the comics have to have both words and pictures to across the exact meanings to readers.
hey hanna,yes i agree with what u have to say about the images.I think images are important exp in the area of comics.Pictures are the main foucs instead of writing.oh ya hanna that part that i quoted is on page xvii.The 1st part.hp u can find it.hehe...yeah this part is quite confusing.let me know if anything.thanks=)
Hi everyone.(1st posting)
I will answer the first question of the discussion thread.I think comics used to be more for children but eventually more adults seem to be interested in comics as well.According to Zorbaough(1994) states that over half of the nation who reads comics are mostly adults.Therefore most comics these days appear to have more of a adult content and because of this it may not be siutable of children.However there may be some comics as well that are still created for children for instance marvel adventures,archie,spiderman,disney comics and so on.But at the same time many websites encourage parents to take note on what their children are reading as some parts may be unappropriate for young ones.I think political issues,the use of bad language or bad ideas and sexual issues could applied in some parts of the comic.Another example would be in tintin.This comic appears more for children but soon or later the content seems to be more suitable for adults as it talks about political and governments issues which i think children may not be able to understand.As a result i feel that these days comics are more catered to adults than children but in some stages some comics could be also suitable for children...this is my idea...what do u all think??=)cheers
I agree with hanna’s point about orientalism. According to Said(1977), orientalism is about both cultural and political fact, which includes the distinct and orient follows thoughts, utterances and behaviours. Herge’s The blue lotus relates Said’s issue tightly. It’s not difficult to find there are prejudices between both Orient and Occident; also there are lots of Chinese characters, traditions, and philosophies throughout.
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