Do you think comics are a children's or adults’ genre/media?

We can easily find comics which are in newspapers, magazines, books, etc. Comics are a popular genre in our lives, because they can give us not only fun, but also knowledge, regardless of age. I learned Korean history and lots of information about the various countries of the world in comics. Maybe, we simply make a mistake and think comics are only a children`s genre/media. However, I think that comics are both children’s and adults’ genre/media, because there are many kinds of comics which are for children and adults these days. It means that we cannot give a definite answer about whether comics are for children or adults.  For example, there are a lot of comics giving a lesson for children, like Aesop´s Fables. When traditional stories such as Snow White and Cinderella are put into comics, children like to read them, and this can expand the children’s imagination. It can also apply to adults to remind and make them return to the innocence of childhood. On the other hand, there are also a lot of comics for adults such as detective or mystery comics. Furthermore, some comics can give the meaning to both children and adults. For example, Tintin is one of the good comics for both of them. It could be shown that Tintin is a global comic for everyone from children to adults. Farr (1991) says that “the child will be gripped by the ex-citement of Tintin, the comedy, even farce the adult will additionally find political satire and parody, puns and prescience” (p. 9). I think that comics are a significant genre for children and adults, and make easy and pleasant expansion of knowledge in our lives. According to the article Using graphic novels with children and teens: A guide for teachers and librarians (2008), comics are suitable media for all ages and genders from children to adults. For this reason, people from children to adults can easily access comics.

Thus, I think that comics can be described to apply to both children and adults. Also comics sometimes make a connecting link, between children and adults, and then they can communicate with each other more easily.  

References

Farr, M. (1991). Introduction. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp.8-9). London: John Murray.

Using Graphic Novels with Children and Teens: A Guide for Teachers and Librarians. (2008). Retrieved August 19, 2014, from  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/using-graphic-novels-children-and-teens-guide-teachers-and-librarians

Fantasy defined.

How has fantasy as a genre been defined?

Five formative definitions in Attebery (1980).

When we started this topic of fantasy I initially thought that it would be a foreign topic to me as I wasn’t at all familiar with “Earthsea” or any concepts of the fantasy genre. However the more I looked into this question and started to reflect on my creativity I soon started to realize that the world of fantasy is not uncommon at all, in fact as early as children we engage with this genre through fairytales and make believe play. In real simple terms you could define fantasy as imagination, especially extravagant and unrestrained. Irwin says (as cited in Attebery, 1980, p. 3) “What ever the material, extravagant or seemingly commonplace, a narrative is a fantasy if it represents the persuasive establishment and development of an impossibility, an arbitrary construct of the mind with all under the control of logic and rhetoric.” There is definitely a sense of uncontrolled and abandoned thought to fantasy writing, it invites you into a new world we logic and sanity as we know is redefined.  Attebery (1980, p. 3) continues to say “Any narrative which includes a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law – that is fantasy.”

I like how Attebery (1980, p. 3) describes Fantasy being like a game, which requires its players to take on a new belief in order to play, he say’s “Fantasy is a game of sorts, and it demands that one plays whole-heartedly, accepting for the moment all rues and turns of the game.” Attebery explains if we can surrender our rational minds in this new game then we will find a sense of “beauty and strangeness, a quality the C. N. Manlove, among others, calls wonder.”    

Fantasy not only breaches what is possible in our natural mind but it can also do what Rabkin (as cited in Attebery, 1980, p. 4) says “contradict, not our accepted model of the world, but rather the model generated within the story itself.” He goes on to explain that Alice in Wonderland is a clear of example of this, and in reflection we can concur that this story departs from the conventional rules of the real world, Alice plunges into a deep sleep her dream creates a fully formed world that constantly shifts and transforms with its own unique logic.  

It is interesting to note that even though fantasy in definition is the obstruction of natural law and reality, a new fantasy construct in itself has its own laws, Attebery (1980, p. 7)) sites MacDonald saying “His view of fairy tale form approached that of a modern structuralist: It can not help but have some meaning; if it have proportion and harmony it has vitality, and vitality is truth.” This suggest that even amongst the creativity of imagination, the new world may seem more plausible or enjoyable if the rules or laws it exist by are consistent and dependable.   

References

• ·      W. R. Irwin, The Game of the Impossible: A Rhetoric of Fantasy (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1976, P.4. 
• ·      Attebery, B. (1980). The fantasy tradition in American literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• ·      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fantasy?s=t
• ·      http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/alice/section1.rhtml

Tintin - children's or adult genre?

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media? 

I’m not a huge comic fan, I rarely ever picked up a comic as a kid, and therefore my understanding of the world of Tintin was very limited. However I do recall watching Tintin cartoons and following the drama from episode to episode, the mystery and adventure element to Tintin appealed significantly to me as a child, it sat very comfortably amongst other adventure/mystery stories I was more familiar with like “The Famous Five” and “The Secret Seven” by Enid Blyton. In reflection as a child I think I connected with Tintin because the character appealed to me in similar ways as The Famous Five characters did. In both genres the character’s ages were similar to mine, both story lines showed young people being heroic and adventurist absent of parental figures, giving an impression that even at a young age we could discover the world. Then I think that the role of Snowy and Timmy as loveable and loyal pets to the main characters made them even more tangible. Outside of these reflections It was also interesting to learn that a driving force around Herge’s creation of Tintin was to help recruit a younger audience to it’s host newspaper. With this in mind and based on my own personal perceptions I would suggest comics are more a children’s genre than an adults.

In saying this the topics addressed in Tintin far exceeded those of Enid Blyton, Farr (1991) says “the stories were anchored firmly in fact,” (P. 8). He continues to comment that Herge had an exceptional ability to anticipate world events and use this material in his storylines. This would suggest Herge was drawing to relate to a younger audience but his messages were much more global with advocate undertones for an older audience. Farr (1991) comments “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 presence.” (P. 9) We find in Tintin a formula that has the potential to connect across generations, and certainly proves that this comic can be an effective children’s and adult genre.       

References

• ·      Farr, Michael. (1991). Introduction. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp.8-9). London: John Murray.
• ·      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8006340/Enid-Blytons-Famous-Five.html

Earthsea

How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn ( http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html)?

The genre we studied this week is fantasy fiction.

According to Le Guinn (2005), "the story is not what happened. Fiction didn't happen."

Le Guinn (2005) defines, “Most science fiction pretends that the future is the present or the past, and then tells us what happened in it.” Furthermore he says, “It often said that science fiction is modern mythology." Later, he talks about the gothic horror fiction Frankenstein, " In the case of the rare science-fictional creation with archetypal power, such as Shelley’s Frankenstein, this becomes an arguable statement, but it general I think it’s meaningless. Myth, legend, and folktale are ancestral to, not forms of, modern fiction.”
“The wizard of Earthsea” reminded me of Harry Potter. They have many similarities; for example,  they both have the magicians, magic school, evils, this is because they came from Northern Europe mythology.
It deals with evils demonstrating humans’ internal conflicts.
An evil person and dragon was drawn to exteriorize the evil and shadow. The topic is the fight between the hero and the shadow/hero.

Ged doesn't have a physical object like a ring like "the lord of the ring" but he left the island. It shows the first step “Ordinary world" to "special world" from 12 steps "The hero's journey" story archetypes.

“Crossing first Threshold” is an important step. For protagonist, request is a burden.

Ged chose power over some goats. This is how it works - the very beginning step of fantasy fiction.

Le Guinn (2005) describes about fantasy genre as well, “Fantasy is far more direct in its fictionality than either realism or science fiction.” Contrasting genres from Fantasy fiction are science fiction, escape fiction and surreal fiction.

 

Reference

Ursula K. Le Guin: Plausibility Revisited -- Wha Hoppen and What Didn't. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html

Tintin and the blue Lotus

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media?

I think comics appeal to children because of their visual nature, where most children prefer pictures to words. I feel most comics are a children's genre but at the same time they can also have underlying themes and messages that are for adults. In doing this, comics are probably successful with both children and adults, for example Tintin and The Blue Lotus. If a child was to read the comic they would probably be oblivious to the fact that there are elements of racism and politics involved. To a child, the way they see Tintin is the way he is portrayed 'the hero who saves the day from bad guys'. In an adults perspective however, we are more prone to picking up subtle messages within the text, like Mitsuhirato Japanese with the pig noses.

Subtext is the main difference in differentiating the genre from child to adult. As adults we are more likely to perceive things through what we already know, while children are innocent. In Herge's comic what is been depicted is based on his view of China and politics; issues that extend beyond the text. Farr (1991) states in his analysis that 'The perfectionism of detail of the Tintin stories, the real or fictitious but thoroughly convincing settings, mirrored the world as seen by Herge and his public.' This is what appeals to adults in comic stories; the fact that there is some sort of realism to them.

So in conclusion I think that comics appeal to both adults and children as the context is relevant to each age group.

Source:

Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. pp. 2. London: John Murray.

From your Tutor, Brendan Weir.   Example Blog answer/response.

How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?

Tintin is a timeless graphic novel that according to the author Hergé "appeals to all young people aged seven to seventy-seven" (Farr, 1991). This adult appeal could be attributed to the main characters travels to all corners of the globe allowing people from all ages and cultures to gain a sense of familiarity when reading one of Tintins adventures. Farr justifies this adult appeal through Hergé's use of current political events throughout the characters adventures. By including these events, Hergé adds an adult perspective.  He is also able to include a subtle undertone of criticism towards various world events that an adult audience will notice and relate to.

As Farr says in Tintin the complete companion "the adult will additionally find political satire, parody and puns throughout" (Farr, 1991).  Farr also believes that this use of topical events is one of the reasons for Tintin's universal age appeal and also for its world wide success.

Tintin the Blue Lotus is a great example of Hergé's use of a world stage.  In this comic, Tintin's escapades take him to shanghai (Hergé, 1935).  Herge's very adult perspective on politics is also evident in this comic. The antagonist in the story uses explosives to blow up a rail road then blames it on someone else. This is a direct reference to a real life event. For children reading the story it just adds to the mystery that Tintin must solve. For the adult reader, however, Hergé has used this to convey the Mukden Incident where Japanese military bombed a railroad then blamed Chinese rebels as a pretence for invasion (Duss & Hall 1988).

In his article, Farr also points that not only are the stories topical but they included a lot of very accurate detail.  Hergé had been gathering such a large archive of articles and pictures, which he used as points of reference for the Tintin comics, it meant that they were accurate which in turn created more appeal to an adult audience.

So, it is Hergé's use of current events, accurate detail and political commentary throughout Tintin's adventures that Farr believes justifies how Hergé has managed to create a character with a repertoire of adventures that appeal to all age's and which will survive the ages.

References

Hergé, 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.

Farr, M. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London. John murray

Duus, P., & Hall, J. W. (1988). The Cambridge history of Japan. Cambridge UK.: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Hi everyone.  Several of you have asked about how your blog responses should look.  It is up to you how you answer the question and show your understanding of  a.) the primary text and  b.) at least one of the secondary readings.  Don't forget to reference your answer using APA-referencing (anyone who is unfamiliar with APA should ask me about it at the next blogging session).

As an example, I have copied a great response from another group. It shows a great understanding of the secondary text and also refers to the primary text. It is well referenced using APA.  It received a high grade. Your own answers don't necessarily have to look like this but they do need to be clear and show your informed opinion.

The adventrues of Tintin by Herge

Pop genre – first screening


Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media? 


I believe that comics are both for children and adult genre. Although, many people believe that comics are just for children.  

Although, many people believe that comics are just for children. Adults have enjoyed comics for a long time.

Farr (1991) defines comics as it, “defies time, language and culture."

This comics is not only entertaining but discussing serious adult issues.

"The adventures of Tintin" by Herge is adventure as the title says and comic genre.
In "The Blue Lotus" episode, it deals with racism and drug issues.
The main character Tintin is a little brave boy with a dog called Snowy.
The story starts with somebody poisoned a man with a message from Shanghai.
Tintin went to Shanghai to investigate about the poison.
Mr. Wang Chen Yee says to Tintin,“Watch your step, there are many enemies.”
His son, Didi, tried to help Tintin but lost his mind because he is poisoned, he said he will chop off your head to every person that he sees.
Mitsuhirato was the terrorist and drug dealer from Japan.
The Chinese boy, Cheng was saved by Tintin on the river.
Tintin and Cheng go to Hukau together and helped Tintin to defeat enemies.
The comic deals with direct racism - Cheng is drawn differently to other Asians because he was a friend of TinTin, rescuer. Tintin pretend to be poisoned so he acted like a mad person in front of Mitsuhirato, he pretend that he was an "Action man" .

“Action man” was the representative to American capitalism.

The episode is quite problematic. There are many in-jokes in this episode.
The viewers can get different interpretations.  

It is unwoven to narrative. It is punctuate to narrative.

Changing a comic into a movie, the viewers can find it more interesting and easier to follow the narrative.



Reference

Farr, Michael. (1991).

Introduction. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp.8-9).
London: John Murray.