Blog 6: Until Dawn

Until Dawn creates tension in multiple ways.  The first way is the coloration because there are very few things that are brightly colored.  Considering most of the game is darkly colored, it makes the player feel very unsafe.  In addition, the only time that the player gets any bright colors is when you are seeing through the wendigo’s eyes, which is shown different oranges, reds, and light blue and white for the humans.  This vision adds even more tension because it is unnatural to see like this, unless you’re looking through a thermal camera.  The coloration is something that has been in everything we have read or watched during this section, except Uzumaki.

Another way that this game creates tension is through the usage of the quick time events and choices to make.  These quick time events and quick choices really add the tension because you do not have but a few seconds to react.  You do not have time to methodically think about the outcome, you just have to go with your gut instinct. During these quick times events, I did end up killing a few of the characters.  One of the characters that I killed was Jess.  Another character I killed was Emily. These deaths were caused because I am horrible at the quick time events. 

The last main way that this game creates tension is through the use of the supernatural and the strange.  This game uses the wendigo, which is a supernatural creature that is based on Native American mythology dealing with cannibalism. In addition to this, the wendigo is also evidence of mutilation of something natural because, as you can see in the picture below, it is very humanoid, but not fully human.  They have unnaturally sharp teeth, can only see movement, and are extremely tall and gangly. The themes of the use of the supernatural and the mutilation of something natural is seen in Uzumaki (with the twisting of bodies), Crimson Peak (with the spirits that are haunting the main character), and Through the Woods (as evidence in “The Nesting Place” with the fiancées face twisted and creepy).

Overall, I love Until Dawn.  The story telling in this game is some of the best I have heard. This is due in part because of the interaction level with the story telling.  Almost every choice or action the player makes effects the way the story progresses.  Even something as small as killing an animal can change the outcome of the game.  There are some things, though, that are set in stone.  For example, some of the characters’ deaths can only happen at the very ending.  Another thing that helped make the game so great was the use of the sound.  Sometimes there was absolutely nothing on the audio track, which made the story even more eerie.  Other times there was so much going on with the sounds of a flame thrower and screams from the wendigo.  All of these elements played a huge role in making this game a really good story and a horrifying joy to play.      

Blog #5: "Jesus Camp" and Blankets

        

          The documentary “Jesus Camp” and Blankets are similar in many ways.  The first way is how Craig and the children in “Jesus Camp” are treated by adults.  Many of these kids in the documentary are too young to really understand what is going on, which shows that their “beliefs” are forced upon them by their parents.  There are instances where the parents of the child make them raise their hands or not watch things because they’re “evil” (i.e. Harry Potter).    Much of the same thing happens in Blankets, where Craig’s mother is the one who basically forces Craig to follow the Christian path.  This can be seen in a few different panels.  For example, on page 28, the teacher says that Crag’s mother would be disappointed in his work because she is a “[…] good Christian lady,” which puts a lot of pressure on the Craig to feel like he has to follow the rules because who wants to disappoint their parents at that age. Craig’s parents’ religion can even be seen in the décor of the house because there are posters with Christian sayings (pages 30 and 38) and crosses and other Christian memorabilia around the house such as a cross (page 44) and Jesus’ picture (pages 201-208).  In addition to this, Craig’s mother does not allow them to stay out and play a little bit longer because they have church early the next morning.   Lastly, during the camp scene on pages 80 and 81, one of the boys specifically says “You reading the Bible? Aren’t we forced to read that thing enough here?” This shows that it is not all of the kids’ chose to be at this camp and to believe in Christianity.  These all show how their parents force their religion on the children, instead of letting them explore the world on their own.

            Another way “Jesus Camp” and Blankets are very similar is what happens at camp when there is not a counselor or someone with a lot of power around.  In “Jesus Camp,” when the kids are to be in bed, you learn what they really do.  These kids often goof off and act like monkeys and do not act in ways that would make “Jesus” happy, according to the counselor that comes in and clams them down.  It’s interesting to note that during the day, when there is someone with power around, the children act like perfect little angels and do what “Jesus” would want them to do by singing and praising God.  This same exact thing happens in Blankets.  On pages 80 and 81, it is an hour past lights out and the boys are chatting about things like girls’ chests and feeling them up.  Later, on pages 105 to 107, we see what happens when these, now older, children do at camp when there is a counselor around.  In these panels, we see how they sing and praise God and act like they are Christians through and through, even though that is not the case as shown on page 117.  This shows that both, Blankets and “Jesus Camp” are relatively accurate in how these people are represented and how they act when there is or is not an adult around.  There are more similarities between Blankets and “Jesus Camp,” but these were the two most prominent similarities that I noticed. 

Blog #4

Where are the Women Movement

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/bronze-ceiling-girls-seek-statue-woman-central-park-42680305

            These girls are not just complaining about the lack of historical statues in Central Park, these girls are attempting to change society’s view point about how historically, women are not viewed as important and are often misrepresented.  Honestly, think about you years in high school and middle school, how many women were actually discussed because of something they did? In my case, it was not many.  Most of the time I had to go and look up women who accomplished amazing things for projects because our books barely touched upon these women.  Their effort of making a change is similar to the efforts of those in March Book 1. 

In March Book 1, the men and women of the Civil Rights Movement were not just complaining about not being served at certain dinners in the South.  These people were attempting to showcase a bigger issue, the overall treatment of African American people and those who associate with them.  The methods of change in March Book 1 was using the sit in technique and this ended up working very well for the group.  The girls involved in the Where are the Women movement are using a similar technique where they are sitting in the park area where they want the statues to be placed to raise awareness of the issue. Hopefully, the sit-in technique will work for these girls so they can bring awareness to our society that we have a lack of known women in our history.  This movement also addresses how women are seen through society’s eyes, which is a similar theme in Ms. Marvel. 

Throughout volume 1 of Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan compares herself to Carol Danvers, who was Ms. Marvel before Kamala.  Carol Danvers is considered to be the “typical” American woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, very fit, but not muscular.  This is how women are normally represented in the comic book worlds and it is very unlike the real world.  The women in the real world are very different, each person is their own and no one looks like the way comics normally depict women on a natural basis.  This unnaturalness and misrepresentation is what Kamala Khan is fighting against, and it is what the Where are the Women movement also fights against. 

In Central Park, there are a few statues of women characters, Mother Goose and Alice from Alice in Wonderland, but these are not proper representations of historical women.  These are all fictional characters who are nowhere near the real thing.  These girls want to have a real woman to be represented in Central Park.  A ten year old girl even claims how there are “[n]o statues of women, and there’s tons of men […] We really need a woman’s statue for girls to look up to, not just Mother Goose or Alice in Wonderland. They don’t count” (Dobnik, 2016). These girls see the difference it would make even if there was something simple as a real woman’s statue to represent all of the women who accomplished great things, but were hardly ever talked about. 

Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman

3 quotes from G. Willow Wilson’s TED Talk

·         “I wanted to create a hero from a background that is often misunderstood and maligned for a generation that is often misunderstood and maligned.”

·         “I saw in the Muslim community and the millennials parallel forms of anxiety, a sense that the future is slipping through our fingers, but I also saw parallel form of resilience of profound emphatic belief that what we do now matters anyway.”

·         “Sometimes a mess stays a mess, there is not always a way out, but there is always a way forward.”

2 quotes from “Ms. Marvel, Spider-Gwen and the Ongoing War Against Sexism in Comics”

• ·         “His update of the art made Spider-Woman the coy sex object and caused industry-wide controversy and outrage, totally the debut of the comic itself. Despite the furor, Marvel still decided to publish the cover, opting to strategically cover Jessica Drew's hilariously oversized, heart-shaped tush.”
• ·         “Women are the fastest-growing reader demographic in comics, yet they still routinely get harassed, fake geek girl'd, and confronted with hypersexualized images like these.” 

The Arrival and Journey: Concept Analysis

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

                                   http://www.shauntan.net/images/books/the-arrival2.jpg

The scene with the thorny tendrils covering the town has a sense of threatening feeling, which is caused by the tendrils.  This is because the tendrils are dark, which is one of Molly Bang’s theories.  Tan, the creator of the also uses light in a very interesting way.  Towards the edges of this panel, it is primarily dark.  This enhances the terrifying aspect because the darkness does not make the reader feel safe.  It its interesting how the two buildings on the left that the family is in front of and walking towards are lighter than the other buildings.  This technique is used, I think, to emphasize the tendril that is above the family and to draw attention to the family. 

Another point of this panel is the use of lines.  Diagonals, according to Bang, can cause tension or motion, which is very noticeable in this panel.  The first diagonals that are noticed are the houses.  The houses are in diagonal lines and the roofs of these house are diagonal lines.  This helps the reader move down the page towards some of the tendrils.  The tendrils also makes diagonals if you connect where they come in on the page to the very end of them.  This also helps the reader move around the page, but it also causes some tension.  Tan also uses vertical lines which makes it more exciting.  All of the chimneys in this panel are vertical, which helps the tension grow because of the excitement that they create. 

This scene is also multimodal, or it appeals to many of the reader’s senses.  To me, this scene is very quiet because there is only one family on the street.  There are many tendrils, but these are also quiet and almost have a stealthy feel to them.  Due to the tendrils being quiet and only one family on the street, you can hear the footsteps of the family traveling through the town.  Another aspect of this panel that is multimodal is the size of the tendrils compared to the rest of the panel.  Each tendril is a different size.  For example, there is a quite large tendril in the top left corner, which adds to the unease of this panel.  There are also some relatively small tendrils that are in darker areas, which helps to balance the panel.  Combine the spatial and visual aspects of the tendrils and add it to the auditory aspect and it makes this panel multimodal. 

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/eb/55/d1/eb55d1e81f2e225866c822a4a3299bda.jpg

           The next panel(s) is where the main character is having a dinner party with the family who has helped him.  These panels are full of light, laughter, and joy.  This is because of the lighting and facial expressions.  Within the main panel, the whole scene is centered, which is the most effective spot and it gets the greatest amount of attention.  This gives emphasis to the party that is going on and provides the set up for the following the panels.  Within this scene, the lighting is extremely useful.  The main source of lighting is on the upper half of the panel.  According to Bang, this causes the reader to feel freedom and happiness, which is the effect in this particular panel.

Another technique used in this panel and the following panels, it the use of auditory.  In these pages, you can hear people laughing and having a good time.  This is because the way facial expressions are used.  The people in these panels are smiling and look like they are laughing, this produces the sound in the reader’s mind.  Another thing you can hear in this panel, which makes it a happy joyful panel, is music.  You can see the people playing instruments. Even though you do not know what kind of music is being played, it can be assumed the song in your head is something with possibly a flute, banjo, and an accordion of some sorts.  This is because the instruments in the panel are similar enough to the iconic instruments that society has in the current day.  Each one of these aspects project the feeling of happiness and joy.

https://bookspoils.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/screen-shot-2016-07-23-at-11-01-37.png?w=601&h=402

The last panel is the scene with the sun and the main character with the older gentle man walking across the plains.  This panel uses a few different techniques to portray calmness.  The sun, or what is portrayed as a sun, is the biggest and most dominating thing on both pages. In addition to this, it is also the lightest and within the upper two thirds of the page.  Each one of these aspects draw the reader’s attention to it first thing.  The reader ends up feeling calmness from this sun because light makes us feel safe and the upper half of the page is also associated with spirituality, which also makes many readers feel safe. 

Another aspect that makes us feel safe is the use of lines in this scene.  For the most part, the lines in this scene are stable.  What makes them feel stable and calm is because, for the most part, they are horizontal.  Some of these lines are at a very slight diagonal, but they are only being used to move the reader back to the massive sun on the right side.  Another point with the lines is that some of them do make points, the ones in the bottom of the page that look like leaves.  This should cause some tension, but it does not cause that much tension because the lines leading up to the point are curved, which is also supposed to make the reader feel safe.  Each different technique makes the reader have a sense of calmness and feel safe. 

Journey

http://gamemoir.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/journey6.jpg

 

            The last part of Journey is one of the most exciting and hopeful moments of the whole game and this is because of how the built this section of the game.  The first reason is because of the music.  Throughout the game the music is very impactful on the player’s emotion.  During the last section, the music feels like it is slowly building as the character goes up the mountain to reach the end of the journey.  The fact that it slowly builds helps the player build up anticipation and excitement for what is coming next, the end of the game. 

            Another aspect of this section is the surrounding area.  The direction the character travels is almost always in a diagonal because the platforms are in a diagonal line.  Diagonals are to make the visual more dynamic and moving.  One example of this constant diagonal direction is when the character is climbing these jellyfish like platforms.  This helps the player build excitement for the ending.  Another use of the environment is the way that some of it is also in vertical lines, which is also to help the player build excitement for what is going on in the piece.  One example of the use of vertical platforms is when the character is climbing up these carpet pillars, which are also in a diagonal direction. 
            The last major technique that helps the player build anticipation and excitement is the coloration of this section.  Colors can mean a variety of different things to different people, but the use of colors in this section really helps promote excitement and anticipation.  Throughout the majority of the game, it is primarily tans and red (first section) or whites and blacks (middle section).  In this last section, there is a variety of colors with blues, yellows, whites, blacks, grays, and red. Many of these colors are bright and could be associated with excitement, anticipation, and happiness.  All of these techniques are used to create a very emotional ending to the game Journey.

"Reading" Images: A Field Experience Activity

Group Members: Tiffany Hall and Sabrina Becker

Analysis:

We analyzed the Knight (middle) and came up with some interesting discoveries. The first thing we noticed was McCloud's concept of "icon."  The knight is well known and is an icon for being brave and being the protector of the realms. The knight being an icon draws the eye to it, in addition to Bang's concept of the center of the page gains the most attention if it is not pulled somewhere else. Even though the knight is not a cartoon and is very realistic, the fact that there is no visible distinction of what gender this character is, it allows the viewer to identify more with or project on the character. A few of Bang's and McCloud's theories stated that different shapes can evoke different emotions. This can be seen through the trees because they are jagged and vertical which makes the artwork seem exciting and tension filled.  Bang also points out that darker backgrounds can make us feel unsafe.  This is also present through the dark lining of the trees.  She also mentions that lighter backgrounds can make us feel safer, which is also present in the picture. In addition to all of these other points, the last point is that the knight is the largest aspect of this image and this makes it feel the strongest. This is another one of Bang's points. 

Introductions

Hello! My name is Sabrina.  I am currently a senior Social Work major.  I enjoy playing video games and reading comic books.  I basically grew up on video games and comic books because of my dad, brother, and sister.  I mainly play console games, such as Halo, The Evil Within, and some Doom.  As for PC games, I am currently playing World of Warcraft.  I have also played other PC games such as Mirror's Edge and Slime Rancher.  As for the comics that I enjoy reading, I primarily read DC Comics such as Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad, and Batgirl.  I also read some Marvel Comics like Squirrel Girl and Spider-Woman.   I do watch some anime as well.  My favorite anime's are Sailor Moon, Fairytail, and Bleach.  I do read some manga, but not as many as I would like to read.As for my level of experience with reading comic books, mangas, and graphic novels, I would not call myself an expert, but I am also not a newbie. I do really enjoy reading these books, but sometimes I do not pay attention to the visual clues because the story is so riveting. Other times, I loose myself in the visuals because they tell the story better than the words.  I have learned through doing other projects based on comic books that comic books, graphic novels, and manga do try to focus on and bring awareness to societal issues without being obvious about it. Sometimes this is for the better, other times it just reflects the views of the society.  For example, there are societal ideas that comic books tend to have that people with disabilities need to be fixed in some manner.  There have been some people that have attempted to address this issue and bring awareness to it, but they have often failed at doing so.  I hope this class helps me understand more of the culture surrounding mangas.  I also hope that this class can help me read more into these works and see what other social issues they could be trying to convey.