Diary of a Teenage Girl... I have some of those

Diary of a teenage girl was difficult to read. Not because it wasn't intelligent, or thought provoking or honest or true. Phoebe Gloeckners semi autobiographical illustrated novel was so true to real life that I had to put it down. At times it became too difficult for me to read a lot at a time because it had this way of transporting me to an unhappy adolescent.

I can't really relate to what Minnie is going through considering she loses her virginity to her Mom's boyfriend in the first few pages and lives in San Fransisco with a single parent. (Not too many Midwestern values there) However I do know what it's like to be caught between girlhood and womanhood. Whatever that means. And the 'whatever' is what Gloeckner is exceptional at. The confessional style of the novel is familiar, I was a big fan of diary like books as a teen.  However I have never read one so true to the way it actually is figuring out how to grow up without losing your mind. Her brutal honesty and visceral language is uncomfortable, and it's supposed to be. I grew up writing journals since I was thirteen with the one condition that it was only for my eyes (thanks Mom) and that I would not censor myself. It almost feels like I'm snooping into someones personal affects without their permission and I should put it back where I found it. But it's published (and not anonymously... thank's Alice) so I guess it's okay. I think it's so brave that Phoebe put everything out there for anyone to read. The idea of doing that with my own journals sounds so scary I can't even think about it too long or else I get anxiety.

I really enjoyed the environment that Minnie is in. Here she is supposed to be rebelling against her parents and her parents are worse than her, still dating around (with not the most upstanding people), getting drunk, doing drugs, and embrace everything that was the Hait Ashbury experience. It's a surprise that Minnie didn't turn into Alex P. Keaton and end up voting for Reagan.  How difficult it must be to find your personal boundaries when there are none set for you. I think I could write an entire blog about how concieted and selfish her mother is. But I think that's the point, Minnie doesn't really know who she is or where she's going and that something to be embraced. Hell, even published.

All in all I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has a teenage girl, or maybe they should read it. But beware you're going to squirm. Being a teenage girl ain't pretty.

Here's a cool article from bookslut.
http://www.bookslut.com/nonfiction/2004_08_002976.php

Here's a funny article about comics that would make great teen flavored film including Diary. http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2011/06/five_comics_that_would_make_gr.php

The Beginning of it all...

"This is my first graphic novel ever... and it literally just blew my mind.

<3 I LOVED THIS STORY!! Because of this graphic novel I have since read 'Fun Home', 'Persepolis', 'Blankets' and 'Box Office Poison'... mostly when I was supposed to be reading stuff for this class. (Sorry David)

I really enjoyed the non linear structure of the story, flipping from the past to the present. I believe that these flashbacks helped reveal Asterios in interesting bits and pieces to help us understand where he was in the present. Especially the parallel between the opening of the graphic novel and the dream he has later in the book illustrates the connection of time. The way the opening and his journey through hell link is so interesting. I love the way a graphic novel can express emotion in a way that is non verbal. When Asterios and Daisy fight, and he becomes the blue empty columns and Daisy becomes the red kinetic lines, it expresses the way that sometimes when people fight, they no longer speak the same language and can no longer communicate. But in such a beautiful visual way that is so specific to the graphic nature of the story. I also loved how the characters were so well developed, this story just really touched me and I'll always remember it as my first graphic novel. Of which I'm devouring like crazy."

--> My original blogpost on Asterios Polyp

America the intolerant.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang was such a delightful read. A quick read, I read it in an afternoon before a daytime nap. (Which happen frequently in our house.) I picked up the book initially in the bookstore not knowing it's context within the class, which is stereotyping in comics. The whole book, as you can probably gather from the title focuses on the experience of being an American, with Chinese heritage. For whatever reason, Asian Americans are one minority that slips through the cracks of my consciousness. I have been fascinated with Spike Lee, and the African American experience for many years, I am always thinking about being a female and how they're represented in literature and film, and try my best to support the gay community as best I can, but I hardly ever consider being Asian in a white dominated world. This piece really opened my eyes. We follow three different storylines, and this is accomplished easily by Yang. I never got confused or bored by one storyline waiting to go back to my favorite one. I also really liked how they play on certain stereotypes and really turn them on their head. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, fun read. Hell, you might even learn something about yourself!

So if my teen years were depicted in a comic book I hope I'd be as cool as the chicks in Ghost World

I saw the movie Ghost World years ago before I read the graphic novel, because when you're 16 and want to be a filmmaker you see films like Ghost World. So you can talk about it with your other cool friends at the Dairy Hill, or Big Boy or wherever your friend is the waiter at and make fun of the popular assholes at the next table... oh Lord, does this sound like certain elements of Ghost World?

Let's just say I knew people like Enid and Rebecca growing up. My favorite part of the piece? The Dialogue!!! It's eerily accurate to the way teenage girls talk to each other. It boggles my mind that this was written by a guy in his mid thirties (at the time of publication). The way Enid and Rebecca cling to one another is so familiar. They want to be liked, they want to be different, they want to be together all the time (is that weird), they want a boyfriend (maybe?). These simple objectives that go on in the day to day life of a teenage girl are so impeccably depicted in this piece. Daniel Clowes doesn't make these girls out to be stupid or like Betty and Veronica, these girls have things to say and yes, they sometimes are mean and shallow and weird. But he doesn't judge them, or try to 'say' anything to a teenage audience about what's 'right' or 'wrong'. He simply let's them speak for themselves which so rarely happens to female characters of any genre. Bravo Mr. Clowes, Bravo!

That one girl who hates Blankets...

Yeah, that was me. I am not a huge fan of Blankets. Let's set one thing straight though, I didn't hate it. So stop throwing me those side glance just because you fell in love at church camp and can totally  relate. I went to church camp too man, lay off.

I'm so awkward...

Now, Craig Thompson certainly has accomplished something here. It's beautifully drawn and is quite substantial in content and length. What bothers me is that I just don't believe what he has to say is very interesting. Just because you were an angsty teen with God issues surrounding your budding teenage sexuality doesn't make you special. If you went to church and reached puberty successfully in the Midwest this is just a right of passage. Call me jaded and unsentimental if you wish, I just seem to have a hard time grasping that this story really needed to be told in such detail. First love, heartbreak, coming of age, I get it, I just don't like the way it's told in this piece. The story structure seems really weak to me, he never really changes from beginning to end. And considering the length of the piece I have a lot of unanswered questions. Did he get molested? Did he tell anyone? What ever happened to Raina? Abuse? Also, the end is just "Then I moved away and became a graphic novelist" Oh really? Great ending Thompson, way to be clever.

What I find so interesting about this graphic novel is that people LOVE this story. So if you want to talk about how much you love it with me, get ready for a healthy debate because I'd love to know why you like it so much.

Fun Home

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a beautiful autobiographical graphic novel. Her strengths aren't just in prose or artwork, but the perfect marriage of both. It took Bechdel seven years to complete the piece due to her tedious and specific work flow (see video below), however, I believe it was well worth it. I literally can't wait to see what she creates next.

Alison tells her own story, giving great detail to everything from the Victorian funeral home her Dad spent more attention on than her, to the styles of clothing and the New York skyline from Greenwich Village during a family trip. I found the coming of age story to be almost haunting in it's style. While parts were funny, other parts were almost unbelievably awkward. Her references are mostly literary, it being one of the few ways for her to communicate about her (and his) homosexuality. Some readers may find the references elitist or unnecessary, but with basic knowledge of what she is referencing, (The Odyssey, James Joyce etc.) and a few trips to wikipedia and the dictionary for contextual information I found they added depth and intelligence to her narrative. Communicating to her father in this way (though books) was one of the few ways she was able to navigate her relationship with him in her adolescence and early twenties.

 Even though ultimately this book is a story of a gay woman's childhood and the way that impacted the relationship she had with her father and his death, I think that most readers will be able to relate to her family struggles in one way or another. I believe the way Bechdel took such care in crafting each element of the story really radiates through the whole piece, everything is there for a reason, everything has significance to her. The journey from confused child to adulthood and the realization that your parents may not be the model way to live your life is something everybody has to go through. I liked how she started on a good memory. Playing airplane with her Dad, she felt loved and uneasy and did for the rest of his life. But as she grew up she found confidence in who she was, something her father never found.

There was somewhat of a double narrative happening in the book. The dialogue was what was happening in the scene, as it was happening. But the narrative was from the perspective of her now, as an adult. This device really helped cement her perspective both past and present.

Maus

Maus deeply effected me. I loved the way Art Spiegelman interlaced the two storylines, the one taking place in the present focusing on his less than perfect relationship with his father and the recounting of Valdek's experience as a Polish Jes during Nazi reign. I believe this manipulation of the narrative is particularly important to the success of the piece because it helps remind the audience that we hear from Vladek comes second hand, the story he tells in through a filter. Art struggles to not only write his book truthfully, but simply just to tolerate being around him.

I particularly liked the way Spiegelman characterized the people, instead of humans he depicts them as animals. This device really establishes the divides between different groups during World War II. The Jews being mice comes from Nazi propaganda actually used during the time. But it also really establishes not only the way Nazi's looked at Jews as less than human (they're literally vermin) but I believe it also helps support the way the Jews looked at themselves, perpetually caught in a 'game' of cat and mouse. Not only are the Jews mice, Nazis and Germans are depicted as cats. The symbolism, though when described to someone who doesn't read comics seems almost belittling to the subject, it works flawlessly. The races aren't squeaky clean representation, there is depth and substance to each animal. Polish people are pigs, Americans are dogs, not doves and eagles which may represent honor and redemption. Each animal race reminds the audience that each side of the Holocaust had it's flaws. I don't think it blames anyone, but it's simply a truth not to be forgotten. Vladek himself is not without prejudice, he has a racist rant at one point over Art picking up a black hitchhiker, he refuses to talk to him in English and automatically assumes he will steal their groceries.

The sophistication of Maus is immense, there are so many details and levels to each decision made in the book. Each S in the dialogue is the lighting bolt from Nazi SS. When Anja and Vladek go into hiding their path looks like a Swastika. These small details are so have a great impact on the reader and reminds us that this event and this time in Vladek's life has influenced Art's entire existence. Part of what makes Maus so good is that it's so honest and refuses to look away when experiences and relationships get tough. Coinciding with Vladek's story is one of a son who can't stand being around his own father, who has endured so much. Art struggles not to love his father, that is evident, but to accept him with all his flaws. He blames him for his mothers suicide, the guilt he feels for being the child that lived, for never being able to truly understand what he went though so he could survive. This raw nature of the piece resonates with each page, piece of dialogue and brushstroke. I don't know if Art ever got through all those issues that while his father was alive, but I think that Maus is truly a labor of love and we as an audience benefit from his confessional honesty.