While reading "A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge" I noticed three details that were revealing and significant for me, a binary and an anomaly.
The first revealing detail for me was that the text contained moments of violence. When reading a comic I automatically think comedy and not something that contains violence. Also on a few panels I noticed that they contained guns, whether people were directly showing them or if they were simply there in the background. Another revealing details was that one panel showed death, which once again something I would not expect in a comic. Also in the next panel, a text box had a little girl questioning her mom if that person was sleeping when in fact she was dead. This could also bring up the fact that now at some point she has to explain death to her daughter too soon. A significant detail was that it showed a culture that maybe some people wouldn't be comfortable with seeing. Many people don't want to think about the people that need help because it might make them feel uncomfortable that they have a home and everything they want, while these people in text just had everything of their's wiped out.
The binary that stood out to me was that in one panel showed that people went and raided a rite aid store but then made sure that the older people were taken care of first. This shows that a person can do the wrong thing but still be caring. It was wrong to steal those things even though they were desperately needed but none the less they took care of the people that needed more than worried about themselves instead of keeping the items to themselves and wouldn't even think about sharing with others.
The anomaly that stood out to me was the desperation that was in most panels. People were desperate to leave where they were basically trapped, desperate for the buses to come that never did and desperate for water and these may have lead them to do things that they would never would of thought to do before. Maybe a person would not think of stealing but when you need to in order to take care of your family it could lead one to panic and lead to drastic measures. Also one may not use violence but when everyone is cranky, upset, or even depressed and people are not getting along it may cause someone to easily snap and threaten to solve the problems with different means of violence.
Carly, in the binary you noticed, you raise a critical question that the comic seems to suggest. You say that "This shows that a person can do the wrong thing but still be caring." So, the comic seems to be asking, who is right and who is wrong in this situation? When is it OK for the people to take power into their own hands and break laws (do "bad" things) for the sake of some larger good? I hadn't thought about these questions until I read your post.
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely there is a constant tone of desperation in the comic. Personally, I think the persistent sweat really maintains that sense of desperation. Neufeld makes a point in almost every panel, it seems, to show sweat on the bodies of the people in the Superdome. In your last paragraph, I had a similar response. I think you can turn this response into a rhetorical analysis later this week by arguing that Neufeld wanted his readers to empathize with the characters and maybe remember a time when they were "cranky, upset, or even depressed" and how that tension can "cause someone to easily snap." I mean, at first, many readers would feel distant from these characters. Many readers can't relate directly to what these New Orleans residents are going through. They might live far away from New Orleans and they might be white or more financially stable. They could be so different, but I think all readers can relate to a scenario of desperation, "when you need to [steal] in order to take care of your family."
Hi Carly,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very easy to read and understand. Reading your post has given me insight on how to compose a better posting. Good work.
Sarah