Monday, April 25, 2011
Comics Journalism
Please describe the links, if any, between comics journalism and literary journalism. Is it possible to consider comics journalism a subgenre of literary journalism? Why or why not? You may -- in fact, should -- refer to my essay on Joe Sacco in your response, which should be completed by 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 4.
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It is possible to consider comic journalism as a form of literary journalism. As you wrote, “virtuous journalism can show up almost anywhere”(196).
Literary journalism not only requires the write to exercise “fairness, independence, vigilance, courage, truth, integrity,”(198) but it also requires journalist to the unthinkable in mainstream journalism, which is to tell the truth through personal perspective. It’s not objective, because the truth becomes filtered through the eyes of the journalist. There own morals, ethics and prejudices play in role in how the story is told. Joe sacco put it best when he said, “I find a lot of the journalism that’s written as if you’re a fly on the wall is really sort of phony….It has this pretense of being very fair-minded and removed, and that’s not true at all. I mean, an American reporter has all the framework of an American person inside him or her. And it shows in the work whether they think they’re being objective or not”(200).
Joe Sacco’s comic journalism utilizes the technical skills found in mainstream journalism, but it also doesn’t deny that he is a part of the story. The stories of literary journalism also do this. Didion, Orwell, Crane and Thompson are all part of the story. Comic and literary journalism exposes the who, what, when and why, but it also gets to the heart of the matter, which is the feeling behind those 5w’s. It says the things that wouldn’t be okay to say in mainstream journalism. For example, in Christmas with Karadzic, Sacco spends several frames sharing his impressions of Karadzic. He admits that he’s “despised”(59) Karadzic for years. The man has been responsible for some of the worst crimes against humanity, and yet as he sees him at church he cannot conjure up those same feelings of hatred. In mainstream journalism, and maybe in some mainstream literary journalism, most writers would feel pressure to convey overwhelming hate for the war criminal. Not necessarily because it is what they feel, but because the audience expects them too. Sacco’s journalism does not cave to that pressure. He doesn’t even cave to his own pressure, but instead writes about it; allowing his inner conflict to become part of the story. Literary journalism should do this as well. In the piece we read by Crane, for example, he not only exposes the world of the homeless, but more importantly, he exposes his personal prejudices that he had about the homeless.
Both comic and literary journalism set out to accomplish the same goal, only one incorporates drawings, oppose to perhaps photos, to help tell the story. Both forms have the opportunity to be virtuous journalism, which is to operate outside of the conventional lines of journalism. It’s not a matter of telling the story editors or adding to popular opinion. It’s attacking a subject as you are, addressing things about the subject and yourself that you may not want to address, and exposing the truth, whether it’s likable or not.
I am sick and tired of posting on blogger for it to tell me "We're sorry. You're request could not be processed." I lose steam every time I rewrite what I want to say, and my breakfast is getting soggy. This is the second time I'm even trying to post this complaint.
The parralells between comic journalism and literary journalism are undeniable. Both utilize an objective lens in order to paint a truer sense of the story, both use movement as a device to carry the plot, both emphasize and accentuate details in order to create vivid imagery, and both allow for creativity, in the mind of both the reader and writer.
When you get to the crux of the issue, both forms of journalism were originally forms of storytelling, subsequently adapted to make news more interesting and True. At their very core, they abide by the same principles of exercising "fairness, independence, vigilance, courage, truth, (and) integrity" to carry about the basic function of informing the public, while entertaining the reader.
The debate over whether or not one can consider comic journalism a subgenre of literary journalism seems futile to me though after a semester long PR stunt/endless debate that the New Paltz english department forced on freshmen when they had to read Persepolis and debate the merits of comics as literature all semester. It doesn't matter is the answer. Literary journalism achieves the goals it sets out to achieve. So does comic journalism.
It feels simple and right enough to me to see both mediums for what they are, forms of storytelling adapted for journalism purposes (the essence of what Tom Wolfe describes as New Journalism), but depending which side of the comics as literature debate you stand on, it would answer the question for journalism.
Comics can certainly be considered a form of literary journalism.
Kirkhorn said that virtuous journalism "requires possession of the subject, arrived at through research, conversation, observation, hanging around, sympathetic understanding." Joe Sacco's comic, "Christmas with Karadzic" exemplifies all of those things. The visual component of comics, including Sacco's, has the ability to extend to the reader so much more about the subject than traditional articles in print journalism. It can give the reader a sense of atmosphere that words cannot.
Kirkhorn also said that "journalistic reflexes" can act as a form of censorship on public discussion, and that imagination is needed. I thought it was very well said that "Journalistic imagination...produces 'the kind of comprehension of society, the larger disclosures,' essemtial to democracy."
With comics, there is so much more opportunity for the use of imagination, while still sticking to the facts. Again, pictures can provide something words cannot, and an artist should choose how he portrays something just as a journalist carefully selects the words he uses to do the same. Literary forms of journalism provide a freer environment for journalists to choose different kinds of words, more loaded phrases, that convey meaning on so many levels that conventional journalism cannot.
So yes, comics can be considered literary journalism. Joe Sacco is a perfect example because of the level of comprehension of the bigger picture is portrayed very well through his comics. He has the ability, as other literary journalists, to show "sympathetic attention to the humanizing details of suffering."
The first time I ever read a piece of comic literature was freshman year when my incoming class was assigned Persepolis. I was immediately hooked, maybe it was the nostalgia of the days when my brother and I would read DC and Marvel. Since I've read several graphic novels such as Watchmen. But journalism in the form of comic is something I had never experienced before. "Christmas with Karadzic" was so interesting because it used drawings to tell a very intense political story, it reminded me of a political cartoon. I think it's a new medium of journalistic writing. It reminds me of Thompson's work with Steadman.
There are many links between comic and literary journalism. Both genres are gaining more and more credibility and popularity. They both tell factual stories, incorporating literary and artistic elements. Honestly, if I could write literary journalism for the rest of my life, I would have no problem with that. There's something about having all the facts and the story, but choosing to present them with the help of comics or descriptive scenes opens a lot of doors for me as a writer. I also really enjoy writing in scenes, or with an opening scene in mind. It's probably the most fun and easiest way for me to write.
I would absolutely consider comic journalism a subgenre of literary journalism. Comics tell the story in a descriptive and cohesive way, using drawings to help describe the events and people a certain story is centered around.
If virtuous journalism requires determined attempts to cross boundaries, than Joe Sacco succeeded in that regard (199). His comic book journalism is a lengthy first person account of actual events, like the literary journalism we are studying this semester. The difference is in the art.
Sacco has changed my perception of what comics are. I am so used to them being childish. Like the essay says many people perceive comics as a format for children, but there are many qualities about comic book journalism that if applied properly can flourish, and make for an entertaining piece of journalism.
However, I didn’t really like Sacco’s piece. I appreciate the wonderful illustrations, but I find the story really hard to follow. I lost interest in him, and his press corps. Like literary journalism, Sacco immerses himself into the story, and we follow him for a while, but I am more interested in what is going on. However throughout most of the story I had a hard time following.
The benefit of using these illustrations is clear in the dialogue. The drawings show us a scene that the writer no longer has to describe. The writer is able to focus entirely on the dialogue, and he does. The text is very conversation. Slang is prominent through out the entire piece. It is nice having all these pictures, but pointless to me if it makes it harder to understand what was going on. I feel like it focuses on the Sacco and his friends too much. I lost interest.
I have to agree that comic book journalism is a fresh look at literary journalism. It is morphing and twisting traditional journalistic values, for a more interesting and fun approach. People today are very visual, and it’s not a bad idea to be ready to adapt.
Well. Comics are another way of telling the written word and stories. Literary Journalism pieces are stylized, purposeful stories. So then it goes to say that comic journalism can be considered a subgenre of literary journalism. (i feel like im jeff goldblum figuring things out in independence day)
Howie, I would say that "virtuos journalism can show up anywhere" (196) however, I don't believe that Sacco's piece showed comic journalism in its best light. Or maybe I just do not like comic journalism.
I found the illustrations distracting and detracting from the story. I lost interest by page 3, but barreled on anyway. Overall I find that the idea of the story in a comic form distracting from the message. I feel it lessened the impact of the whole thing.
-----Now let me catch myself and say that amazingly great and powerful stories can be told through comics (watchmen) but I dont believe comic journalism could ever be taken seriously.---------
But the real question is, "Is it possible to consider comic journalism a subgenre of literary journalism?"
Yes. But only because regular, hard news journalism would be utterly boring to display in a comic form. So, because it cant be hard news, it must be literary journalism! In my mind, it may never become a norm of journalism, but it is an interesting take on the growing "graphic storytelling" genre.
Without a doubt, comic journalism is a sub-genre of literary journalism. In your essay, you make points about the caricatures or the different characters in Sacco's story. Colin makes the point the the illustrations are actually distracting from the story; I would agree with the point you make in your essay that we actually feel there.
In my mind, it's like taking the hyperbolic symbolism that occurs in Hunter S. Thompson-type stuff, and just drawing the caricatures. It just look's more acid-trip influenced than Ralph Steadman's fantastical pictures. Because it reminds me of other literary journalism, (and not just Thompson, but Herr, and even Didion in terms of exaggerated imagery), I would classify it with the rest of it. Instead of the words being the driving force, the images and illustrations are. And that's not to say that Sacco's language lacks intensity -- some of his lines, especially the repetition of a "commie Christmas" are remarkably original and bold.
Honestly, I can't say that I know a lot about comic journalism, or even graphic literature as a whole, but I can say that as a casual reader, the images work to sway me to feel a certain emotion. What you say in your essay about how Sacco and his companions epitomize the media-hungry journalists who need to fuel these preconceived "enemies" and ongoing "issues" is disproved. And I think it's the use of comic that makes that point more poignant.
I have to be honest; I’m really not a fan of comic journalism [or graphic novels/comics for that matter]. I’m not really sure why – it’s just really difficult for me to keep my attention. I will continue to try, however, in order to at least appreciate it.
Regardless, I still do believe that comic journalism is without a doubt a part of literary journalism. I think both types of journalism are more creative outlooks on the hard-news, formulaic type of writing that we have been taught or usually read. “Christmas with Karadzic” tells an exciting political story that, through the narration provided in the comic bubbles, depicts an extremely interesting way to tell a story. In many ways, Sacco’s comic reflected on other writers we have discussed this semester, in breaking out of traditional journalism form, like Crane, Didion, and of course, Thompson. Actually this reminded me most of Thompson and Steadman – maybe because of the loud, fast cars sort of feel the story gave.
Both literary journalism and comic journalism still use the same technical ideas that mainstream journalism requires, but with a twist – a more exciting, interesting to read twist for some audiences.
I agree with you, Professor Good, that “virtuous journalism can show up almost anywhere” (196), and I do believe it is a positive step for journalism. Creativity is key, especially in keeping audiences interested [unless they are more of a get-to-the-point sort of reader].
I’m going to try to keep reading more comics/comic journalism so I don’t easily dismiss them like I may being doing now. Nevertheless, I still understand its importance and that it is definitely a subset of literary journalism.
I dont' think that the question "is comics journalism a subgenre of literary journalism?" is a fair one, to be honest. Mostly because you can have "traditional" he-said/she-said journalism in comic form. The medium doesn't necessarily dictate the quality of the work at hand. That all being said, Sacco's work is most definitely a piece of literary journalism. You get that immediately in "Christmas with Karadzic" when it seems to be more about the process of journalism rather than the eventual journalistic product. There's that moment in the comic when they drive up to the church only to find no one there. It's a great example of the high hopes and sheer disappointments you get when chasing a story.
In any case, Sacco's piece is literary journalism because of its honesty and truthfulness -- something that most "objective journalism" pretends to strive for but never really attains. "To newwsroom managers, journalistic virtue has less to do with being a good journalist -- independent, curious, attentive -- than being a good employee -- cheap, quiet, amenable" (Good 207). Saccco's virtue lies, not just in the fact that he used cartoons as his medium, but rather in his gritty and detailed recount of chasing the story.
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