Week 8

MARCH

Considering Ethics and Representation as today’s prompt and genre in comics, I was drawn towards the contrast of Stereotype vs Archetype. While there seem to always be “types” woven into the fabric of most media, literature and entertainment, I wonder of the hierarchy between them. Does one diminish the value of the subject of observation? Stereotype implies a kind of superficial observational conclusion, whereas archetype gives supposed insight into an underlying pattern,an original prototype perhaps. However, with my head filled with Jungian ideas of what psychological archetypes construct our state of consciousness, I could not help but see the deeper emblems/archetypes that many of the main characters in March depicted. Ones of non-violence, strength, unity and kindness- elements that I think most humans have the capacity to embody.

Another really interesting aspect was the attention to compositional framing, whether it was landscape, characters or emptiness, many frames had a film-like quality to them. Motion seamlessly carrying you from frame to frame, I felt the artist spent time constructing a strong visual setting and space that the characters really did occupy. As McCloud said, isn’t a film really just like a reeeeeallly slow comic?