Ch. 2 McCloud-Pierzchala
Today’s reading was very different than any up to this point. This reading was out of a comic book by author, McCloud. Contrary to most comic strips, this book is not short and is not necessarioy funny. The author simply took a new direction in presenting the information he wished to. This particular reading was about the nature of comics and works on non-real-life mediums. He raised some interesting points off the bat. For one, he points out that most of the time things are not as they seem. For example, McClloud argues that when you go to the store and see a picture of a ship, you automatically associate it with a ship and see it as a ship. In reality it is so much more than just a ship. In is a painting of a ship. Furthermore it is a drawing of a painting of a ship. Even further, it is a copy of a drawing of painting of a ship. He makes similar claims a little later about the nature of imagery. If you see a drawing of a peace sign, it is automatically associates with the notion of peace. Similarly if you see a picture of an American flag it is subconsciously associated with the United States of America. McCloud then proceeds to a still frame which says do you hear what I’m saying? Off the bat your natural, mental response is yes I do. McCloud then points out that you have indeed NOT heard what he said because in reality, nothing was said to be heard.
It is really interesting to thing about some of the concepts McCloud raises in this comic. The brains mental control over us is utterly amazing and it is fascinating to witness examples such as this reading’s content. I particularly liked the part in the reading where McCloud compares the human face to a mask. After reading his proposition, he is right on. We essentially wear this “mask” all the time, never see the other end of it, don’t exactly know how the details pan out, and trust it do more or less bend to our will. McCloud raised some really interesting ideas.