New Discussion Post

Jake is having technical difficulties. . .

The comic ends with Ben flying back home, and my first reaction was “well that was sad, but so what?” So my question is, so what? Why was Ben so mopey the entire time? He had three relationships, was he ever in love? He went back to Miko, but was he really ever in love with Miko? Was Ben just dependent, maybe addicted to pity? What is the driving force behind all the silly things Ben put himself through? I say sex, but the ending communicates to me that Ben doesn’t even really know why he does what he does, but do we know? Is there a way to somehow logically rationalize Ben? Pretend you’re his therapist and give him a diagnosis.

All these characters seem to be the least animated characters we’ve encountered in our comics so far. Why make this story a comic? What did this piece express through it’s composition that is uniquely comic?

Midterm Instructions--Due March 15!

General Directions: Write a 6-7 page paper addressing one of the following.  Below, please find a number of questions focusing on the works we’ve read during the first half of the term.  It’s important that your readings from Scott McCloud factor into your essay.  Use the terminology McCloud introduces in Understanding Comics to unpack the particularities of the text you choose to explore.  You may also want to use scanned or photocopied images to support your argument.  These images will be in addition to the 6 page minimum, rather than a part of the 6 pages. We can discuss how to “quote” from images. If you would like to use other theoretical sources on comics, I can help you find them.

Some general guidelines:

Handing in your paper late will lower your grade. As a rule, it is good to avoid using the first person in a formal paper.  Be certain to use spelling and grammar check on your computer; I am expecting that I will not have to focus unduly on this aspect of your writing when grading your work.  Back up your arguments with quotes from the reading and properly cite these quotes in MLA format.  If you have questions about citation practice, there are a number of online resources that can help you and I am happy to give you input, as well.  If you wish to work on a topic not listed below, just make sure to discuss it with me before beginning the work so we ensure it is narrow enough to fit within such a short paper.  I would be pleased to meet with you over the course of the next weeks to discuss your midterm paper if it would be helpful. Do not plagiarize! I am expecting that you won’t, but, if you do, it results in an automatic “F.”

Maus:

1. History, both global and personal, plays a large role in Maus. What is the relationship between personal history and global history in this text? How does Spiegelman balance narration of personal history and larger world historical events? How is the loss of his mother’s diary used as a thread to connect these two forms of history? How do the different genres evident in Spiegelman’s text – testimony, oral narrative, maps – work to do the same? Using specific examples, talk about how Spiegelman’s narrative choice to interweave losses both personal and large-scale works in Maus.

2. We mentioned in our discussion online that artists who wish to represent the Holocaust and the havoc it wreaked on its victims and survivors have a daunting task.  How does Spiegelman’s choice to represent the Holocaust in the form of a graphic novel allow him to address/ not address these questions of representation? Does the pictorial form of the graphic novel provide Spiegelman with a way of meditating on questions of representation? If so, how? Give specific examples and explain how they link to the larger issues surrounding representation of trauma.

3. Framing devices are very important to how we read and understand Art Spiegelman’s Maus. Most significant of the framing devices in the text is Art’s relationship with Vladek, which structures how we, as readers, interpret the novel, comprised as it is of testimony he collects from his aging Holocaust survivor father.  Keeping the importance of framing devices in Spiegelman’s work in mind, what do you make of the epigraphs that begin each volume of Maus? How do they work to introduce and structure our reading of the text? How do they create or disrupt continuity between the volumes? Use Spiegelman’s epigraphs to explore Maus and the role of framing in the text.

4. Art Spiegelman’s choice to portray the conflict between Nazi and Jew in World War II era Europe as a battle between cat and mouse drew much attention when Maus was published.  How does Spiegelman’s use of animals to represent national or ethnic types work in Maus?  Use close readings of a few scenes in the text to explain how Spiegelman’s animal characters allow him to comment on the historical circumstances of the war and the place of racial-thinking in it.

Persepolis:

1.      1. Both Maus and Persepolis are memoirs written in graphic narrative form.  However, Spiegelman and Satrapi’s narratives differ in key ways.  How does Satrapi’s choice to frame the story of the Islamic Revolution in Iran through the eyes of a child affect your reading of her story?  How does this choice contrast with Spiegelman’s more cynical, by-proxy narrative of the Holocaust?  How do Spiegelman and Satrapi use imagery differently/ similarly?

2.      2. Satrapi’s Persepolis proves unique in the comics genre because it is centered on the viewpoint of a female child and, later, young woman.  How does gender factor into your experience of Persepolis?  Does Satrapi suggest something about the ways in which revolutions affect women in particular? How does Satrapi’s focus on female experience challenge our idea about the conventions of comics?

3.      3. Persepolis is very much a narrative about place and the role it plays in the formation of identity.  The characters in Satrapi’s memoir struggle to stay in a chaotic homeland or deal with the complexities of exile.  How does Satrapi use the physical space of the comic to comment on the power of geography during a period of social tumult?

     Shortcomings 

1     1. Unlike Persepolis and Maus, Shortcomings is an entirely fictional narrative. At the same time that it is a fictional text, Tomine's drawing and narrative styles are much more realistic and photojournalistic than the previous authors we've read.  Using McCloud's discussion of the spectrum of realistic representation in Understanding Comics, discuss how Tomine's realistic visual and narrative choices affect your experience as a reader. 

2    

2    2. One of the central mechanisms by which Tomine explores race in Shortcomings is in his representation of romantic relationships that challenge and, sometimes, uphold racial stereotypes. Analyze the various romantic relationships in the text and the way they link to larger contemporary currents in racial theory. 

     American Born Chinese

    1. As we discussed on the blog, the history of caricature and comics are intertwined.  How does Yang use caricature and offensive stereotype in American Born Chinese?  What visual and narrative choices does he make that demonstrate to us as readers that he is trying to undermine stereotype? 

2   2.  Yang combines folklore with more realistic, contemporary narrative, as well as sitcom-style storytelling in his book. He also combines Eastern and Western religion in American Born Chinese. What sort of story about culture do these cross-pollinations tell?  How do they complicate or extend the immigrant stories we normally hear? 

Stuck Rubber Baby:

      1. In Stuck Rubber Baby, Howard Cruse compares the civil rights movement with burgeoning movements around GLBT rights. What point does he make in this comparison? How does the graphic medium allow him to draw out this comparison? How does his work illustrate the theme of intersectionality as articulated by Crenshaw?

      2. Stuck Rubber Baby is one of the earliest works we’re reading in class. How does it mark the early days of the graphic narrative/ graphic novel movement? How does it compare to other books we’ve read stylistically and thematically? Pick one other text and make a detailed comparison.

Shortcomings 58-108

1.     Pacing is a major part of a story. A story too quickly might lack an overall emotional connection while a story being stuck in one single place for too long might end up being rather “boring.” The pacing in Shortcomings seems to be on the more “swift” side of things. We might suddenly be in the early stages of a relationship between Sasha and Ben, but a panel later we might suddenly be towards its end. How effective is this stories pacing in presenting this type of story? Are there scenes that could have needed additional panels or ones where it needed less?

2.     After seeing Miko with a white man, Ben sort of loses his cool and starts discussing the rather obscure type of thinking where he looks at racial mixing as “strange.” He goes on to say that their relationship is a play on “a big white guy who” has a thing for “little skinny Asian girls” while he himself was in a relationship with two other white women. What extent of his anger in this incident is because of jealousy? Is Ben seeing himself in Miko’s love life, comparing it to his own recent relationships in racial mixing? Does he have a discomfort in his own identity?

3.     The end of the piece leaves Ben flying out into nothing. His girlfriend that he always had for a “back-up” had moved on and seemed to always want out. His closest friend decided to move away to something better, leaving Ben alone. He was out of a job for at least a few more months and he wasn’t going to school anymore. He was exactly what Miko described him as, ambitionless. Do you think that it was right for Miko to do what she did? Do you think that she was hoping to have Ben in her back pocket in case her new relationship hadn’t panned out?

4.     The style in this graphic novel is very different from that of Persepolis. The character’s in Persepolis lacked definition and blended in well together while Shortcomings gives a character design that is less “cartoon-like
 and more realistic. Do you think the story would have had the same atmosphere if it were drawn more like Persepolis?

This is my first time writing questions for people to answer so go easy on me. Ha.

Monday Blog : Shortcomings p. 1 - 57

1) One thing I’ve noticed so far in Shortcomings is the theme of people who are the recipients of discrimination that also discriminate against different groups. For example, Ben claims that everyone knew the movie at the beginning of the comic was garbage and that people just clapped because it was made by a Chinese girl. After hearing him say this, Miko even asks him if he is ashamed to be Asian. Another example is when Alice tells Ben that her family will not be happy about the fact that he is Japanese, but says that “everything is preferable to homos” even though she herself is gay. Why is it that people who have to deal with discrimination turn on others or even insult themselves? Is there a similarity here between the way that in Maus, Vladek is persecuted and discriminated against as a Jewish man, but he in turn discriminates against black people? 

2) I thought it was interesting that Ben and Alice discuss another person, Elvin Wang, who they agree blamed all of his problems on racism. Alice then claims that Ben is the opposite - that he refuses to see the realities of discrimination. Do you think it’s strange that Ben, who grew up in Oregon, has said that he has never really dealt with people discriminating against him? Why do you think he wanted Alice to stop talking about these issues?

3) Derek Parker Royal wrote in MELUS; "Tomine’s resistance to racialized identity in his works, for which some Asian-Americans have criticized him, is called into question by his recent efforts to confront Asian-American subject matters. As a result, one can read his semi-autobiographic comics as a chronicle of the limits and responsibilities of ethnic representation.”  Do you agree that Shortcomings can be interpreted this way?

4) The style of Shortcomings is black and white, but very different from the heavy and bold style of Persepolis. Do you think the text and illustrations work well together in Shortcomings?

5) Since the definition for a shortcoming is “a fault or failure to meet a certain standard, typically in a person's character, a plan, or a system,” why do you think Adrian Tomine named his comic book Shortcomings? Do you think it’s a fitting title? 

Comics and Caricature

 We discussed this topic a bit in reference to Maus, but it's important to revisit as we read both Tomine's Shortcomings and Gene Yang's American Born Chinese. In radically different ways, both texts look directly at questions of race, racial stereotypes, and, in the case of Yang's work, caricature.  In Shortcomings, we see a number of characters who are anxious about the politics of interracial dating and the identification of Asian American men with a compromised masculinity (one insidious stereotype Tomine explores through his unsympathetic narrator).  How else does Tomine explore race and valences of race as they relate to gender and sexuality in Shortcomings?

Moreover, on a broader level, how do all comics artists have to contend with the history of caricature in their comics?  As we discussed early in the semester, cartoons function so effectively because they work through amplification, eg a character might have oversize or even grotesque features that don't conform to how real people look in order to encourage reader projection or identification.  What effect does this have on how comics artists draw race?

In the U.S., as some of the images below attest, there has been a long and deeply troubling history of representing Asian Americans (and dealing with anxieties about immigration and ethnic difference) through caricature.

How do Tomine and, as we will see, Yang deal with this issue in their work, if they do so at all?  How does this question of racial (or other identity-based) caricature hang over a lot of the work we've read this semester? How does work like the Asian American superhero anthology attempt to subvert stereotypes associated with Asian American identity, particularly those related to gender?

As some of the exhibits below demonstrate, many groups, especially African Americans and new immigrants to the U.S. (including the Irish), were racialized and subject to caricature during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Trigger warning: These images can be very upsetting!

Check out this:

Exhibit on racist caricature and cartoons

Site on caricature of Asian Americans called "yellow-face"

Slideshow of racist caricature in commercials

Archive of Caricature of the Irish

Interesting article on the politics of caricature

Persepolis the Film

For our next "class," please watch Persepolis the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuvKy6-uomU

We will then discuss the difference between comics-as-film and comics-as-book.

Great conversations so far!

Persepolis 2/16

1) After returning to Iran Marjane sees multiple shrinks because she doesn't know how to deal with her feelings of being a "Westerner in Iran" and "an Iranian in the West." She seems to feel guilty about avoiding the war and living safely in Europe, while at the same time she doesn't want to diminish her own feelings of loneliness and suffering from being separated from her family and subjected to abuse while she was away. What are some of the effects holding this in had on her? Was it ever necessary for her to go to Europe when most of her friends and family ended up surviving? Did leaving Iran cause more damage than good? (Think about why she left specifically).

2) Quote on pg 301

"When you run, your behind makes movements that are... how do you say... obscene!"
"WELL THEN DON'T LOOK AT MY ASS!"

This is a funny quote but a lot of serious issues are covered comically in this comic.

"Why is it that I, as a woman, am expected to feel nothing when watching these men with their clothes sculpted on by they, as men, can get excited by two inches less of my head-scarf?" Marjane says this on page 297. As Satrapi has said in an interview that was posted on this blog before, not everything in this book is exactly true. Do you think Marjane really felt brave enough to ask this question? And, like she said earlier in the book, every religion has its extremists. Why do the ones in control of Iran target women and not notice what men are doing? The veil is a huge motif in this story, what do you think it means to Marjane and her family versus some of the extremists?

3) Marjane at the end of the book moves to France and looking her up on wikipedia I think it says she is still there and has never moved back. Considering how much she hated Austria, what do you think were her motives in moving to France for good and why do you think it was different this time around? Is this end of this story satisfying in that way? Did this comic have a traditional story with a climax? What was it?

Persepolis Questions for 16.2.15

1) Marjane's relationship with her grandmother is an interesting one. They're from two different generations, yet they're very much alike -- what personal characteristics do you think are "timeless," which are simple facts of human existence? Are there any characteristics that you can attribute to one particular generation? (Excluding fashion, of course.)

2) What do you think of Marjane's choice to marry so young? Do you think think Reza and Marjane were ever really in love? What does this event illustrate about Marjane's personality, and the impact of philosophy on the decision-making processes of people in oppressive societies?

3) What do you make of the way Satrapi chose to end her story? Endings have a lot of power, and most artists make conscious and careful decisions when deciding where to stop telling a story. What might Satrapi's motivations have been? The story ends rather uneventfully, but I feel that it's a really potent ending. What do you think? Is there anything left "unanswered?"

4) Anything you've wanted to say about Persepolis that you haven't had a chance to?

Persepolis discussion post from Jesse

Jesse Cooley

1)     Loss of innocence is one of the major themes of this section of the book. What do you think of the major transition in Marjane’s character at this time? What do you believe the major factor was behind this transformation, or was it simply just the culmination of everything in her life?

2)     We see Marji’s relationship with her mother change drastically at this time. Marjane states that when you do not see your mother very often that little things slide. Was it the time that created this change or was it more that Marjane was being treated more like an adult instead? Would Marjane have gone through the same changes if her parents were there? What about her Grandma?

3)     We see the discrimination of Iranians slowly build in Austria throughout this time. Does it remind you of the changes in Poland described in Maus? We see the troubles that Marjane went through; does this change your perspective of Vladek hearing about someone going through similar hardships and changing radically as a person?

4)     On returning home we see Marjane struggle with the person that she has become. The weight of her choices and mistakes are clearly weighing heavy on her shoulders, was coming home the right idea for her at the time? Do you think her parents should have tried to leave to support her sooner? 

Personally, this section was an amazing one to read. The details of how she lost her innocence and her childhood ideals is something that will stick with me. You can see how the past has changed her, and how the situations she now faces because of her country is slowly poisoning her. The final questions I am asking are ones that came to me while reading. Would Marjane had suffered as much through this time in her life if she had been in a conformist family and is the suffering she is facing now worth the person she is today?

February 12 Persepolis Post

1) Knowing what we know now about Majane's time in Austria, do you think that she made the right move by going to Europe? Do you think that her parents made the right move by staying in Iran? If you were in her parent's position, what would you do? Would you rather risk being bombed and have to live in a repressive regime, or abandon your entire livelihood and live in a society that marginalizes you?

2) Although Marjane comes from an entirely different culture than we do, what makes her relatable to us? Do you find her character likable? There is a lot of information left out of the main story, do you feel like there is any aspect of her European life that you wanted to know more about? Why do you think she, as an immigrant, is so discriminated against in Europe? Why do you think that she was driven to live a self-imposed homeless life for three months?

3) Has reading Persepolis changed your opinion of Iran at all? Has it changed your opinion about Europe? About Islam? Were there any details that you found interesting, and continued to research for yourself?

4) Both Persepolis and Maus are, on the surface, books about war, but on a deeper level they are really books about how ordinary people respond to war. Can you think of any major similarities or differences between Vladek and Marjane? Any similarities or differences in the storytelling?

5) If Canada were to invade the United States tomorrow, what would you do? Would you enlist, hide, or try to immigrate? Marjane's mother repeatedly makes the point that Persians have always known war, and she seems disillusioned by the whole ordeal. Do you think that this is how Americans have become these days? Is it easier for us to justify war because we don't have to deal with the everyday consequences of it like the Iranians did?

Comics and 1st Person

So far, the two graphic narratives we've read in class have been powerful memoirs--1st-person stories of violence and loss.   Given what we remember from McCloud, particularly his assertion that comics artists encourage reader identification through their use of icons, the gutter, and closure, can we say that comics are a medium particularly appropriate for telling first-person stories?  What do you think?

For more on comics and the first-person, check out:

 this book on comics, gender, and first-person storytelling

or this great article on the "I" and comics

2/9 Persepolis - Pg.1-150

A Short Clip - Interview with Marjane Satrapi:

Click Here - for higher quality video

I thought this is a good clip to start with, as we start this new book.

Some main points to discuss:

1. My first initial thought of the main character, Marj, is how young she is to remember so many details so vividly. She seems like a very brilliant girl, almost too brilliant for her age. So much that I was confused on who was telling the story, since her vocabulary was so eloquent. But then I realized the author was the main character and it all started to click. How much do you think is direct words from Marj's childhood and how much is it the authors reflections, years later, that reword things? What is more important for us to understand in the beginning, the actual direct conversations (like we saw in Maus) or to hear the author's reflective thoughts throughout the story, on those situations told years later? The reason I'm bringing this up is because in Maus, we don't hear Spiegelmen's reflective thoughts during his explanation of his father's story. Which storytelling style do you like best?

2. She stopped talking to her best friend, God, at a significant moment in her life. What was her reasoning for her disconnecting from him? She went from thinking she was born to be a Profit to never speaking with God again. Even up until the point in the story, where we ended this week, when she is sent off to another country, she hasn't spoken to God yet. What is your take on this whole situation and why is this an important topic we should discuss?

3. We should break down the metaphors that lie within the plastic keys painted gold that were handed out to all the young boys. What were the promises that came with these keys? Why was Mrs. Nasrine so upset with her son? As I read this, I was beyond upset that adults would do this to such young kids. Did anyone else have very strong opinions and feelings when they read this?

4. Maji's father taught her to not be materialistic. It was one of her stronger traits. Since her extended family and friends seemed to be much more materialistic then her family, she tended to look down on them. There were only a couple of items that she did hold a lot of value in. Her friend Neda's bracelet and her posters. The effort she made to keep them and then eventually, give them away, shows a new strength in her personality. How does this compare to her religious beliefs? How do these correlate? Since she lost her faith in god did she cling to these materials more? What is to come of her while she is in this new country, completely on her own, with no family or support system?

Persepolis podcast

Persepolis (pages 1 - 150)

This is my first time reading Persepolis and I am particularly glad that it is on our reading list, because it has been on mine every since a friend recommended it about a year ago.  I am really enjoying it so far, and I hope everyone else is too!

1. In chapter eight of Understanding Comics, McCloud claims that “In black and white, the ideas behind the art are communicated more directly. Meaning transcends form. Art approaches language.”  Do you think this is true, and do you think this was a factor in Satrapi’s decision to use black and white for Persepolis?

The style Satrapi employs in Persepolis is clean and bold and there is relatively little variation between the panels. What do you think of the style of the illustrations?  Is this minimalist style effective for conveying the tone of Satrapi’s story?

2. When Persepolis begins, Marji is only ten years old and her perceptions of events and other people are shaped by her youth. She seems to be heavily influenced by her family members, what she learns in school, and what she reads in books and sees on TV. For an adolescent, Marji appears to be very invested in the politics, history and identity of her country.  Do you think this is normal for someone her age? How might her family have played a role in shaping her attitudes? How do her opinions and personality develop as the story progresses?

3. Persepolis is an account of a period in Iranian history, but it is also a personal memoir of Satrapi’s life. On one hand, Satrapi is detailing the events going on in her country as well as providing the historical context for these events. On the other hand, Persepolis is clearly a memoir. The focus of Satrapi’s account is on her personal life, her family members and her friends. Do you think that Satrapi has combined the elements of history and memoir effectively? How have each of these shaped the story so far? Do you think Satrapi is an objective observer? What do you think Satrapi’s personal history adds to Persepolis, if anything?

Clip from documentary about the Iranian Revolution, the setting for Persepolis

This short clip, from a documentary by Mike Wallace, helps to set the backdrop for Persepolis and Iran during the late 1970s.

Resources on Iran and Iranian Revolution

Brief History of Iran

BBC timeline

NY Times Guide to Iranian Revolution 

BBC documentary

Introduction to Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi was born in Iran in 1969 and lived through some of the most difficult years of the nation's history. Satrapi's family was a politically-active one with members critical of both the Shah of Iran and the Islamic regime that came to replace him. In Persepolis, Satrapi tells the story of her own childhood but also explores the complexities of Iranian history, the politics of imperialism, the strictures of religious fundamentalism, and the possibilities for survival in exile.

Like Maus, Marjane Satrapi's graphic narrative, Persepolis, is a memoir that marries text and image to tell a story of historical and personal rupture. Persepolis tells the story of Satrapi's childhood experiences during the time of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and her later exile from her homeland. How is Satrapi's story different from the usual coming-of-age narratives we are used to reading in novels and short stories? How does the visual aspect of Persepolis allow Satrapi to show/ not show the graphic violence perpetrated during the bloody revolts and warfare that took place in Iran during the time she was growing up? Persepolis has recently been made into a film. Is Persepolis the graphic narrative already somehow cinematic?

Maus II: The Conclusion Discussion!

Alex Healey

Alright so we've finished Maus II!

As Jordan has posted below on specific questions regarding this segment of Maus, we can now in this post discuss thoughts about it as a whole, as well as elaborate on some of his points.

Whenever I finish reading Maus (It's my 3rd time now) I've always got some resonating feelings that keep me feeling thankful and respectful about life in general. Which leads me to my first question as we conclude this awesome comic.

       1- What single page (if any) can you shut your eyes and still remember vividly from the whole collected ride through Maus I and II? Do you think of this page due to the content of the imagery, the narrative, the interesting panel arrangements, or all of these things. Don't turn to that page, and try to answer this question purely from memory. Why is your answer so vivid? What made this image successful to you?

Coming back to the ending chapters of Maus II we get several instances in Vladek's story where he as well as the other Jews were either celebrating about the war being over, but time and time again some remaining Nazi activity managed to mess things up further. The book kept going on as if the troubles of the camps were bleeding out into the world as the prisoners were slowly released.

      2- Because of this, do you think that Vladek as well as any other survivors may continue to live their lives in an unusual way, as in saving every scrap of food, counting it every day, and bringing back scraps to the store, because of how they have been accustomed to living in fear of losing what little they had to begin with? This causes Vladek to become racist of blacks after he'd have his things stolen. My question here is do you think the slow integration back into society has somehow traumatized these people causing them to still act this way?

Now anyone reading my post before Jordan's below, take note that his question on chapter 4 is actually referring to page 116 (If you own Maus as part 1 and 2 and not a collected edition, of which there are several) And also his question on chapter 5 is vague to say the least. My last question for this post is going to help us better understand his question. Check his theory below his question as well as it is insightful on possibilities.

      3- What did you take away from Vladek calling Art "Richieu" at the very end? Do you think Vladek has actually become further damaged by reliving his horrible past? Or is the Freudian slip just an accident meant to show that Vladek feels unconsciously accepting of his life?

2/5 The End of Maus II

The BBC Flew a Drone Over Auschwitz — And the Result Is Haunting

Click here for video - for higher quality

I found this video and thought it was a great juxtaposition of the 1940s / 2015.

By Jordan Valinsky January 27, 2015

Seventy years after the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the pre-eminent symbol of the Holocaust's horrors, the BBC is giving the world a chance to see the haunting ruins as they've never seen it before.

The BBC deployed a camera-equipped drone over site, offering a chilling tour of where as many as 1.1 million people died at the hands of Nazis between 1940 and 1945. Located in southern Poland, it was the largest death camp under Adolf Hitler's "final solution."

While images of Auschwitz have permeated popular culture, the under three-minute video gives a sense of the scale of the Nazi regime's systematic murder. The footage shows the railroad tracks that brought people in, the red roofs of the prison blocks where "inmates" were forced to do slave labor and the Birkenau wooden huts where the Nazis executed prisoners. Perhaps the most daunting part, however, were the camp's entrance gates that displayed the German phrase "Arbeit macht frei," or "Work sets you free."

The release of the footage coincides with Tuesday's official memorial service making the 70th anniversary since Auschwitz was freed by the Soviets. Steven Spielberg spoke in the ceremony in Poland on Monday night, which was attended by 100 survivors.

The End of Maus II - Discussion

Feel free to comment on the video I posted. But coming back to the book, there are a lot of small details that we should bring up, which I will list. But I also want us to take a moment to also reflect. I want to know everyone's final thoughts on the book overall and what parts were most memorable for them. 

CHAPTER 2 (Auschwitz - Time Flies)

1. We see Art with a mouse mask on sitting at his desk talking about the day his father dies. This is the first time we actually see him in human form, imitating a mouse (to keep his disguise). Why is he choosing to finally show himself now? As the book becomes more popular, more and more reporters ask him questions he doesn't know how to answer. Why does he revert back to a child-like state? Calling for mommy? 
2. Is there a reason his shrink, Pavel, is represented as a human, disguise with a mouse mask as well? Is there a reason Pavel is portrayed to look very much like his father Vladek? Then throughout their talk, Art, reverts back to a child. Then following their talk, he slowly grows back into an adult. What is this representing?

CHAPTER 3 (...And here my troubles began...)

1. What is the underlying meaning toward Vladek's blatant disregard to Art and his wife desire to leave soon?
2. We start to see new "animals" aka (other races of people) in this chapter. The frog (french) and a black dog (american). Vladek becomes somewhat friends with the french man but is very racist against the black hitchhiker Francoise picks on alongside the road. Why is Vladek's view on this so monumental? 

CHAPTER 4 (Saved)

1. There is a style of frame on page 276 that hasn't been used before. Vladek is sitting on the couch with the only pictures left of his family. The one image of Vladek sitting fills up almost the whole page but is segregated by gutters to break up his different comments about the photos. Why did Spiegelmen choose this style of frame to represent this conversation? Is it the most effective method? 

CHAPTER 5 (The Second Honeymoon)

1. The last frame....we all know it....Vladek call's Art, "Richieu." We need to talk about that.... 

• There are so so many underlying and overlapping theories of why he unconsciously called him by his dead son's name. It shows where Vladek's mental state was when he finally told a happy part of his life story. And that happy moment was being told to Richieu, not Art. By telling his happy moment out loud to Art was like stimulating feelings he didn't know he had towards Richieu. Then in Art's perspective, he knows where is father's mind has been for many years. Since Vladek was starting to loose his memory at the end, some like to think you can be more honest with yourself. The battle Art had with his dead brother now resurfaced in the worst possible way, by his father. It just reinstates the sibling rivalry between the two sons which was put there in the first place by the parents. 

So once you pick a couple topics from the chapters I listed above, or some I didn't mention, also talk about your final thoughts on the book. 

Maus II Discussion Post

* I must preface this with an apology for the lateness. The last few days have been hectic.*

1. In Chapter Two (Auschwitz (time flies)), Spiegelman shifts from the representations of people as animals to people wearing animal masks to represent their race/nationality. Why do you think he chooses to change his representation? Does this shift change the way that you view the characters? Does his reversion to a child-like state make an effective metaphor for the situation he feels placed in?

2.  Vladek makes many mentions throughout Maus to his ability to learn quickly, or his many talents. Why do you think that he focuses on these talents? How do you feel that this effects his relationship with Art, and the other people that he comes into contact with? Do you feel that its inclusion in the story helps to create empathy for Vladek?

3. Toward the end of the chapter, Vladek makes mention of a crematory worker who provides him with information regarding the deaths of those sent to the gas chambers. What does Vladek's reaction to this say about him as a person? He attempts to explain to Art why most of the prisoners didn't attempt to fight back. Do you feel he is correct in his assertions?

New Discussion Post from John Franklin

1. Speigelman's inclusion of the conversation between himself and his wife at the very beginning is interesting, for a lot of different reasons. He not only sheds some light on his creative process, but he also raises some questions on identity and race as well, using his wife's background as a sort of example. What did you get out of this opening scene? why does he have his style such that one's identity is completely reflected in their appearance? What does this say about how we qualify someone as being part of a race or identity? Have you ever wondered what animal you would be in Speigelman's world?

2. Art's conversation with his wife continues in the car ride over to Vladek. Here he provides a little aside on his relationship with his dead brother and parents, as well as his connection to the Holocaust. Why do you think he includes such a personal reflection in the book? How do you think this connects back to his art style, as well as the story's general structure? Do you feel like there might be certain parallels between Art and Vladek?

3. Needless to say, Vladek is very much a character, both literally and figuratively. We've talked plenty about who he is and what kind of person he is, and why he is that kind of person. But now that the book's focus has started to shift toward Art, we get a better impression of his own character and actions. With the start of chapter one, as well as chapter two's introduction, we're getting a great deal of characterization for Art, a lot of which isn't necessarily positive. Meanwhile, Vladek's behavior seems less crazy, and more lonely. He seems friendlier, using phrases such as "darling" when referring to Art and his wife. At this point in the book, what do you think of Art? With him as a character in the story as well as the author, how do you think this influences the book? Do you feel like the explanation he provides at the start of chapter two is appropriate?