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?
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.
The pacing of the story is very quick and it feels that each moment happened in passing and then the characters continued on after each scene being slightly morose and silent. Simple and direct dialogue between usually only two characters made the story unfold itself withing the relationships of the characters instead of relying on action and action events.
ReplyDeleteBen feels angry for not being open more about his own curiosity and that there was a disappointing reason Miko was telling him how offensive it was. He sees that they both have the same curiosity and after having just had two failed 'mixed' relationships he decided the trend showed that 'mixed' relationships don't end well for the Asian person. It's interesting that Miko and Ben both found white people with extreme personalities that didn't match their own to date.
Ben was too lost himself to be a good example for all Asian men to be the obvious best choice for all Asian women. He didn't know himself and even if MIko didn't leave because she was cheating, their relationship would have probably deteriorated rapidly and it might have been Ben then who acted impulsively first. At the end of the story I feel like I don't really know Ben and neither does he and that he isn't even upset he is simply lost and consumed by ennui.
The pacing of the story made it hard to find a bearing in the story, though this may be the entire point. Anger, hate, jealousy, envy, cheating, and all sorts of other human shortcomings are presented to us through the various characters constantly. The pace of the book may be an attempt to put us into the position of being as insecure as the characters who are feeling this way. In the beginning of the book we see Miko focus on glorifying Asian culture, and we see Ben try to tear it down. As we progressed further we saw that Ben fantasizes about Caucasian women. At first it doesn't seem to strange, but when Miko found his porn stash we find out that it is a fixation. Later Alice comments on this same trend that Ben has. What becomes interesting is that after Ben has a chance to date Autumn and Sasha and has his expectations unmet. It is after he calls Miko, and travels to New York that we see Ben's transformation that he feels that racial mixing is bizarre.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing about this part of the story is the shift in attitudes, the hypocrisy of both Ben. Ben's inattention made Miko feel like she was in a prison, one that she escaped from using various means. This includes Miko traveling outside the relationship to fulfill her needs. She demonizes Ben for his interests in white women, and she cheats on him with a white man. Ben neglects Miko for his fantasy life, and when he finds out that reality can not match fantasy, he crawls back to her. After cheating on her as well.
Miko was not planning on going back to Ben. She had met the photographer before the events at the beginning of the book. The worst part is that even if Ben had said something at the airport I do not think that their relationship would have continued at that point. Ben had let the relationship die. Miko would have found a different reason to leave.
The gritty nature of this comic is part of what drives the story. If the comic were more "cartoony" like Maus or Persepolis there wouldn't be enough substance to drive the story. By adding realism to the models the gravity of the situation more effectively plays out. In Persepolis and Maus horrific situations are made manageable by a degree of separation. What I loved about Persepolis is the transition in realism depending on the topics being discussed. We see simpler drawings in childhood, and when talking about martyrs and mass-murders, but see more realistic drawings when we see things happening in her personal life.
Great discussion topics!
I totally agree with the realistic idea of the drawings, we are not supposed to relate to Ben, or any of them. These are people we may or may not know but they are not supposed to be us, unless you are truly like one of them.
DeleteI agree that there were times when Ben showed himself to be very hypocritical - especially when he applies a double-standard for Miko and himself dating a white woman and white man respectively. It didn't fully occur to me that Miko had given him a hard time over his "thing" for white girls (although it did seem pretty obsessive) but when he gets to New York he sees her dating a white man. At this point I think he is subconsciously projecting his attitudes onto Leon because he claims that the only way a white guy would want to date an Asian girl is if he had some sort of fetish.
DeleteI also agree that the more realistic style of Shortcomings added to the gravity of the situation and was more effective here than a cartoonish style.
2. I think a lot of Ben’s lashing out was because when he found out about Miko and her lover all of his inadequacies that he’d been in denial about were confirmed. Miko talked about her insecurities as a Japanese woman who felt like her boyfriend preferred white girls and was “settling” on her and he got angry about it. In that moment, the tables were turned and he was the second-rate man one-upped by a white male, who is in a way a lot more desirable to Asian women. Because he was railing off about Leon being a creep with pedophiliac tendencies something tells me that he too was still stinging over the fact that his two attempts at dating outside his race were unrealized. He wasn’t good enough for those girls, and turns out he’s not even good enough for Miko.
ReplyDelete3. Miko’s attack on Ben I felt hit the nail on the head—to the extent that I almost felt as if it was too heavy handed, not Miko’s assessment but the author’s characterization. I felt the same way when the women’s studies majors were analyzing his criticisms. That being said, I definitely took Miko’s side after the blowup, but just because Ben was particularly unlovable and didn’t exactly treat his other dates well. Too, something worth noting are some cultural differences—Japanese culture in general is very indirect. By Japanese standards, Miko would have communicated that she did not want to be with him anymore by not returning his phone calls for months (even her move could be interpreted this way.) Even Ben’s behavior at the airport could have been a signal that he was breaking up with her. Perhaps she figured that he hated her enough that he’d give up, hence her surprise about him going to find her. I don’t think she wanted to keep him as a backup, but I think she was a little too threatened to make a break without establishing distance beforehand. Having her boyfriend physically there as a support (she was living with Ben) could have been a factor too.
4. The drawing style totally sets the mood here. I think that visually it was a reminder that I wasn’t looking at generalizations, but a very subjective experience, and also sort of barred me from any sort of projection or identification with the characters. Their insecurities thus became very personal. I think it could be that this distinction separates us to the extent that we are almost supposed to be hyper critical of the characters—the narrative almost begs us to be—who is in the wrong? Are we supposed to support that? Isn’t that ridiculous/unacceptable? Etc.
Also, a quick aside. I’m an amateur, but if you’re curious about the Japanese text I have a rough translation.
DeleteFrom Pg. 90
Leon: Where should we eat? There’s the “Village Alley” on the second floor—what about that?
Miko: Guess so. But why are you looking at me like that?
Leon: Well, you’re just so adorable I can’t keep my eyes off you.
From pg. 96
Leon: What’s the meaning of this? Did you know about this guy being here?
From pg. 97
Leon: Should I call the police?
Awesome!!! Haha
DeleteThanks for doing those translations! After seeing that, I'm even more inclined to believe that Leon really does just like Miko for who she is and not just because of her race (as Meredith suggests to Ben, but he refuses to accept).
DeleteI agree that much of Ben's behavior is driven by insecurity, whether or not he realizes it. It seemed like every time someone tried to talk to him about an uncomfortable subject (usually something he was doing wrong) he would fire back at them and they would just drop the subject. It definitely seemed like he was projecting his own behavior onto Leon by saying that he had a fetish for Asian women. I think what was most upsetting to me about this is how low his opinion seemed to be toward Asian women - first, he would consider himself to have an elevated status if he dated a white woman and second, he claims that a white man cannot genuinely like an Asian woman. I think that's a pretty messed up way to look at things.
The interesting thing about the pacing of this story is that it focuses on emotions, heavily so even, in the way the characters are portrayed. I personally didn't lose out on much in the emotional department due to the pacing, but perhaps a little in the connection I feel to the characters. Things feel apathetic still, it leaves me not connecting to anyone's relationships, especially Ben.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a neat point I mentioned in my last post on shortcomings, if this was drawn in the style of Persepolis I think the audience would more quickly connect with the main character. Rather than Ben seeming to be some guy struggling with everyone wanting to move away from him, and developing distaste for others in any way that he can find. It would be seen as something more relateable, human even. As far as atmosphere, that certainly would be true, more symbols in the world makes the audience place themselves in characters shoes. I am of the opinion this story would work better, with that change in atmosphere, rather than the "Manga" style we see in Shortcomings. I'm not sure what the end goal is for the author, and this could certainly be by design.
I definitely agree that the pacing encouraged more of a focus on emotions. I think this is especially true of the moment-to-moment transitions, such as on the last page of the book, where only one aspect of the scene is changing to convey a longer time passing without any action. The pacing (and I think the style too) seem to encourage a more introspective mood, rather than witnessing events unfold. I think this was effective as well, because the subject material, characters, and general mood of the story definitely encouraged thought and reflection.
DeleteBen definitely has a discomfort in his own reality, in fact, I would say Ben is the most uncomfortable character we've met so far in the comics we've read. When Ben sees Miko with a big white man, he immediately falls back on generalized judgements and connotations that derive, in my mind, from pornography. I think how prone to fetish Ben'e mind seems to be is one of the more interesting characteristics he possesses. Ben and Alice's relationship is constructed around both of their independent sexualities and sex lives.
ReplyDeleteOne of the true strengths of Shortcomings is it's gray-areas. Is it right for Miko to do what she did? What were her intentions behind her decision? Did she pay proper respect to Ben's feelings? Time will tell. Shortcomings leaves us with the decisions as they are, unclear and permanent. Ben, Miko, Alice, everyone will simply have to figure it out and Tomine refuses to do it for them.
I think these are great observations...so don't sweat it.
ReplyDeleteI too felt that this story it constantly moving forward without defining what the characters want or what is "at stake." In creative writing classes we are constantly reminded that we must write stories where there is a clear "at stake" or readers will lose interest. Our characters can be totally unlikable, like most of the characters in this book, but there has to be something redeemable to keep the reader interested. For instance the serial killer who is nice to children; it give the reader the impression that there is some redeemable quality that might save them in the end. For Ben, Alice and to a lesser extent Miko there doesn't seem to be any character development - except I was personally glad Miko met someone who seemed to treat her better than Ben and not because he was white but because he seems to be a better human being. We just seem to move from one narcissistic mess to another without ever understanding anyone's goals except to sleep with someone. No one seems to grow until they get away from Ben. Ben seems to be what is holding these women back from anything meaningful, so maybe that is the point. Until we rid our lives of "Ben" we cannot find happiness? Ben is like a lesion that needs to be excised in order for healing to begin, this could explains why these women must put an entire continent between them.
I also felt that Ben's wild tangent about Asian women and white men was more out of his own inadequacies. This man could speak Japanese and Ben couldn't. This man could make Miko happy and Ben couldn't. He was tall and Ben short. In short, he seemed to be everything that Ben wished he could be, and maybe white as well. That part of Ben's character seemed pretty murky to me. While Ben himself was racist his views of his own racism was never explained very well.
(First off thanks for the translations! I was curious as well)
ReplyDelete1. I agree the pacing plays a big part in this book but for me the pacing is determined by the reader's attentiveness to silent panels.Some could be blown by at no second glance but others require a double take for you to realize what the other characters are thinking in each situation. This book is really about relationships so each silent panel shows one thing but wants us to think about something else.
2. I feel like in large part he was just trying to pull insults out of his ass here, and to be fair Miko is being a TOTAL hypocrite by doing exactly what she really didn't want Ben to be doing, so I think some of his insulting bullcrap can be justified. But the more interesting side of things is pointing out that Ben has already been with 2 white women since his girlfriend went on the trip, and his reactions seem to be hypocritical as well. I think he's suppressing some serious racial anxiety in himself and the only way he can express it is by laying it out on other people, similar to Miko laying it into Ben for his white girl porn DVDs.
3. To be fair I think that every character in this book has false motives and a pretty nasty and selfish disposition. So Yes I think Miko was just trying to save Ben for a backup as well since she was just abusing their pisspoor relationship anyway. I don't at all feel bad for Ben. At first in the story I comically related to his complaining about racial bullcrap, but on and on he would take things too far and just prove himself to be an ignorant ass. Each character did similar things, where after learning more about them you learn to hate them. But it still wasn't right what Miko did. But Ben did just as many if not more wrongs to her throughout the book on an equal level, so like I said I don't care at all what happens to him.
4. I think Persepolis rocks the boat with illustrating characters in a way where they can still be relatable since they look so simple, but in Shortcomings we want the opposite effect. I think it's best in this story about relationships that we can identify people as themselves and not as ourselves. This is the reverse end of McCloud's iconographic theory on cartoon faces. So the story would have felt totally different if illustrated differently, like Persepolis. I don't think it would have helped it much either.
1. I think the pacing works for this story. It was a bit odd at times how some things seemed to happen quickly, but then others would be extended, but I think this was a way of emphasizing certain moments. I believe the way Tomine does this would be an example of the moment-to-moment transitions that McCloud talks about in Understanding Comics.
ReplyDelete2. It’s definitely strange that Ben thinks it’s okay for Asian guys to date white women, but not okay for white men to date Asian women, and I’m not sure if this has more to do with gender or race. Maybe it’s a combination of both. He says if an Asian guy is able to date a white girl, then he has done well for himself, which implies that this is a way for Asian men to elevate their status as Meredith said. I think this definitely shows some racial insecurity on Ben’s part if he doesn’t consider himself worthy of dating a white woman simply because of his race.
I also thought it was very wrong for Ben to claim that the only time a white man would be interested in an Asian woman is if he had some sort of fetish or if he were a pedophile. And I loved when Meredith reasonably asks Ben if he had even considered the idea that Leon was interested in Miko regardless of her race. The way that Ben basically called Miko an oriental accessory and told her she was being used was bizarre. If anything, it seemed that he was willing to date any white girl regardless of their personality or interests, which would be using them - maybe he was projecting this onto Miko?
3. I think that Miko could have been a little more clear with Ben about why she was going to New York. She expressed regret over lying to him, but when he asks her about how her internship is going, she continues to lie. In spite of Ben’s shortcomings there were moments when I felt bad for him. Probably the worst part was that every time someone criticized him he got all riled up and started defending himself by going on the offense. I think Ben definitely has some things to sort out, but it’s going to be impossible if he can’t confront the idea that he’s not always right. However, in this case I do think Miko should not have lied.
4. I think that the style Shortcomings is drawn with suits the story much better than a cartoonish style like that of Persepolis. The more realistic style of the characters discourages readers from imagining themselves as the characters, but I think that’s okay here because the story really is about seeing into their lives. And I don’t think it completely discourages any kind of reader participation, because as I was reading I would think at various times that I identified with certain traits or actions of the characters, or they would remind me of someone I know. I also think the more delicate style of the illustrations suits Shortcomings better than a heavy, bold style because it has a feel to it where the characters are pondering their lives and there isn’t a whole lot of action.
1) I think that the pacing of Shortcomings helps to make it what it is- a short glimpse into the lives of these characters. The storytelling is, for the most part, is succinct and realistic and the art style reflects this as well. The story is very successful in my opinion, because despite the relatively short length and the quick pacing I found myself really relating to the characters. Well, maybe not relating, but they definitely felt like real people and I could see my own self and my own emotions in the characters. This is an important thing for an author to accomplish, and it is definitely not easy to accomplish.
ReplyDelete2) I think that a big part of the rage that Ben feels comes from the fact that Miko has been telling him that he is a jerk for wanting to be with a white partner, when she really wants the same thing too. I definitely think that Ben feels a discomfort in his identity, even if he refuses to admit it. I think that he doesn't want his race to be a part of his identity, that he feels that race shouldn't matter. However, society and his own subconscious mind tell him otherwise.
3) As much as Ben liked to play the victim throughout the story (and he did have some pretty bad stuff happen to him) where he is at the end of the story is a result of his own actions. He really screwed up all the relationships in his life, but in his world it was everyone else who was out to get him. The world really does feel that way sometimes, and it is good to have a reminder that we are really the ones in control of our destiny, that no matter how much it seems like the universe is out to get us, we are the ones who put ourselves in that scenario. Ben is ambitionless, but now he is free. He doesn't have to worry about the people in his life ragging on him for who he is, he gets to go out and find a new person. Until they also get tired of him.
Personally, I think the pacing works because the story only needs the highlights of the relationships that he has. The story seems to focus more on how he reacts to the negative situations in his life. You only need to see enough of the relationship to know why it matters to him, and why he acts the way he does in response.
ReplyDeleteI think his reaction to Leon has very little to do with his race. I really do believe it is his jealousy talking, as he tends to try everything he can in order to win the argument. He uses a similar argument to what Miko used early in the story when she found his porn.
I believe Miko made the correct decision in leaving Ben. It seemed pretty clear to me that their relationship ended with the argument over the phone, and the fact that Ben pursued her only after his relationship with the others soured, shows me that she was never number one in that relationship. And with the way that he tended to control the arguments, I can imagine she was hesitant to confront him directly.
I don't think that this story would work with the art style of Persepolis. Shortcomings needed its direct art style to properly represent things in the objective way that the were. Persepolis's fantastic style works well when telling the story through one person's eyes, but it muddies the point when attempting to be objective.
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?
ReplyDeleteI thought the pacing in Shortcomings was great, I liked the speed of everything, and not being stuck in just one moment, or on someone feeling one emotion for so long, it does indeed get boring. It is very effective in this kind of story, because although it moves swiftly, its themes are prominent throughout the text and play a very important role in trying to show us different perspectives of different characters, in a quick but thorough way. I think the panels were just right, it didn’t need no more or no less. If one panel was given additional panels, I think it would’ve ruined the initial purpose of the pace.
I don’t think it was so much jealousy as much as it was complete ignorance and stupidity on his part. Everything Ben did, the way he felt about white girls, how he said someone gave him the “white girl envy look” because he was holding Sasha’s hand, he felt proud and felt as if people wished to be him at that moment. That is OK for him, because he is a guy, he doesn’t consider himself Asian? He wasn’t discriminated against, and he wasn’t looked at negatively because he was in an interracial relationship? I think it bothered him most because he explained it as a fantasy, as something everyone wants but never can get, he got it, but didn’t think anyone else would be able to. I think he has struggles with his identity, and with himself as a human being, not just racially wise.
I think Miko could’ve gone about it in a different way, they weren’t getting along or agreeing on anything when they were together in the same state, I don’t think giving each other space or moving anywhere would’ve changed anything, she knew his “shortcomings” and tried to accept them, but he wasn’t changing or becoming a better person. I do believe she was worried he would either let her go without fighting for her, so she did want to keep him in her back pocket so she wouldn’t be left to fend for herself. Both Miko and Ben ended the relationship in a harder way than they should have done.
The pacing on this was rather fast. I had to go back and reread what I had just read because I missed the changes, one minute Ben is talking to Alice, the next they're leaving wherever they are in silence. I think additional panels would have made the story seem less rushed.
ReplyDeleteThe main subject of Shortcomings is people realizing and accepting their shortcomings. Ben doesn't do this, he is sort of a hypocrite because its okay for him to date white women but its not okay for Miko to date a white guy. He obviously has not dealt with his own racial identity, much as Alice hasn't dealt with her own sexual identity.
I think Miko should have made things a bit more clear with Ben when she left, but other than that, I don't see any other issues. She was having issues with him when she left, she didn't like how he did try to figure out himself. So when he see her in the street with the other guy, she tells him pretty much what is going on and that things were over between them. I think she never really knew how to tell Ben how she felt about their relationship because everything turned into an argument with him.
I think the stories that were told in Persepolis and Maus were of such a heavy nature that to illustrate more life like characters would have been too difficult for some audiences to be able to handle. I know that I probably wouldn't have looked at Anja the same way if she had been drawn more realistically. The type of story plays a very important role in how the characters are drawn. This story may have been an episode of Family Guy if it had been drawn more like Persepolis. It may not have been taken seriously on its subject matter if it had been different.
This story goes very fast and really it seems like there are only scenes that are somewhat related to the theme of race/interracial dating, which makes it really effective in getting that theme across. The scenes, if they were any longer, would almost be too much because so much of the narrative is focused on those same issues, it would be overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteI think Ben was so angry about Miko being with a white man because of his own insecurities. He constantly made the argument that Miko had insecurities when she compared herself to the blonde girls that are "really" his type, but he is acting the same way. Its possible they were both suffering similarly from insecurities, like when Ben tells her to analyze herself for a change. I think Ben is uncomfortable being Asian, not to the extent of wanting to be white, but just not wanting to be seen as Asian. When Miko dates a white man it just proves his own personal points against himself (and same for Miko when Ben dates a white woman).
I think it was absolutely insane for Miko to break up with Ben like that. I'm not sure if she completely lied about the film internship, but leaving to New York to be with another guy while telling Ben they were on a break was ridiculous. Not that Ben didn't deserve to be dumped but what was she thinking? She probably never would have gone back to Ben though, even if Leon didn't work out.
I think the character detail in this book is more important here than in Persepolis. In Persepolis the advantage of using very cartoony and simplistic character designs is first, that Persepolis has more humor, and is about a coming of age narrative. This book is more focused on a specific social/political issue (not that Persepolis isn't social/political, but its much broader), and it really isn't humorous. The dialogue and scenes are very realistic and cinematic as well, which fits better with the more realistic characters.
I believe that a lot of Ben's anger toward Miko about their breakup is jealousy, but even more is insecurity based on and reinforced by stereotypes he accepts as truth. There are many stereotypes about asian men and women, specifically sexually charged stereotypes, and they are hurtful to all parties and all egos. Ben sees Miko with a large white man and immediately thinks he didn't "size up"; Miko left him for someone who could please her sexually. His masculinity is brought into question here. Then there is Miko, who is seen through Ben's eyes as being treated like a fetish, and her new boyfriend is likened to a pedophile for being attracted to her. Asian women are often a fetish in this way, because they are small and pale and childlike. This type of thinking is dangerous, limiting and destructive for Ben.
ReplyDeleteThe book, to me, is less about plot development and more about character development. I do not feel cheated that some of the story lines are short while others are drawn out. Whatever it takes to show us what these characters are all about.
I think that Shortcomings' artstyle works perfectly for the story it is trying to tell, and I definitely think that a more "cartoonish" style -- like that of Persepolis -- would have taken something away from the story. As it stands, the comic is sat in a kind of uncanny valley. The characters look so real, so life-like, that we focus on the things that aren't real -- or that are different than what we'd expect -- and that, for me at least, gave Shortcomings an almost dream-like atmosphere. One of those bad, nearly-lucid dreams you have while you've got a sinus infection and you're delirious from NyQuil. Oddly enough, the realism of this art made the story feel the most "unreal" for me, and I think that's cool.
ReplyDeleteTomine's work also reminds me very much of the work of Tao Lin. He's another Asian-American author and their novels both give me the same kind of feeling. I'd definitely recommend checking him out (Richard Yates is a good place to start) if you want more like this.
DeleteIll take a moment to recap what I thought of the book as a whole. It was a story about a relationship between American born Japanese boys and girls. Telling their story, from their perspective, how race and love play a huge role in deciding their partners. It shows dynamics between friends and how their parents set high expectations for their children. Finding their place in society and finding themselves is the battle they all face throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteThe book focuses on a crucial period in Miko and Ben’s relationship (the turmoil period). It demonstrated how ones perception of attraction to different races is noticed by the opposite partner and vice versa. Ben, being the strong opinionated, yet unwavering personality, kept his beliefs in the forefront the entire time. Miko found it hard to understand why he was attracted to “white, blond” girls. She became jealous and that jealousy lead for her to find more stability in someone else.
Coming to my opinion on Miko, I understand why she cheated on Ben. But at the same time, she took advantage of how oblivious Ben is to anything bad Miko could do. Therefore he never suspected anything from Miko until he arrived in NY. Ben can find attraction in white women and think it’s perfectly ok. But when he sees the man Miko is with is white, he thinks its disgusting and wrong. Quite the hypocrite, he fails to see he shouldn’t criticize. I feel Ben was constantly in conflicting with himself and his preferences in other women. He was not satisfied with Miko when they were together, which caused the constant arguments with one another. Even in the last pages of the book, he still doesn’t know what he wants. It was just easy for him to take out his frustrations on Miko in NY and her new boyfriend, Leon.
The book was very short but packed with details of how race and beliefs play a role in these Japanese American’s lives. Ben’s friend he talked to constantly showed the different side of race and sexual relations. Since her parents are very traditional and put so much stress on their daughter to finish school, marry a wealthy man and do it all very soon puts stresses on her. She became very consumed with her own life that made Ben’s problems seem like nothing. Ben fought for her attention by directing blame or teasing about her previous ‘girl toys’ to bring the attention and conversation back to himself. It just showed how selfish Ben is and how he failed to do more to try and help his friend.
If I was to compare the technique of Shortcomings to Persepolis, the realism in the sketches from Shortcomings matches the short impactful storyline much better then if they were more cartoon like characters. The realism made us see the characters exactly as they were. We weren’t given vague shapes to depict them, which didn’t allow us to see ourselves in the characters. That wasn’t the goal of Shortcomings. The goal was to witness their story of race and sexual situations and how these characters handled it. Therefore, the realistically drawn characters acted like we were watching a short film or real time window into their worlds at the time. Nothing was left to the imagination.
The pace of Shortcomings is very upbeat, but I feel like that is because it matches a time in Ben's life where he was just going through the motions. From how his relationship with Miko deteriorated it seemed as if he lost the will to live in a positive manner. I don't think that any scenes weren't needed because that would add to the already fast-pace. It was interesting seeing how the influence of his ignorance change his relationships with his friends and loved ones.
ReplyDeleteYes, it would have been nice to have extra panels showing his time with Sasha expand. I wanted to root for Ben finding happiness, at the same time I didn't feel as if he was willing to change to find it.
I think that Ben's happiness stems from the problems of identity with himself. With his racism towards his own people, this seems to be created from hatred from the world. Considering he was never picked on in high school his view of interracial dating is ironic. Where did his hate come from and where did the lust for white women come from as well. It seems as some sort of obsession with the white woman because of his hate for people of Asian decent.
Ben is such a contradiction because he preaches the same racism that many people do as well, but he just represents different values.
Do you feel that Ben is a particularly reliable narrator throughout the story? I always took his musings with as much skepticism as I could muster, since he is generally portrayed as an emotionally sick individual. I was highly dubious of his claim that he was never picked on when growing up, because however much he claims that race is irrelevant to him, he still brings it up. I think a big part of what this work forces us to meditate on is self-loathing, and what its roots are.
Delete1. Shortcomings’ pacing seems to complement its tone and portrayal of its characters. Ben as well as many other characters, present themselves as listless, without much drive, with no real direction or sense of control in their lives. For the majority of the book, Ben is without a job, or stable relationship. Alice flounders through her school experience, and her big, character-changing decision is not to finish or even to find her own purpose in life; she just quits. Their experiences lack any steady punctuation: fragmented moments are arranged in a vague chronology, with no strong sense of real time passing. To that end, Tomine effectively uses the gutter, as well as the flexibility of time in comics. His cuts between panels and the ambiguity they provide fit perfectly with the tone and substance of his work.
ReplyDelete2. Ben’s character has a surprisingly complex psychology attached to it, this being one of the book’s more prominent selling points. The book presents his characterization, and indeed, most everyone’s characterization, through dialogue. We see Ben complaining to Alice in the café, we see Ben complain to Miko at home or in the car, we see Ben doing weird things to the white women he dates, which he will later complain about to Alice and Miko. Put bluntly, this book is a whole lot of talking. Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with this; it fits in well with the post-adolescent ennui that Tomine seems to be capturing. When it comes to Ben himself, the final picture we get out of these scenes is that of a man who experiences a constant, subconscious persecution. He casts himself as a victim, making it easier for him to justify his warped views of race and dating. While unabashedly hypocritical in his views of how White and Asian relationships, for some reason he doesn’t want to make race a part of his life, claiming that he was never the object of prejudice while growing up. He dismisses it as a tangible part of one’s identity, yet allows it to define his relationships. To me, this seems to indicate a certain level of self-loathing attached to his identity as an Asian-American.
I liked the way it was paced. It made me think with emotion rather than process a story like MAUS or Persepolis. I didn’t feel like it was a problem because I didn’t have long enough to invest myself in the story. Style depends on wording, as far as I can tell with my own personal experience. Complicated backgrounds and faces that are very detailed do not work if you are trying to tell a long story. So I feel that a more loose, and minimalistic style you have, the more diologe heavy as well as “deep” your story can get.
ReplyDeleteI feel like that was exactly what she did, keeping Ben in her. It sort of seem like it was something her character was capable of, if that makes sense. Like, it seemed like something she would do.