-Identity

-Culture

-Creativity

-Communication

-Perspective

-Transformation

-Representation

We discussed about what a literary work is. This could be a single novel, biography, autobiography, or several smaller forms of literature; 2-3 novellas, 5-10 

 

We also discussed the graffiti art of street artist Banksy where he supports the movement "Black Lives Matter", paying tribute to George Floyd. We were explained to the importance of analysing even the smallest of details.

In this instance, we noticed, that the art was drab except for the American flag, which was alit and coloured, hinting that the artist still believes in what those colours stand for, since they were clearly given such importance. The scar burned on the American National flag by the candle would remain forever and go down in the history of the country reminding its citizens of this regretful event. 

We also watched a ted-ed speech titled ‘the Danger of a Single Story’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I got to know how a single, simple narrative can create stereotypes, which are incomplete, incorrect and rob people's dignity. I understood how stories can empower and humanize and at the same time break a human. Few words/phrases that really caught my attention are: 

"Authentically African", "Repressive government", "Beasts who have no heads", "Single stories create stereotypes", etc... The questions that I made to unpack the concepts of the video were:

1) How do the western powers create influence on the readers?

2) How does a repressive government affect the literature of that country? How does that affect the readers and writers?

 

Commonly confused terms

-Graphic novels (picture novel with a lot of narrative)

Eg. Persepolis

-Comics (often combined with texts and images and is periodical, published regularly)

Eg. Calvin and Hobbes

Manga – (generally graphic novels or comics from Japan. They are read from right to left, contrary to their English counterparts)

Eg. Naruto

All of them are a medium, not a genre. Genre exists within the graphic novel realm.

1.  Panels: (also known as frames) are squares and rectangles that contain a single scene.

2. Gutter: It is the space between the panels.

3. Dialogue Balloons: They contain audible dialogue.

4. Thought Balloons: These contain unarticulated thoughts of a single character.

5.  Captions: These contain third-person information about a scene or a character. 

6. Sound effects: Visual sound cues, Onomatopoeia (Wham, Boom, Phew, etc...)

 

Specifically, amongst panels, there are different kinds of transitions. Here are some -

1. Moment to Moment transition: tiniest of changes, such as of expression.

2. Action to Action transition: The subject of both the panels changes the action it does.

3. Subject to Subject: The subject of the panel itself changes 

4. Scene to Scene transition: There's a change in the scene such as a flashback, a fast-forward or a location shift. 

5. Aspect to Aspect transition: Comparison of two scenarios at the same time. No timelapse; Same time. (juxtaposition)

6. Non-sequitur: As the name suggests there is no direct relation/connection/sequence between the panels. 

 

Different kinds of perspectives/camera angles

-> Close up, medium shot, long shot

-> Tilt-up, Tilt-down

-> Panning and Tracking. 

 

We reflected on the differences between the terms Juxtaposition, Paradox, Oxymoron, and Antithesis. 

 

Juxtaposition is an act or instance of placing two elements close together or side by side, physically or symbolically to express their contrast or similarities.

 

An Oxymoron is a type of/subset of juxtaposition. Oxymorons are phrases whose individual components are generally contradictory to create emphasis. Here, mostly adjectives and nouns are placed together.  Eg. clearly confusing, jumbo shrimp

 

 

An Antithesis is also a type of Juxtaposition. It involves the usage of opposites. It refers to specifically one as the antithesis of the other, unlike juxtaposition, which is defined by both of the conflicting elements.

Paradox is a statement which inherently is incoherent. It is naturally contradictory to emphasize one of the two elements. Eg. Beginning of the end, less is more 

In the last class of the week, we were given a picture to analyse in a group. The following reflections were made by us on the picture: 

1. highlights globalization using juxtaposition; the tribal person in a shopping mall/grocery store.

2. modern conventions of attractiveness, and how foreign they are; long, silky hair = good.

3. intrigues the audience to question our beliefs in society and how stereotypes affect the way we perceive people and other activities around us.

4. The text "Head and Shoulders" is highlighted via the use of the bright color blue that stands out hence attracting the audience's attention. The bold text also appears to be in the foreground whereas the man is in the mid group.

5. begs the question - is the way things are done the best way to do things just because it has been imposed on most of the globe?

6. The character can be seen with huge eyes and a blunt facial expression suggesting that he is astonished by the environment he is in.

7. The picture also implicitly indicates and spreads awareness about embracing ones own culture and identity.

8. it helps the audience introspect and rethink about Morden living and how lost our cultural traditions are and how western culture dominated the globe has become.

9. puzzled by 'sale' because black people were sold and bought, marketed no differently than a shampoo.

This is well explained by a statement we analysed, “Until the lion finds a voice, Safari tales will be written by the hunter.” Here, the hunter is the colonies, who, until the lions; colonies, began to express themselves, were the only ones providing a narrative. 

We then discussed the article titled "An African Voice" by Katie Bacon. 

Things Fall Apart was one of the first pieces of post-colonial literature, after which many authors followed suit, and so Chinua Achebe is considered to be the founding father of African literature in the English language. He used the language of the colonizers. 

In the next class, we individually reflected upon the question assigned from the article and came up with 3 points that answer the question. 

1. You have been called the progenitor of the modern African novel, and Things Fall Apart has maintained its resonance in the decades since it was written. Have you been surprised by the effect the book has had?  

--> Yes, I was surprised at the beginning. There was no African Literature during the time of the publishing of the book as a result I didn't even know whether TFA would be accepted and publishes. 

-Its meaning for my Igbo people was clear to me, but I didn't know how other people elsewhere would respond to it: the whole class of a girls' college in South Korea wrote to me, and each one expressed an opinion about the book. Their colonizer was Japan and has a similar history and experience as mentioned in the book, as a result, they were able to connect with the book.  

- But of course, something doesn't continue to surprise you every day. After a while, I began to understand why the book has a resonance: People across the world could resp

 

 

2. It seems that people from places that haven't experienced colonization, in the same way, have also responded to the story. 

-> It seems that people from places that haven't experienced colonization, in the same way, have also responded to the story." 

Summary: 

- Achebe believes dispossession doesn't always have to be in the form of colonization. Everyone has experienced it at some point. 

- Once the readers understand the character of a story, they subconsciously imagine themselves in the shoes of the character and visualize all the scenes, which helps them form an empathy link. Hence, they're able to connect with the character spiritually. 

- E.g. Sujata Gidla's Ants Among Elephants, though we're not Dalits/untouchables, when we read the story we tend to understand the feeling of getting left out. 

- Since his book was targeted at everyone (the native Africans and the foreigners) he believed that his novel would be successful only if the audience would relate to Okonkwo, despite having a completely different background.

 

 

3. In Home and Exile, you talk about the negative ways in which British authors such as Joseph Conrad and Joyce Cary portrayed Africans over the centuries. What purpose did that portrayal serve? 

-> Europeans produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in very lurid terms to justify the slave trade and slavery. 

 

People began to question the slave trade, and because it was profitable people who engaged in it came forward to defend it. It was difficult to excuse and justify, and so the steps that were taken to justify it were rather extreme.

 

This became the motive for the literature that was created about Africa and it continued until the Africans themselves, in the middle of the twentieth century (even after the slave trade was abolished), took into their own hands the telling of their story.

 

 

4. You write in Home and Exile, "After a short period of dormancy and a little self-doubt about its erstwhile imperial mission, the West may be ready to resume its old domineering monologue in the world." Are some Western writers backpedaling and trying to tell their own version of African stories again? 

->Achebe has written in one of his other novel, “Home and Exile” that “After a short period of dormancy and a little self-doubt about its erstwhile imperial mission, the West may be ready to resume its old domineering monologue in the world” So the question being asked to him here is that 'Are some western writers trying to tell their own version of African stories again?'

 

-He wants a balance of stories between the Western writers and the African writers. One where each one of them has their viewpoints to share.

-He doesn't want people to stop writing about someone else, but he wants those who have been written about also to be a part of the story to avoid any misleading thoughts or stereotypes about them.

 

 

 

5. And that's what started with Things Fall Apart and other books written by Africans around the 1950s. 

->The danger of a single story is detrimental to 

a peaceful and accepting global society.

A diverse viewpoint is essential.

Those who win tell the story but that is changing.

The structure of power is still reminiscent of prior times but access to voicing out one’s point of view has increased.

A shift in power when equalizing creates a diverse viewpoint.

Our knowledge of the world its people and their cultures become richer and more intricate

 

 

6. What's your opinion about the new President, Olusegun Obasanjo? Are you less optimistic about him now than you were when he was elected, in May of 1999? 

->Understands he has a difficult task 

-Situation past 20 years has been ‘grave’ (post-colonization)

-100 million Nigerians

Gives him credit, but also says he has a lot more to do quickly

Does not want to incite religious conflict, the religious beliefs of the president is irrelevant and he won't use it when criticizing him

Overall is on the fence with his opinion (jury is still out)

 

 

7. In an Atlantic Unbound interview this past winter Nadine Gordimer said, "English is used by my fellow writers, blacks, who have been the most extreme victims of colonialism. They use it even though they have African languages to choose from. I think that once you've mastered a language it's your own. It can be used against you, but you can free yourself and use it as black writers do—you can claim it and use it." Do you agree with her? 

-> Author agrees

Has spent lifetime acquiring, foolish not to use the language, especially since it is global

In terms of colonization and the British, it’s not just a language, but also an ‘effective weapon’, ‘powerful weapon’, and a counterargument to colonization

Example of being able to improve even after being oppressed (diamond, butterfly)

when the lion learns to speak the language of the hunter, he, too, gets to tell his story.