Page 132 had some interesting use of panel transitions. In the first frame, Marji strolls along listening to what these men have to offer like how our eyes scroll left to right, stopping to take note of what's interesting (Jikael Mackson, wow). When she does, the next two frames slow things down where both the seller and Marji get their own frames to make sure no one's watching as the transaction is completed. It creates a sense of tension that is finally broken on the next frame, where she is happily returning home. That is, until she gets caught immediately after. Oh snap.
Page 101 has a subject-to-subject (I think that's would you'd categorize it as) transition that I thought was particularly effective. In panel 4, Marji's mom is asking Marji's cousin Shahab about the army recruiting children. They are in Marji's living room, but the next panel, much thinner than the last, frames Shahab against a black background as he looks up into the large blank space over his head. This silent beat of introspection leads smoothly into his word description of the army, which also uses the black background. The transition panel (panel 5), the thinnest on the page, gives the narration a sense of space and continuity bridging the current moment and the flashback.
I found the second row of page 76 interesting. In the first panel, all the women are clumped together in a tiny square without much motion, but the next panel, which is twice as wider than the first one, is full of men beating the protesters. Also, the arm on the right side of the first panel is "connected" to the man on the second left side, making the transition much smoother.
Marie Curie, that beloved heroine of science, appears in two panels. The first shows her in the laboratory performing scientific experiments, while the second shows her on her deathbed dying of radiation poisoning. Although that transition is interesting, it is not as interesting as what comes after. In the following panel, after we have seen Marie Curie, we see Marjane in an identical position: in her bed with a forlorn look. In image, we watch Marjane embody her idol even though in text, she says “And so another dream went up in smoke.” It’s as though two lines of a melody were moving in opposite directions.
Page 102 has a very interesting scene to scene transition. In the first panel, we see a horrific and somewhat surreal image of young boys being blasted apart by mines, keys dangling from their necks. In the second panel, we get a complete scene and atmosphere change as we see Marji gleefully jumping around at a party with other children. I found this jump very interesting, as the two panels and scenes stand in sharp contrast to each other. However, they both are representing the reality of youth during the time. It is shocking for the reader to see the second image, as it in some way makes the first image more personal, allowing the reader to remember that the faceless bodies in the first image are children just like those in the second image. The use of a scene to scene transition emphasizes that these two realities may as well be happening at the same time.
I really like the panel transitions for page 103 and 104, showing how people react to a bomb siren. Two long vertical panels on each page show silhouettes scrambling up and down flights of stairs, while the other two-thirds of the page is taken up by black-dominated panels of people waiting under the bombs and frantically calling friends and family to check that everyone's alright. I like the parallel structure between these pages, as it suggests a very practiced routine. The last panel of page 104 is confused and crowded, with people's silhouettes and word bubbles overlapping separate "moments", which serves to emphasize the hectic chaos of life under the threat of bombs.
The humorous three panel sequence at the top of page 97 caught my eye. The first two panels are an action-to-action sequence which derives its humor from bordering on the non-sequiter. Somewhere within the very short gutter, Marji went from standing and shouting about martyrs to rolling around on the ground. Because of the implied quick transition between panels, the mind has more trouble finding closure for this, and it becomes funnier, even though the dialogue - "The martyrs! The martyrs!" and "Kill me!" - contextually isn't very funny at all. The third panel's action clearly took place sooner after the second panel than the second panel's did to the first, so the joke here is actually contained in the dialogue itself, not the visual. The third panel provides a punchline not just to this sequence, but perhaps to the entire novel: "Satrapi! What are you doing on the ground?" the teacher, standing in for the audience, asks. "I'm suffering, can't you see?" Satrapi bluntly replies.
I would second Laura with page 102. While I agree that there is a sharp juxtaposition, I feel that the compositions with the two panels mirror each other. The bodies being blown up in the first panel look almost like the jubilant dancing figures in the second panel. Perhaps Sartrapi is trying to connect the two groups in terms of their youthfulness and energy. Unfortunately while Marjane's group is able to release that in innocuous parties, the boys who were promised paradise channeled their youthful exuberance through more deadly ways. This is why the transition is so effective. I believe this is what McCloud considers a "scene-to-scene" transition. And because these panels are so disparate in tone, we get a more a well-roundedness sense of the world in the graphic novel. Just as our reality holds both terrible tragedy and wonderful joy, so does the world in the book.
I agree with Leah about the transition in the middle tier of page 76. McCloud would likely classify it as an action to action transition, but the sudden shift in tone makes it feel like a scene to scene transition. You're transported to a different world. On the left Marji's still lives in an Iran where she can voice protests, where she as an individual (and a woman) still has power. On the right, we've entered into the new reality of the harsh regime. This is the pivot point where things really start going down hill in Iran. The choice leave out intervening panels emphasizes the suddenness of the men's attack and the lose of a way of life. Closure is easily achieved thanks to the narration, build up of suspense.
I think that Page 142 is an interesting page to turn to when thinking about panel transitions, especially in light of McCloud's argument. The first two panels are clearly moment-to-moment, then subject-to-subject, then moment-to-moment... then moment-to-nothing? A lot of artists use the strategy of not showing anything, a kind of visual silence, to point at indescribable moments. Is this her view of the inside of her hands? Is this suggesting that for a moment, there's nothing but her thoughts? What is the reader supposed to fill in to "close" this moment?
Page 132 had some interesting use of panel transitions. In the first frame, Marji strolls along listening to what these men have to offer like how our eyes scroll left to right, stopping to take note of what's interesting (Jikael Mackson, wow). When she does, the next two frames slow things down where both the seller and Marji get their own frames to make sure no one's watching as the transaction is completed. It creates a sense of tension that is finally broken on the next frame, where she is happily returning home. That is, until she gets caught immediately after. Oh snap.
ReplyDeletePage 101 has a subject-to-subject (I think that's would you'd categorize it as) transition that I thought was particularly effective. In panel 4, Marji's mom is asking Marji's cousin Shahab about the army recruiting children. They are in Marji's living room, but the next panel, much thinner than the last, frames Shahab against a black background as he looks up into the large blank space over his head. This silent beat of introspection leads smoothly into his word description of the army, which also uses the black background. The transition panel (panel 5), the thinnest on the page, gives the narration a sense of space and continuity bridging the current moment and the flashback.
ReplyDeleteI found the second row of page 76 interesting. In the first panel, all the women are clumped together in a tiny square without much motion, but the next panel, which is twice as wider than the first one, is full of men beating the protesters. Also, the arm on the right side of the first panel is "connected" to the man on the second left side, making the transition much smoother.
ReplyDeleteMarie Curie (p. 73)
ReplyDeleteMarie Curie, that beloved heroine of science, appears in two panels. The first shows her in the laboratory performing scientific experiments, while the second shows her on her deathbed dying of radiation poisoning. Although that transition is interesting, it is not as interesting as what comes after. In the following panel, after we have seen Marie Curie, we see Marjane in an identical position: in her bed with a forlorn look. In image, we watch Marjane embody her idol even though in text, she says “And so another dream went up in smoke.” It’s as though two lines of a melody were moving in opposite directions.
Page 102 has a very interesting scene to scene transition. In the first panel, we see a horrific and somewhat surreal image of young boys being blasted apart by mines, keys dangling from their necks. In the second panel, we get a complete scene and atmosphere change as we see Marji gleefully jumping around at a party with other children. I found this jump very interesting, as the two panels and scenes stand in sharp contrast to each other. However, they both are representing the reality of youth during the time. It is shocking for the reader to see the second image, as it in some way makes the first image more personal, allowing the reader to remember that the faceless bodies in the first image are children just like those in the second image. The use of a scene to scene transition emphasizes that these two realities may as well be happening at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI really like the panel transitions for page 103 and 104, showing how people react to a bomb siren. Two long vertical panels on each page show silhouettes scrambling up and down flights of stairs, while the other two-thirds of the page is taken up by black-dominated panels of people waiting under the bombs and frantically calling friends and family to check that everyone's alright. I like the parallel structure between these pages, as it suggests a very practiced routine. The last panel of page 104 is confused and crowded, with people's silhouettes and word bubbles overlapping separate "moments", which serves to emphasize the hectic chaos of life under the threat of bombs.
ReplyDeleteThe humorous three panel sequence at the top of page 97 caught my eye. The first two panels are an action-to-action sequence which derives its humor from bordering on the non-sequiter. Somewhere within the very short gutter, Marji went from standing and shouting about martyrs to rolling around on the ground. Because of the implied quick transition between panels, the mind has more trouble finding closure for this, and it becomes funnier, even though the dialogue - "The martyrs! The martyrs!" and "Kill me!" - contextually isn't very funny at all. The third panel's action clearly took place sooner after the second panel than the second panel's did to the first, so the joke here is actually contained in the dialogue itself, not the visual. The third panel provides a punchline not just to this sequence, but perhaps to the entire novel: "Satrapi! What are you doing on the ground?" the teacher, standing in for the audience, asks. "I'm suffering, can't you see?" Satrapi bluntly replies.
ReplyDeleteI would second Laura with page 102. While I agree that there is a sharp juxtaposition, I feel that the compositions with the two panels mirror each other. The bodies being blown up in the first panel look almost like the jubilant dancing figures in the second panel. Perhaps Sartrapi is trying to connect the two groups in terms of their youthfulness and energy. Unfortunately while Marjane's group is able to release that in innocuous parties, the boys who were promised paradise channeled their youthful exuberance through more deadly ways. This is why the transition is so effective. I believe this is what McCloud considers a "scene-to-scene" transition. And because these panels are so disparate in tone, we get a more a well-roundedness sense of the world in the graphic novel. Just as our reality holds both terrible tragedy and wonderful joy, so does the world in the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Leah about the transition in the middle tier of page 76. McCloud would likely classify it as an action to action transition, but the sudden shift in tone makes it feel like a scene to scene transition. You're transported to a different world. On the left Marji's still lives in an Iran where she can voice protests, where she as an individual (and a woman) still has power. On the right, we've entered into the new reality of the harsh regime. This is the pivot point where things really start going down hill in Iran. The choice leave out intervening panels emphasizes the suddenness of the men's attack and the lose of a way of life. Closure is easily achieved thanks to the narration, build up of suspense.
ReplyDeleteI think that Page 142 is an interesting page to turn to when thinking about panel transitions, especially in light of McCloud's argument. The first two panels are clearly moment-to-moment, then subject-to-subject, then moment-to-moment... then moment-to-nothing? A lot of artists use the strategy of not showing anything, a kind of visual silence, to point at indescribable moments. Is this her view of the inside of her hands? Is this suggesting that for a moment, there's nothing but her thoughts? What is the reader supposed to fill in to "close" this moment?
ReplyDelete