September Discussion - Race

#1 · September 3, 2024, 8:23 pm

Quote from James Baker on September 3, 2024, 8:23 pm
Our discussion this month is about comics that look at race. We have some questions to get the discussion started so let us know what you think:

How different do books dealing with the same issues of race need to be if the primary intended audience is white to if the primary intended audience is people of colour? Is this something that we should be trying to change?

Many of the art styles in comics lean towards caricature, how can this impact the reading of a comic featuring people of different races? Are caricatures with racial undertones always a bad thing?

In what ways does being a graphic medium impact how comics deal with issues around race compared to text only works? Are these specific to these issues or are they relevant to other social issues as well?

As always we have three suggested readings to help engage with the topic but you're welcome to participate even if you haven't managed to read them all. The suggested readings for this month are:

The Talk by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt & Co.)

New Kid by Jerry Craft (Quill Tree)

Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)

And some questions related to these titles:

In what ways does the use of the mythical cyclopes in Cyclopedia Exotica as an allegory for racial otherness make the stories being told more accessible and universal? In what ways does it do the opposite?

The Talk is an autobiographical graphic novel that uses the framing device of the conversations that Darrin Bell has had to have with his parents and now with his children that white families don't need to have. What differences are there in the experience of reading this compared to fictional stories about the same subjects?

The target audience for New Kid is younger than The Talk or Cyclopedia Exotica. How can graphic novels help primary school age readers, and potentially even younger children, engage with these issues beyond what is possible with text only works?

Jerry Craft and Darrin Bell are both American and Aminder Dhaliwal is Canadian. How much of what they write about is specific to a North American experience and how much is applicable to Australian culture?

Our discussion this month is about comics that look at race. We have some questions to get the discussion started so let us know what you think:

How different do books dealing with the same issues of race need to be if the primary intended audience is white to if the primary intended audience is people of colour? Is this something that we should be trying to change?
Many of the art styles in comics lean towards caricature, how can this impact the reading of a comic featuring people of different races? Are caricatures with racial undertones always a bad thing?
In what ways does being a graphic medium impact how comics deal with issues around race compared to text only works? Are these specific to these issues or are they relevant to other social issues as well?

As always we have three suggested readings to help engage with the topic but you're welcome to participate even if you haven't managed to read them all. The suggested readings for this month are:

The Talk by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt & Co.)
New Kid by Jerry Craft (Quill Tree)
Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)

And some questions related to these titles:

In what ways does the use of the mythical cyclopes in Cyclopedia Exotica as an allegory for racial otherness make the stories being told more accessible and universal? In what ways does it do the opposite?
The Talk is an autobiographical graphic novel that uses the framing device of the conversations that Darrin Bell has had to have with his parents and now with his children that white families don't need to have. What differences are there in the experience of reading this compared to fictional stories about the same subjects?
The target audience for New Kid is younger than The Talk or Cyclopedia Exotica. How can graphic novels help primary school age readers, and potentially even younger children, engage with these issues beyond what is possible with text only works?
Jerry Craft and Darrin Bell are both American and Aminder Dhaliwal is Canadian. How much of what they write about is specific to a North American experience and how much is applicable to Australian culture?

September Discussion - Race

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