Romance and Magical Realism in Graphic Literature, part 4

Continued

IV – Conclusion

In summation, the question of this work’s classification as either Romance or Magical Realism has been addressed.  The story contains elements of Romance, but the emotional element of the ending does not fall in line with the category’s norms.  Realism wins out against Romance, but an irreducible element of magic prevents this story from being simple Realism.  The Realism must be qualified as Magical.

It is worth noting that in no way do these definitions of Romance and Magical Realism conflict.  This story fit the criteria for Magical Realism far better than Romance, but not through anything mutually exclusive.  A work may possibly be both Romance and Magical Realism, if it is constructed carefully and the story ends satisfactorily.

Romance and Magical Realism in Graphic Literature, Part 3

Continued.

This is the point where I actually make an argument.

III – Difficulty in Definition

Despite the title of this section, I shall begin by examining Romance, the definition of which is more readily agreed upon by critics than that of Magical Realism.  I turn to Northrop Frye, who posits

“Romance in particular is, we say, ‘sensational’: it likes violent stimulus, and the sources of that stimulus soon become clear to the shuddering censor.  The central element of romance is a love story, and the exciting adventures are normally a foreplay leading up to a sexual union.”

Romance and Magical Realism in Graphic Literature, part 2

Continued

II – In Defense of the Medium

A question arises, obvious to many who have studied finer literatures than the text examined here: “Why should I care what happens in a Graphic Novel?”  This is a fair question, but only in its broader sense.  Every analysis of a literary work must by necessity begin with the question, “Why is this interesting?”  Most works speak for themselves in regards to this question.  Most readers do not stop to reflect on the value in analyzing most literature, due in great part to our culture’s evaluation of the written word.   History and science, for example, did not advance much during the Middle Ages because scholars merely accepted the writings of their ancestors as knowledge.  The thought process resembled, “Aristotle had written this down, and Aristotle is a father of thinking, thus this written word is unequivocally the truth.”

Romance and Magical Realism in Graphic Literature

I – Introduction

Scholars have noticed a distinct upswing in works that can be categorized as Romance in the last few decades.  Many attribute this to Romance’s easy translation to the formats of film and television, while others claim that it is a natural moment in a cycle or pendulum that alternates between Romance and Realism.

Romance, though, has never fallen completely out of fashion.  Pulp fictions and penny dreadfuls have been popular amongst a literate middle class, ever since this middle class learned to read.  Does this mean that a literature aimed at a low-brow audience is entirely devoid of contemplative nutrition?  Not necessarily.  If we take penny dreadfuls’ descendants, Graphic Novels, as an example, we find a genre that has grown and matured.  Whereas the target audience for Graphic Literature forty or fifty years ago was the 7-13 age group, the modern target audience is the 18-35 age group.  Because the genre’s readership has grown, so has much of its writing (though it is difficult to say which is the chicken and which the egg, here).  This is no longer an industry of men who failed as artists and men who failed as writers.

Prospectus

I return, having laid waste to much of what has kept me occupied.

As I have spent much of my time writing some critical essays, I shall post them as they become available.

Here is the prospectus for a piece on Magical Realism and Romance in Moon Knight.

Part of the interest in Magical Realism is the difficulty in its definition.  If we take Wendy Faris’ definition of the term, then the genre expands to include many more texts, some of which had been previously categorized in a different manner.  Many of these newly re-shelved texts sit elsewhere under the traditional heading, “Romance.”  Because of the ambiguity regarding these two headings and the intersection of their genres, I shall refer to each as a “category” to avoid confusion.

In this paper, I shall discuss the intersection Romance and Magical Realism.  Methods of analysis shall include comparisons of each category’s contrast against Realism and exploration and clarification of the definitions of these categories, referring primarily to Northrop Frye and Wendy Faris.

The primary text I shall analyze in this light will be the graphic novel series Moon Knight, paying special attention to the story arcs “The Bottom” and “God and Country.”  Here I will use my observations on Magical Realism and Romance to analyze the plot and the characters of this text.  I hope to be able to place this work squarely into one of those categories, but I expect to find that Magical Realism merely sits in the middle of a Lanserian spectrum running from Romance to Realism.

Review Revue

I’ve been reading and watching all sorts of interesting things in the wake of Christmas and my birthday. Here’s the cream of the crop.

Deadpool: I love Deadpool, especially when a page turn involves, “Hail Hydra! I mean… STOP TRYING TO DECAPITATE MY PAL!” That’s right, friends: the triumphant return of Bob, Agent of Hydra! Well, maybe not so triumphant.

Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps are still two of my favorites, despite some questionable moves. I’m a romantic at heart, but I don’t believe that two characters should be together just because they are opposite genders and in the same book. Nevertheless, Kyle Rayner and Soranik Natu’s command to fall in love (Really, the Star Sapphires and their Love Lantern hoodoo confuses me. Sometimes it’s cool, but at others it’s only good because it) adds well to the drama of the Guardians’ decree that members of the GL Corps are forbidden from romantic relationships. But the Red Lantern story is still cool. How can you not enjoy something that involves a guy called “Atrocitus”?

Weekly Comic Review ~ Rud Edition

This week, I’m going to review something of a grab bag. There’s a stack of comics near my bed, which is nowhere near the pile of comics near my door. The stack is smaller than the pile, so I’m reviewing that.