Disaster Drawn by Hillary Chute
I've watched Barefoot Gen and respected how it handled the subject of the atomic bomb and have read I Saw It twice. I like Chute's analysis of using manga as a medium to present traditionally biographical subjects that one may see in books or documentaries. It is neither traditional, idealized manga nor is it gekiga. The comparison to Maus in this essay was unexpected but useful, as I've read that series and can understand why the documentation of tragedies was considered unusual until these two stories came along.
The interesting thing about Barefoot Gen is the delay in the telling of the bomb dropping. Nakazawa takes time to document his familial experiences. This engages the reader, provides the opportunity to compare the times prior to the bomb dropping to the aftermath, and doesn't make this story just about the bomb dropping. Throughout Nakazawa's work, his depiction of the bomb's aftermath is truly haunting. There is a sense of urgency and uncensored experience. There is no idealized reality here. It's funny that Spiegelman commented that Nakazawa's depiction's etched themselves into his brain, Maus had a similar effect on mine.
*(I will say, though, this essay made leaps in judgement at times and it was hard to ascertain the point but thanks for the much-needed clarification in class.)
After reading I Saw It (twice):
I have never relished in the history of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan, I think we should be ashamed for our decisions made during wartime. However, I Saw It intensifies this feeling and, as Spiegelman said, etches it's imagery into your mind. I imagine what would happen if more people read something like this in order to prevent history from repeating itself. We seem to understand the Holocaust so well (then again, do we? Racism is still an intense subject in America and genocide still exists in many parts of Africa...) but we dissociate ourselves from the nuclear power we once held and further push using nuclear power as a weapon, not as a renewable resource.
Junji Ito Research
Along with looking into some "documentorial" mangas, I did a lot of research for my Junji Ito presentation. I've decided I would compare Japanese and American horror through the context of manga/comics and ask why there is not a well documented history for Japanese gore. I do believe the "a-bomb-panic" inspired one of Junji Ito's mangas and it is Gyo.
Generally, I have noticed that most of Ito's works discuss a breakdown of society through individual's who are punished for no discernible reason, such as in Dissolving Classroom or The Enigma of Amigara Fault. Gyo, however, analyzed mass hysteria, through disease, and its effect on the nation of Japan. Ito also chooses to form his own folklore rather than using traditional Japanese folklore themes.
I look forward to completing Tomie next and looking more into American pulp horror to compare.
Questions for the visiting Japanese Scholar:
1. I'm struggling to find sources about the history of Japanese horror, more specifically Japanese gore in comics. Are there any sources I can look to such as the shunga ukiyo-e prints of the Edo period? I'm just interested in finding out why Japanese horror is so brutal (and a lot of the time erotic) compared to American. Is it because of the American comic's code?
2. In that same line of questioning, was there a censorship period for manga in Japan?
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