About the AuthorTaylor Quimby graduated from Keene State College in 2010 with an individualized major in Aesthetic Studies. He currently works as a board operator and afternoon host for New Hampshire Public Radio. An avid reader of both comics and philosophy, Taylor also enjoys spending his time playing the ukulele, video games, and writing plays. Taylor lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire, with his family. Contents |
Literacy events can range from subtle to overt, and anywhere in between. Episodic mediums like television and comic books have many plot opportunities; often, there is at least one issue where a literacy event is the focus. Take for instance the comic book, Ex Machina, written by Brian K. Vaughn and illustrated by Tony Harris, about a retired superhero elected Mayor of New York. In one issue, he is forced to confront controversy over a subsidized museum’s newest acquisition: a painting of Abraham Lincoln over which the word “nigger” has been superimposed. Given the situation, the characters can’t help but express their deep-rooted beliefs regarding literacy and language. Both Rima Barry and the Deputy Mayor in this sequence advocate a kind of critical literacy, an approach defined by Cervetti and Damico as the viewpoint that “one imbues a text with meaning rather than extracting meaning from it. Textual meaning is understood in the context of social, historic, and power relations, not solely as the product or intention of an author.” However, from the context of their opposing societal roles, Barry and Wylie arrive at very different conclusions as to what actions a critical literacy approach ought to take. For them, the meaning of literacy is culturally and contextually situated. This scene also illustrates an important difference between watching films and reading comics: reading a comic is a literacy event. Writers and illustrators don’t merely capture literate worlds; they create them. Within the confines of this literacy event, the characters offer varying interpretations of text and image. On a broader level, the reader of a comic is interpreting another set of texts and images. Though it is possible either Barry or Wylie’s argument may be more appealing to a reader, and therefore influence their position on the issue, it is equally possible that the reader may develop a third, independent viewpoint. By offering multiple interpretations, the scene promotes critical literacy without specifically taking one side over another. Ultimately though, the division between the content of the page and the mind of the reader is a capricious one. In leaping from one to another a literacy event can transform in any number of ways. The “nigger lincoln” scene provides a platform on which readers might build any number of arguments or elaborations. However, many literacy events are devoid of discussion, or lecture. For these, exactly what is being represented isn’t always transparent. For instance, throughout the first five issues Mayor Mitchell Hundred is rarely seen doing any reading or writing for himself. His staff does it all for him. Interns read information from manila folders, secretaries carry notebooks or palm pilots. There is a pattern of constant delegation of literacy practices to employees and staff members. On the few occasions where Mayor Hundred is seen reading, it is often an unfavorable newspaper heading or political cartoon. For example, when the Abraham Lincoln painting hits the front page, Hundred holds it up and exclaims, “CHRIST ON A CRUTCH…IS IT REALLY THAT SLOW A NEWS DAY?" (Vaughan Issue 3). The proper place of media or the hierarchical structure of politics aren’t debated at length, and so it is possible for a reader to interpret this information any number of ways. It is certainly possible to make a reductive interpretation one way or another: elected officials are suspicious of literate populaces or literate populaces exert influence over their elected officials. Ultimately, the media allows Hundred’s constituents a voice, but from his tenuous position of authority that voice can also be a liability. The subtext of Ex Machina reveals how literacy values are constructed contextually. |
