He essentially gives the initial profile of each character from the beginning, rather than using the text and images to tell us, the reader, this basic but important info. I often found myself flipping back to this page to check the characters as they were introduced and revealed more about themselves.
Did this initial profile view of the character strike anyone else? Did you pay attention to this page as an important indicator of the characters? When viewing this page I automatically thought of the way we, modern society, have access to everyone's basic, even in depth at times, through social media. Do think Tomine had this in mind while making this page? How does this page affect your view of the characters as individuals? Lastly, do you think pages like this is important in a modern comic where society is so obsessed with size, looks, gender and overall profile of person?
The character profile was rather striking to me as well. Tomine immediately established the race of each character, making it clear that race issues are going to be an important part of the novel. At the same time, the profile was immensely helpful. I found myself very confused with which characters were which while reading King. It reminded me of a play script, in which all of the characters are listed up front and sometimes given some important information.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, this access to the characters information is a lot like social media. While it is possible that Tomine had this in mind, I personally think he made the profile page simply to establish the major characters and their respective racial background. I do think that he does this to affect our view of the characters somewhat. From the very beginning, we as readers are unable to detach the characters from their race, and therefore, their race is an integral part of their identity to us readers.
So, I do think that pages like these are important because of the way in which our society obsesses over the appearance of people. The graphic novel as a whole is important because it shows how race plays a large part in a person's identity. We all make profiles of ourselves in a way, and it is important to consider all the various factors in establishing one's identity. However, a proper balance is necessary in order to establish a healthy identity. Ben's unhealthy identity is a direct result of his inability to balance his racial heritage with his personal identity.
The title page struck me as an unusual approach in introducing comic characters. I’m much use to the title page having the characters facing the reader with their names and small description of the role they play in the comic/series rather than a page that displays the characters almost in a police lineup profile with all the basic information about the characters. I think that it is a strong message about racial profiling and how we are not only obsessed about one’s race but also where they were born – primarily to prove whether they can be considered truly American – their age which we gauge how we will judge their maturity, and even height determines how seriously we may take them. It’s interesting when thinking how much we use as a standard for judging. For instance Miko was born in Massachusetts but because she has a traditional Japanese first name along with her last name one wouldn’t consider her American and might still refuse to believe she is American after being told she was born in the US. Age determines how seriously one’s opinions might be taken as age is used to determine maturity rather than the person’s actual life experience. Autumn may be a prime example as she is 22. Older people may believe her to be too young and naïve to have worthwhile opinions. Height, too, is a ridiculous factor in how one is treated. Shorter people like Alice could be teased or her abilities doubted simply because she is not what one would consider average height – possibly by American standards.
ReplyDeleteGender could be factor with Meredith as she had much shorter hair than the other girls which causes her profile to come off as boyish in terms of hairstyle. From a head shot alone it’s difficult to tell if she has more feminine features to distinguish her as female. This alone is problematic as it shows how heavily we rely on “either or” in terms of gender. Those who are naturally androgynous in appearance or those who wish to be androgynous or are transsexual are often labeled by their physical appearance whether intentional or not because we have created a visual system of girl or boy with no middle ground. As it is I am surprised that Tomine did not include the character’s weight as that is a huge obsession in all cultures not just America. Everyone wants thin, slim girls and even boy feel this pressure if not as aggressively. It shows how we – we being as a culture and a human race – always claim to love diversity and that people should love themselves for who they are but always practice the opposite when interacting with one another.
Yes, I do believe that this page stuck out to me. And I think that it help to understand who the character are and were they come from. This kind of reminds of a novel I've been writing that has a brief description of the characters and how they acted at the end of a chapter. I believe that the profiling of this comic help the read keep track who these people are. This was probably Tomine's intention when he made the page. But what happens in the book is more important than what the first page can tell us. The most important part is the actions of what the characters take.
ReplyDeleteI found the profile page to be very much like the Japanese manga. Often in manga we are given character profiles with their names, blood types, height and age along with other information. Also if a manga is tends to spans across several volumes they will reprint the profiles at the beginning of various volumes and sometimes the information will change (updated). This is most likely because while a manga is being serialized it is done so in various magazines that gets printed either weekly, biweekly, monthly or every six months before enough chapters have been released to create and print a manga volume.
ReplyDeleteI simply felt that the profile was just another example of western comics borrowing from the Japanese style. It could have been done by the author because they either felt that due to the drawing style that people might confuse the characters with their similar appearance or it could be as some responses have suggested as a means of detailing the characters due to the obsession with appearance and other individual details about the characters. As the title seems to suggest as I read through the story it appears that the details about the characters is rather important to the theme of individualization and the lack there of due to the hidden aspects the characters lives.
To me, what's most telling about the profiles is what they DON'T list. You don't see their likes or dislikes, hair color or eye color. You don't know what their occupations are. Instead, the characters are broken down into these very simple definitions: name, age, height, place of birth. There's an oddly superficial bent to the information that is provided here. Listing each character's height, in particular, feels weirdly unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteEven so, the place of birth information is informative, especially in a story that is so laser-focused on ancestry, and racial assimilation. It's worth noting that only one character - Alice - can truly be considered a foreigner, having been born in South Korea. The rest of the characters, despite the various conversations about their Asian heritage, are all essentially American by birth. Additionally, only two of the characters listed are actually native to California. So, nearly everybody in the story is an immigrant or outsider on some level (Ben often decries the state of New York, saying it's inferior to Berkley. However, he himself is a native of Oregon).
The profile was a nice supplemental, but honestly didn't affect my reading of the book in any particular way. It was interesting for Tomine to tip his hand in terms of what characters were going to be introduced so early on, instead of allowing their reveal to come as a surprise on the page (though, arguably, said reveals are still effective since so little information is given on the profile page). It's an odd creative decision; I'm not sure it's used to its most effective end, however.
Yes, I definitely noticed this page right away and was intrigued by the listed characteristics. With the title "Shortcomings" listed above them in such bold print my immediate thought was, "I wonder what their shortcomings are." I realized they were probably the characters from the book but found it odd what information we were given. "Name," and "Age," seemed pretty common characteristics but "Height?" I wondered if this had something to do with the fact that there were Asian characters and there's a stereotype that Asians are short. I also thought adding, "Born," into the characteristics of the characters was interesting. It made me think right away that this was going to be a book about Asian immigrants or something similar based on the four character traits given.
ReplyDeleteI noticed the short page of the profiles interesting. It was something that I haven’t seen before and was kind of confused on what its purpose was. Once I started reading, I felt as if it was easier to identify the characters within the comic. I found it interesting on how the characters were positioned in these pictures. It reminded me of a profile shot that prisons take. This to me was significant because once I read the names of the characters, I assumed they were mostly Asian. I found myself profiling based off of their names and the way they looked rather than where they were from or reading on to see their race or ethnicity rather than based on their looks. This profiling stuck out to me because once I read on and thought about it, I figured that was Tomine’s intention… to make the reader think, assume, then realize that the point Tomine was trying to make was about racial profiling and to emphasize that race is a key component in this graphic novel. I agree with the point you make about Facebook and other social networking outlets. A lot of people obsess over posting their image on their page and others obsess over looking at the updated photos that are posted. It’s all about identity and how one views others.
ReplyDeleteThere’s a part of me that wishes that every story – even non comic stories - started out with a profile of all the main characters like this one because it serves as a great reference sheet. It’s not that there is an overwhelming amount of characters in this book, but in some other books I’ve read contain ten or more main characters. When dealing with that many characters, it can be hard to remember all the back stories and put the right face with the name. Not only does it point out the main/important characters without giving anything away, it also helps me envision the characters more clearly than ever before. I can actually say, “Oh, Ben Tanaka is just as tall as me,” or “Alice Kim only comes up to my neck.” Whereas I’ve never been able to say that about any other fiction character. I don’t know if this was the author’s intention, but it does work that way for me. It’s possible he just wanted to make the cover page less plain.
ReplyDeleteI found the profile view interesting because I've only seen this used one other time. The graphic novel Vietnamerica also has most of the characters on the title page, but they are drawn facing forward; moreover, they are put there largely to help the reader understand the very large cast of characters and the familial relationships that bind them together. To lay out just six characters struck me as odd, but I found myself frequently flipping back to this page because it gave me a better understanding of the character's interactions.
ReplyDeleteThis page also added a very unique bit of subtext to the story in the way the characters perceive each other. Every character in the story is (to date) quite superficial. They see the other characters and judge them based purely on external appearances. The information on the title page is superficial and factual, with no real depth. I think that Tomine is playing with the sense of superficiality we see on nearly every page of the story before we even start the story.
When I started reading Shortcomings the reference page immediately reminded me of Game of Thrones. A book with so many characters and family lineages that without a reference page would make it impossible to remember. That being said its easy to see that the intent of this page was not made for similar reasons.
ReplyDeleteSince we don't have a laundry list of characters to keep track of I think this page was made for more personal reasons. To me the most important facet of each image is the country of birth. I think is meant to lay the tone for dealing with racial issues in the United States. To me many of the characters look slightly foreign and its interesting to note that only 1 character was born outside of the US. I think this really brings up the question of who really is "American". I think in some ways Shortcomings acts as a reflection of our gut instincts about each character. This is the first book I have come across that exposes us to a characters profile before it begins. It creates an interesting moment where we initially project our own opinions and notions about these people before they reveal their true character.
Honestly, I didn’t read as much into the ‘profiles’ as you all did. To me it was: ‘Oh the story is about stereotyping. The profiles are like stereotypes. I get it.’
ReplyDeleteI think if the author actually has to rely on a strategy like this to introduce characters, he or she isn’t doing a very good job. How a character is introduced can tell the reader just as much about them as how they’re being drawn or what is said about them. It’s part of the craft of constructing a story, and this is a shortcut around that craft. Again, I don’t think Tomine’s using it in that way, but in response to the second part of the question, that’s how it strikes me as a general strategy.
Hmmm ... sounds like Max thinks this may be one of the shortcomings of the graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest and say I payed absolutely no attention to the profiles and just delved into the story. Seriously. Didn't even notice them.
Wow. I find I really have very little to contribute to this discussion. I don't care about people's height unless it's detrimental to the story. Same with their age (I find it largely irrelevant in "Shortcomings"). I admit I liked seeing where they were from but only because I've lived all over the United States.
The "profile page" was an eye catcher. It made me pause before I read, and hinted at what this story was about. What caught me the most was the info on where they were born. Most were Asian but only one was born in an Asian country, and thus reminds me of the issue of racial/cultural identity. It didn't necessarily hit the social media cord,but definitely struck the idea of what is considered important based off society. This was a nice intro without having to be told too much. It didn't feel
ReplyDeleteI didn't even notice this information when i first read the book, but I understood the characters even without it. I think Tomine did a good job of characterizing everyone through dialogue and interaction. With this information however, I could see myself understanding the characters better at first glance. I link your comment about social media is interesting. We do understand a lot of people by these tiny blurbs. I wonder if without them we form more genuine connections through interaction alone.
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