Girl in Landscape

            Going into reading Girl in Landscape, I had never heard anything about it, or even knew was it was about. Right away, we are submerged into the story, with Pella’s mom, Caitlin, giving us all of the background information we needed to know before sending us on our way in this strange novel through space. I assume the author did not want to spoon feed us information the entire way through the novel, and shortly into the book after setting up the basic premise, Caitlin suddenly passes from a stroke. This was an interesting choice, because right after this traumatic event, Pella’s family is still sent to the far away ‘Planet of the Archbuilders’, a planet that Caitlin was excited to set up home in. However, from a story telling standpoint it makes sense, because now as readers we know just as much about this mysterious planet as the main characters do.  From this point on we have no idea what is right or wrong, and become observers just like Pella. Using this technique, the author really puts the reader into Pella’s shoes, as a confused and uncomfortable newcomer.

            Lethem manages to make us feel uncomfortable throughout the story, because we are on a completely unfamiliar and strange planet, where there aren’t any real rules or leaders. A big example of how I felt uncomfortable in this story was how Pella, only thirteen, was seen as much older, and asked if she was her father’s new wife. Because this new town only had about twenty people in it, there were very few females, so this could very well have been a normal accusation for a citizen that has lived there longer. Another similar example I read was when Pella found her father with another woman. As basic human instinct, we find mates or lovers, and because her father lost his, he was able to find another rather quickly on this new planet, only choosing from a very small variety. 

Although this story is set in the future, the author still has to connect with the reader and his present day thoughts, and he does so in several different ways. Lethem adds real- life places, such as Brooklyn and Coney Island, but describes how much they’ve changed over time. This brings a certain nostalgia to the reader, as most everyone can relate to their favorite childhood escape losing its charm and becoming decrepit as they grow older.  Lethem also brings real-world problems into future-Earth. For example, the reason that Pella and her family are moving is because Earth is becoming unlivable due to climate change. Right now climate change is a big issue for our planet, and we don’t see the big picture enough to realize that it’s slowly destroying Earth, and could make it unlivable one day. Because we are only on Earth for one or two chapters, we don’t get much more information, but Lethem gives us enough for us to realize what is slowly becoming of it.

Nothing More than Murder, A Radio Play

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Slapstick, Comics, Film, and Dance - Mickey Mouse Adventures

Far different from reading a book or watching a movie, the act of reading a comic strip is an experience in itself. When watching a movie, it’s spelled out for you on the screen how a scene will play out along with all of the mannerisms of its characters, and in a book, you’re giving almost free rain to determine how or what the characters and scenes look like. As for reading a comic strip, it’s somewhere between the two.  An artist has already depicted the scene and the author the story, but it’s up to the reader to imagine the little things such as voices, sounds, and colors, or what happens between the panels.

            The author and artist are able to bring their strip even more to life by using sound words, or ridiculous words made up in order to heighten the experience for the reader. For example, on page 34 of “Mickey Mouse’s Race to Death Valley”, Pete and Shyster are making their getaway when their tire pops. A “BANG” is written in all caps next to the deflating tire with smoke and dirt flying around. In this particular scene, it probably would have been enough for the artist to leave the image with Pete and Shyster looking shocked and confused with the tire popping. However, I do feel that by adding the onomatopoeia makes it much more dramatic, and brings the reader into the story, as if they themselves were hearing the bang as well.

            Not only is this aspect true for all of the onomatopoeias in the story, but I believe that if you were to take away most of the word bubbles, the reader would still have a good hold on what is happening in the story. For the most part, the speech bubbles that the characters fill are just obvious statements to reinforce what the audience might not have gotten in the panel, or the characters making witty statements to themselves to entertain the audience. Because these strips were supposed to appeal to all ages, I think it enhances the story. These witty statements that the characters make give them personality, and make it appealing for everyone. For example, throughout the strip, Mickey is constantly saying the phrase "durn it". Everyone usually has something they say when they're in a pickle, and knowing Mickey does too makes him more relatable as a character, because we get to know him a little better. In my opinion, without the type in these comic strips the characters would seem very flat, and even though they do a lot of outrageous actions, their dialect is part of what makes them special and brings them to life for all readers.