Author Archives: s.chong

American Born Chinese – The What & Why

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Group American Born Chinese – Samantha Chong, Sarana Mohammed, Hnin Aye, Caleb Orange

Our group has decided to create a physical book for this project. It is going to be a graphic novel just like American Born Chinese. We are not going to draw the graphics like the graphic narrative exercise we did in class. Instead, we are going to create the book using Adobe programs. After all the content is finished, it is going to be printed out on tabloid size paper. A tabloid size is 11in. X 17in., and it is going to be folded in half so the final product will be 5.5in x 8.5in. After we fold it, it will be hand bounded like how Professor Allison taught us at the book making event. The reason why we decided on utilizing Adobe programs to create our book is for consistency. It would help us manipulate presets on the program rather than drawing over and over again. Additionally, it’s also best for when we print and create the actual book as each copy will be almost be exactly the same. By creating a graphic novel, we hope to pay tribute to the original creator by adding in our own ideas and to keep a consistent theme. Graphic novel also makes it more engaging for readers because it displays facial expressions and other visuals. Since we are focusing on creating a graphic novel, we will print it in color to further reinforce our story. The reason why we wanted to hand bound like how Professor taught us at the book making event is because two of our group members, Sarana and Hnin, were able to make it to the event. Thus, they would teach us what they learnt; we think it will be unique skill to have. Lastly, we will try to incorporate colors such as red, green, and yellow in our cover. According to an online source, these colors are symbolic colors for Chinese culture. Red symbolises joy and good fortune whereas green represents health, prosperity, and harmony. Lastly, yellow is the color of heros. Since American Born Chinese included a heroic character, a Chinese character, and each character finding happiness, we thought it’d be best to emphasize the title or images on our cover with these colors.

Jin’s Transformation

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In this graphic narrative assignment, I chose to add on to the ending of American Born Chinese. After Jin reconciles with Wei-Chen, Jin unexpectedly bumps into Amelia on the streets. In the first panel of my illustrations, Amelia was surprise to see Jin because it has been so long since they last saw each other. Jin is blushing because he was also surprised to see his first love. In the second panel, Amelia tells Jin that they should catch up with everything. Jin was brave enough to ask she was free to catch up right now instead. In the last panel, it shows Amelia and Jin talking in the bubble tea shop.

I decided to have the first panel the largest because I think that’s the most important scene in my illustration. That’s when Jin and Amelia first encounter, after everything that had happened in their past. Instead of having a blue sky, I made it pink. I want to display the heart thumping atmosphere when Jin sees his first love. And in the last panel, I used the color red because I want it to convey that a love interested is going to spark.

The reason why I decided to add this scene to the ending is because I wanted to show how much Jin has changed. He is now able to finally accept who he is. Jin comes to terms with his Chinese heritage and no longer feels the need to assimilate within the majority. He missed out on his opportunity with for Amelia back then, and he won’t do it again. He will pursue those feelings for her and will not back down because someone told him to. Jin is making the most out of his encounter with Amelia.

Racism = Invisibility

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“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids — and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination — indeed, everything and anything except me.”

In “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison, I used the archaeological dig close reading method to analyze the first paragraph of the prologue.

Without giving a name, the narrator introduced himself as an “invisible man.” (Ellison 1) But he told us he is not a ghost or anything supernatural, “No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms.” (Ellison 1) He is an actual human being with “flesh and bone, fiber and liquids.” (Ellison 1) He explains that his ability to be invisible is because people refused to notice him. When the narrator said, “When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination — indeed, everything.” (Ellison 1) This suggests that people are able to see him, but they choose not to acknowledge him.

Taking a closer look into introduction, we can figure out the narrator is a human, a black man. The major theme of “Invisible Man,” is about racism. The metaphor of invisibility demonstrates the effects of racism on the victims. Because the narrator is black, the “white people” refuse to see him as an actual person. Therefore, the narrator characterizes himself as invisible. The narrator struggles with how people perceive him and also how he perceives himself. The word “invisibility” is frequently used because it expresses how victims of racism feel when they are the minority. And the majorities are blind and cannot see the minorities because they can only see the surroundings.

 

Reading Is Not Learning

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Emerson heavily emphasizes on the influence of the past and books when it comes to the way we learn. He states “Books are the best type of the influence of the past, and perhaps we shall get at the truth – learn the amount of this influence more conveniently, – by considering their value alone.” (Emerson Paragraph 11) He admits that people can still benefit from books and if people use it correctly they can attain knowledge from it. However, books should not be the substructure of a person’s education. He points out that books aren’t the only factors when it comes to learning as books have their limitations. He points out that books cannot offer as much and that it limit the mind from thinking further from what they read. He reiterates to not fully rely on the text, but to experience it and to actively think. Emerson says, “Genius looks forward, the eyes of man are set in his forehead, not to his handheld: man hopes: genius creates.” (Emerson Paragraph 16) When a man is really thinking, it is a man who creates, not one who read other peoples’ creations. The power of knowledge is not merely just from books, but from one’s mind in using their own experiences.