Free Essay Example - Justifying My Comic

This comic is based on an interview of a refugee who frees from Syria and on his transit to work he is nearly killed by soldiers on suspicion of owning a gun, but he is saved from the death by an old woman who is a stranger to him. This comic gives an excellent view to the reader of the sufferings that people go through in their daily lives as refugees in America and the crisis and the painful experiences that they face. Civil war arises from the protests, and people are shown in the pictures lying on the ground in pools of blood which shows that they are dead and may have been shot at or been blasted using missiles. The main idea behind the development of this comic is that many refugees in the countries where they run to face a lot of hard times and sufferings in the hands of foreigners.

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The Idea

The form of the presentation of the way these refugees suffer in foreign countries was in a comic book where images were used, and most of them were funny ones with the images looking interesting to look at and follow which is a way to make many people read it and buy the comic more (Mandic, 2017). I chose to use the first person in the comic because it sounds more practical and touching to the reader as well as it made me feel like I was the refugee I was writing about which gave me a feeling of control. I was also able to make the reader have a sense of contentment engaging with the main character and seeing all the problems he and his wife faced since they ran away from Syria in search of a safer place free from war to stay for some time.

Idioms and Styles

I incorporated different scenes in the comic book so that it could look more exciting and it could break a monopoly of one same scene throughout the book. The various scenes and images helped in communicating meaning and taking the reader to different scenes that the refugee was in before he was successful with his wife (Massabni, 2018). I used panels, and frames to create a sequence of ideas a continuation of the storyline even where the story seemed as if it had come to an end. I also included single frames and sequences that helped in showing the reader where the refugee migrated from one place to another. This comic focused the most on literature that was to be used in the classrooms with other students and the readers of the comic books after they bought them. The graphic comic mainly focused on the main character who was targeted to show the problems that many refugees faced in countries away from home. In the preparation of this comic, I used a lot of ideas from McCloud in his steps of exploring media because this is an academic comic hence it gave clear directions of how to make the comic grow step by step into being loved by the audience and showing the idea of how people suffer as refugees.

Surface

For me, the scenes that involved the main character and his wife were the most touching to me, and I hope they touch the hearts of many of the comic's readers. The reason why these scenes were the most poignant to me was due to the way the couple struggled together to live a good life and escape the wrath of the ruthless soldiers who were ready to shoot them without trial for suspicions (Kingsley, 2015). Seeing that they were from another country. One point of view of the comic book that I used is that of tricky and fickle information where the main characters and other characters had to lie several times to survive and cheat death. Every person that views the characters sees them in a different world of fear which is not so impressive, yet it is one of the hardest lessons that the reader has to grasp. The art style that I used in this comic is that I used simple cartoons with no complicated colors and fancy dressings as well as hairstyles. This was to show that refugees did not go through prosperous lives that enabled them to live a life where they were able to take good care of themselves. The art that I used in the environment surrounding the scenes was visualized scenes which were unavailable in pressing for the photographers and the Photoshop that was used to create and join the characters (Skodo, 2018). I used simple techniques that used thoughts and were readily used in complex cases illustrating how traumatic memories haunted the refugees. I also used frame by frame in the following images, and they helped me to show the problematic experiences and tiring journeys that the refugees went through from their home countries to the native lands where they were seen as outcasts.

Graphic Retellings

The refugee comic is easily accessible because it tells true stories of a Syrian refugee and his wife which shows the versatility of graphic narratives. The drawings that I used in this comic bring out the refugee and the life he goes through right from the time the comic begins (Lakhani, 2017). Two men in shorts and gumboots and holding the stick-like structures that represent guns approach and detain them ready to shoot and kill the four of them. I used a ship and a car to show how people were smuggled into the border and outside the country to places where they felt were safer than where they were. Makeshift houses with one door and one window show the refugee camp by the name Zaatari camp that they go to seek refuge at. I also used a crumble of rays and a storm like an effect to show how missiles hit the buildings around the place where they lived, but all in all both the main character and his wife survive the blast.

People raising their hands on the wall and shouting shows them protesting against the then president Bashar al-Assad. The images also show the civil war that arises from the protests and people are shown in the pictures lying on the ground in pools of blood which shows that they are dead (Sayasina, 2018). I used monochrome images and captions to show the readers the experience that the refugee and his wife faced in every trip to a place they thought was better than where they came from. They faced different new hardships in every encounter they made. I also show the refugees fleeing into the unknown through being smuggled and this shows the decision making process and migration that investigates the problems refugees face when migrating. Graphic narratives that I used in this comic helped to explore the effects of being a refugee and that the stories do not always end up with safe arrivals.

Conclusion

The main idea behind the development of this comic is that many refugees in countries where they run to face a lot of hard times and suffer a lot in the hands of foreigners. Refugee comics are an excellent way to show the problems that refugees face in their transit from one country to another in search of peace. In this comic, the main character and his wife are the main focus and they face new problems wherever they go. I used panels, and frames to create a sequence of ideas a continuation of the storyline even where the story seemed as if it had come to an end. The reader of the sufferings that people go through in their daily lives as refugees in America and the crisis and the painful experiences that they face. The refugee I was writing about gave a feeling of control, and I was able to make the reader have a feeling of contentment engaging with the main character and seeing all the problems that most people face in new countries. Drawings are eminent in this comic, and I used them to bring out the refugee and the life they go through throughout the comic. Images of the refugees play a huge role in showing the readers the connection that exists between them and the memories that media access through thoughts and the experiences of such people.

References

Kingsley, P. (2015). People smugglers using Facebook to lure migrants into 'Italy trips.' Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/08/people-smugglers-using-facebook-to-lure-migrants-into-italy-trips

Lakhani, N. (2017). Thousands of young Central Americans at risk as refugee ban halts key program. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/central-america-young-refugees-cam-trump-travel-ban

Mandic, D. (2017). Trafficking and Syrian refugee smuggling: Evidence from the Balkan route.

Massabni, W. (2018). Prejudice, Job Competition, and Conflict: Syrian Refugees and Host Community in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Sayasina, M. (2018). Your turn, doctor: graffiti boys brace for Assad attack | MEO. Retrieved from https://middle-east-online.com/en/your-turn-doctor-graffiti-boys-brace-assad-attack

Skodo, A. (2018). Sweden: By Turns Welcoming and Restrictive in its Immigration Policy. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/sweden-turns-welcoming-and-restrictive-its-immigration-policy