When a picture and its words don't match: Irony and Integration in Comics Shweta Narayan University...

When a picture and its words don't match:

Irony and Integration in Comics

Shweta NarayanUniversity of California, Berkeley

April 8th 2006


● Integration?● Comics as data● Conflict between spaces● What do Comics do that's different?


● Integration?– Mental Spaces

● Comics as data● Conflict between spaces● What do Comics do that's different?

Mental Spaces

● Theoretical framework– e.g. Fauconnier and Turner, 2002*

● Used to explain a wide variety of linguistic and cognitive phenomena

* Fauconnier, Gilles and Mark Turner. 2002. The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities. New York: Basic Books.

Mental Spaces

● Spaces are cognitive domains– There are mappings between spaces.

Mental Spaces

● Spaces are cognitive domains– There are mappings between spaces.

● Let's look at “trashcan basketball”– How can we understand this at all?

– What do trashcans have to do with basketball?

Mental Spaces

● Trashcan Basketball

Mental Spaces


Domain 1:Trashcans

* Trash

* Container

Mental Spaces


Domain 1:Trashcans

Domain 2:Basketball

* Trash

* Container

* Ball

* Hoop

* Points

Mental Spaces


* Trash

* Container

* Ball

* Hoop

* Points

Domain 1:Trashcans

Domain 2:Basketball

Mappings

Integration

● Mental Spaces can be integrated● Creating new spaces with

– inferences mapped from the input spaces

– and new inferences that emerge from the process of integration.

Integration


– Inference from Trashcans: You don't retrieve the ball

– Inference from Basketball: It's a game

– Emergent structure: Slam dunks aren't cool

Trashcans Basketball

* Trash

* Container

* Ball

* Hoop

* Points

Comics as data

Comics as data

Time 1Static image

Comics as data

Time 1Static image

Time 2Static imagePanel boundary

Comics as data

Time 1Static image


Inferred motion

Comics as data

Time 1Static image


Inferred motion

Time 3

Inferred motion

Comics as data

Time 1Static image


Inferred motion

Time 3Static imageSpeech bubbles

Inferred motion

Comics as data

● Linguistic and Pictorial component

Comics as data

● Linguistic and Pictorial component● How do they relate?

Comics as data


Type: EntityProperty: can-talk

Comics as data


SpeechContent

Type: EntityProperty: can-talk

Comics as data


– Emergent meaning

Type: EntityProperty: is-talking

SpeechContent

Comics as data


– Emergent meaning● Complementary

information

Comics as data


– Emergent meaning● Complementary

information● Conflict?

Conflict between spaces

● Conflict between characters' belief spaces● Narrative-level conflict● Discourse-level conflict

Conflict between characters' belief spaces

Picture Space Depicted objects: Political signs

Speech space Content: implies lack of understanding of ch2's cognitive viewpoint


Type: Entity Property: has beliefs Property: is-talking

Speech Content implies beliefs


Depiction space



* Ch1 * Ch2 (Tajel) (Prof)

* Speech * Depicted bubble objects






Professor (off-screen) Type: Entity Property: has beliefs Property: can see

Depiction space






Professor (off-screen) Type: Entity Property: has beliefs Property: can see

Content informs beliefs

Depiction space


* Ch1 * Ch2 (Agatha) (Adam)

* Speech * Depicted bubble object

Type: Entity Property: cannot see

Property: has beliefs Property: is-talking


Type: Entity Property: has beliefs Property: can see

Content informs beliefs

Depiction space

Concept: “digital age”Information:

- content: implies ink and paper are outdated and unnecessary

Entity: US ConstitutionInformation:

- content: depiction of entity

Narrative-level Conflict

Concept: “digital age”Information:

- content: implies ink and paper are outdated and unnecessary- style: register shift to informal

rhetorical questionhand-lettering

Entity: US ConstitutionType: Ink-on-paper

Evokes democracyas American cultural ideal

Information:- content: depiction of entity- style: evokes action hand-drawing

Narrative-level Conflict

Voting Machines: viewpoints

● Ink and Paper matterimplies: Voting Machines are a bad idea– cues:

● Text space in middle panel– register: factual

● US Constitution– evokes: democracy

● art style– evokes: hand drawing;

ink on paper

● Ink and Paper don't matterimplies: Voting Machines are a good idea– cues:

● Text space in final panel– register: informal– style: rhetorical question


● Ink and Paper matterimplies: Voting Machines are a bad idea– Majority of the cues

support this

– Elaboration: Democracy

● Ink and Paper don't matterimplies: Voting Machines are a good idea– Cues stylistically marked

as sarcastic


● Ink and Paper matterimplies: Voting Machines are a bad idea– Majority of the cues

support this

– Elaboration: Democracy

● Ink and Paper don't matterimplies: Voting Machines are a good idea– Cues stylistically marked

as sarcastic

Emergent reasoning: Voting machines are undemocratic

Picking a viewpoint

● Integrated spaces have– Multiple characters

– Each with a belief space

● But spaces are not all equal– Readers know which viewpoint to side with.

All the tech belongs to ME! I can make them say whatever I want, and Phil can't stop me.

Mwaahahahahaha!

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/cgi-bin/ggmain.cgi?date=20060303

* Phil * World

* Kaja *

Ch1 (Gil)

* Drawn Comic * Ch2

(Wooster)

* Tech *

Ch3 (Agatha)

* Muppets * Mad

science

Domain 1: real life Domain 2: Comic

ComicCreator1: artistCreator2: tech-personProperty: is depiction

of narrative world

Without Integration

● Kaja is not a mad scientist● Kaja has a causal relation to the words on the

page (she controls the tech)● Kaja knows about muppets● Characters do not know about muppets

Integration

● The words on the page are what characters say.● Changing the written words changes the

characters' speech.

Emergent structure: Kaja can make the characters say things.– Which makes her a mad scientist

Narrative Simultaneity

● Pictorial and linguistic information are presented “at the same instant”

● Conflicting spaces have to be

Characteristics of the Image

● Backgroundedness● Truth● Viewpoint

The importance of Inference

● The irony is not “in” the comic● It comes from inferences

– Made by the reader

– Based on minimal cues

– Involving the relations between mental spaces.

● Understanding is an active process.

Conclusions● Multimodal narratives are different from single-

modality narratives– Integration of pictorial and linguistic cues

– Narrative simultaneity

– Backgroundedness

– Viewpoint

● Tools from Cognitive Linguistics are useful for analyzing this

● As well as for pure linguistic analysis.

Text Space

Interaction

Entity: voting machine (category)

Text Space

Picture Space

Interaction

Entity: voting machine (category)Type: touch-screen

Information: Coming into more common usage (inc. here).

Entity: voting machine (single item)Type: touch-screen

Information:- content: depiction of entity

Text Space

Picture Space

Interaction





Text Space

Picture Space





Text Space

Picture Space





Genericspace

blend?

Emergent meaning

● Emergent meaning– Complementary information


● Ink and Paper matterimplies: Voting Machines are a bad idea– cues:

● Text space in middle panel– register: factual

● US Constitution– evokes: democracy

● art style– evokes: hand drawing;

ink on paper

● Ink and Paper don't matterimplies: Voting Machines are a good idea– cues:

● Text space in final panel

Emergent meaning


● Mirror Network

Emergent meaning


● Mirror Network– Input spaces are structured by a shared frame– But they are not just adding independent information (Not

simplex)

Emergent meaning



simplex)

– Conflict

Emergent meaning



simplex)

– Conflict– Conflicting information between spaces– All of which does get projected into the blend.

Voting Machines: Conflict

Base

Narrator'sBelief

Counterfactual

Ink and paper matter

Voting machines: bad- lead to fraud.

Ink and paper don't matter

Voting machines: good

Narrator

Voting machinesFraud

Base

Narrator'sBelief

Counterfactual

Ink and paper matter- for self-

expression (e.g. this comic)Voting machines: bad

- lead to fraud. - undemocratic



Narrator/artist

Voting machinesFraudUS Constitution Democracy

Base

Narrator'sBelief

Counterfactual

Ink and paper matter- for self-

expression (e.g. this comic)Voting machines: bad

- lead to fraud. - undemocratic



Narrator/artistComicVoting machinesFraudUS Constitution Democracy

When a picture and its words don't match: Irony and Integration in Comics Shweta Narayan University...

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