Alison Bechdel’s drawings contain little ‘tidbits’ that provide a tremendous amount of subtext. What is "subtext"? I personally like to think of them as ‘timbits’ because, like those small spheric pastries, they give you a little taste of what the larger doughnut is like.) Bechdel often points out these significant elements of a drawing that otherwise would go unnoticed. For example, on page 16 she draws an arrow pointing to her furniture polish which reads “incipient [def’n: in its initial stage] yellow lung disease”. Though passive, this comment gives the reader an insight into Bechdel’s attitude towards her youth of polishing antique collectibles... I personally gained a lot of insight about how Bechdel felt through this ‘timbits’ of information.
Bedchel also points (tongue in cheek) the value of several pieces in her living room.
If I drew a picture of my bedroom (or perhaps took a picture of it, knowing my artistic abilities), there are several things I would point out to give people a better understanding of me/my attitude towards the people and events in my life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on these tidbits, they really help paint a picture of how Allison feels about these items. It also describes her parents, and what kind of people they are. I truly believe you can understand someone by the possessions they own, to a certain degree. For example judging by the contents you outlined in your room I would assume that you are well read, very organized, and a bargain hunter, also you don't wear pants. With these outlines I could then begin to assume more about you, I would presume that you are a hard worker, and so on and so on.
Hi Luke,
ReplyDeleteWow! I guess this totally proves my point, because all of the presumptions you made about me were spot on... well, except for the fact that I don't wear pants. Haha. I do, however, wear clothes that don't quite match head-to-toe, which is what I meant by "half outfits". It's just sinking in now how much I judge people by their possessions on a day-to-day basis, without even realizing I'm doing it! I don't think it's a bad thing that we do that. As human beings, we're always assessing and interpreting everything around us. I found this article really interesting because it touches on this exact topic: "What Do Your Possessions Say About You?" Whether or not we are aware of it, we are making 'implications' of what we're like, or how we want to be perceived, by what we have on display.