Some Thoughts on the Signification of Icons and (back to) Bahktin

After reading McCloud's opinions on icons and their function as signs and symbols, I was anxious to see how a graphic novelist like Marjane Satrapi would utilize iconography. While it is rare to encounter a biographical memoir with comic strips, Persepolis really hammered the idea into my head that icons move beyond just simple illustration. As kids, we always looked at a picture as, well, a picture. As we have learned from McLoud, and now from Satrapi, the use of the icon extends well beyond illustration and into signification. The question though is why; why use both text and icons, as comic book writers and graphic novelists do? How do icons focus as sings and symbols. Here are some thoughts:

First, to address signs as signification. While reading Persepolis, I constantly catching myself trying to piece together the story without reading the text. It was kind of a little experiment I designed to prove to myself that icons, like language, serve as signifiers. Icons, like text/words, are designed, and even better EMPLOYED to signify meaning. They have a purpose. In addition, I couldn't stop thinking about a recent post that questioned if Bahktin's heteroglossia could apply to images and art. I think in reading Satrapi's graphic memoir, it is feasible to claim that graphic novelists may use iconography and illustration along with text as heteroglossia and perhaps double-voiced discourse as well. The author seems to use the graphics to add a new voice and perspective that is not hers by using the illustrations.

As I have seen in many recent blog posts, the discussion of finding personal identity in a cartoon or comic is quite a hot topic. I will gladly jump in to that discussion as well:

Last night while I was driving back to Bloomington on 37 listening to an author speak about the difficulties of writing a novel without putting too much of himself into a specific character. He noted that the pursuit of fiction is creating a meaningful story, not dousing the work in personal, descriptive truth. However, the purpose of writing a memoir is the opposite; to write a memoir is to share a personal story that has the potential to be meaningful to others. Authors of memoirs must therefore be very conscious of their audience. I feel that graphic novel is provides a means for the author to relate her story to the audience, a rhetorical tool. In order to relate to her audience, the use of vague looking characters may allow for readers to identify with the character in the novel. Think about this: If Satrapi were to instead to use of photo journalistic format to document her memoir, rhetorical purpose of the biography would be damaged because audience would be less able to relate to the author and her experiences.

I know this may have gone a little off topic, but I just wanted to add my two cents and would love to hear any comments back!