Abstract
Both graphic novels Dancing After TEN by Vivian Chong and Georgia Webber and The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott by Zoe Thorogood depict semi/autobiographical graphic narratives of vision loss, and the relationships that accompany those lived experiences. Each narrative uses formal elements in distinct ways to show the occurrence of unexpected vision loss that progressively worsens over time. They also both show, in form and/or in content, the relationality that often accompanies living within “crip time”. The comic form, while ocularcentric, is uniquely formally positioned to show us–as in narratives like these–ways in which life with visual impairments can look different and still make meaning. Some specific elements we consider in these narratives are the use of color, black panels, palimpsest, and closure to convey visual occlusion and relationality. Each of these narratives grapples with issues of isolation commonly experienced by people with disabilities, whether it be feeling alone without the people who love us or feeling alone with them. However, through their own respective experiences of crip time, when Billie and Vivian begin to accept relationality, their vision loss no longer consumes them with the same level of darkness. Furthermore, we consider the significance of creators with visual impairments generating expression in visual spaces. As a character with an impairment in Billie Scott tells the protagonist: “disability isn’t the end. I’m not saying it’s the beginning either”. The comic medium allows the reader to engage with this liminal way of being that subverts ableist expectations.
Presenters
Lauren ChivingtonGTA / PHD STUDENT / CGS, ENGLISH, The Ohio State University, Ohio, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Visuality, Graphic Medicine, Autoethnography, Medical Humanities, Comics, Narrative, Disability
