Mind vs. Language, McCloud vs. Author Function

McCloud demonstrated an interesting set of phenomena in this chapter, and in a very revolutionary way.  The concepts were perfectly executed and the frames relatively seamless (I'm not a comic lover by any means, but I got my footing after a while and found it to be a great read). Aside from these elements, there was the transition from what we had previously discussed in class (the "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." painting) to a deeper, almost more metaphysical realization of the way the conscious works with our sensory, mainly visual, intake.  And even beyond that, how our language works with our conscious.

It is still difficult, in my opinion, to concretely pin down the relationship between the mind and language. The mind created language, because language does not exist outside the mind. Yet the mind, as a metaphorical concept, does not exist.  There are chemical signals in the brain, atoms and neurons colliding and charging, but the concept of a physical mind does not exist anywhere in the human body. There is, however, a concept of the mind, an idea that a man’s thoughts bounce around in some sort of internal, compact container in a corner of his brain, while the rest of the cortex focuses on physical, bodily functions.  Although there is no physical mind, there is an abstraction that is the human “mind.” In this case, the words that we constantly think, speak, read, write, listen, etc. in created the mind; the conceptual mind came about with thoughts and internal dialogue.  Therefore, I would argue that language is the material of which the mind is made. 

This concept is demonstrated in McCloud’s frames, in many different aspects.  When he breaks down the reality of the painting in the beginning of the chapter, it prepares the reader for the conceptual mind-warp with the subconscious face assimilation in the later frames.  There was something I found interesting about the example comparing detailed drawings to simple faces; the fact that people relate to the more generic image speaks on some level to the social normalcies surrounding self-image.  Modern social stigmas encourage individualism, in an artistic setting, for example, yet simultaneously encourage a certain standard for self-image.  Following the precedent set by the others is a typical reaction, in order not to awkwardly stand out, yet in some arenas, it is acceptable to let the individualism shine through. 

In one section of McCloud's excerpt, I couldn't help but think back to Barthes and Foucault in discussing agency and author function. In addition to the commentary on social norms that I got from the example on pages 36 and 37, I found myself realizing the similarities to author transparency.  Both Foucault and Barthes discussed the tendency of the author to become less relevant, to essentially become unnecessary because of the emphasis on the message and the inability of the author to force the reader into one lens.  The work essentially takes on its own “persona,” it has a different weight, and the figure of delivery, where it came from, becomes less important.  When the narrator asks the reader if he/she would “have listened to me if I looked like THIS??” the frame showed a new updated graphic of a more realistic, more life-like version of the character.  The message would have become less relatable, less poignant, less important to the reader, if the focus was on the messenger instead of what was being delivered.  The subconscious transparency of the author/deliverer/messenger/carrier pigeon/etc. is essential to allow the reader to focus on the valuable information. The focus is on the effect rather than the individual, and rather than discrediting or cheapen the intellect of the author/messenger, it rather shifts the density of the effect on the reader from the author to the text (or, in McCloud’s case, the cartoon) itself. 

Works Cited:

McCloud, Scott. “The Vocabulary of Comics.” In Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Collins, 1994. 24-45. 

Barthes, Roland. "The Death of the Author." The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contempory Trends, Third Edition. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007. 868, 874-877.

Foucault, Michel. "What Is an Author?" The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, Third Edition. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007. 904-914.