Week One: A Response to The Arrival




Having completely brushed aside the written word, The Arrival makes its efforts at communicating by means of the utilization of a number of visual storytelling elements. The use of body language, gesture, and an overall mastery of rendering the human figure is used throughout the work to wordlessly communicate the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the characters. The fact that this piece is free of text also feels like it pushes the reader to identify more so with the main character. Given that the protagonist is in a new place-- a migrant, essentially-- we see him struggle with communicating with others, the language of the land new and foreign to him. His wordless attempts at asking for guidance drive home the feeling of unfamiliarity as well as the importance of the body language used to communicate, as it is relevant to the understandings of both the reader and the protagonist. The absence of words works in the piece's favor. 

The Arrival also manages to push its storytelling by means of its character design/visual choices. The landscapes, technology, and creatures featured in the story are unusual by most standards, making them not only foreign and new to the protagonist, but also the reader; again the reader is pushed to identify with the protagonist. 

I also found it interesting that the comic seems like its meant to look like an old photo album. The way the panels are arranged in addition to the quality of the images seems to suggest that that was the intended effect. This facet of the work in addition to its wordlessness seem to suggest a kind of universality in the experience of the protagonist; his story undoubtedly parallels the story of countless other immigrants. Its wordless format removes it from the limitations that language barriers introduce, and the photo album aspect almost feels like its suggesting that it could be the past of any immigrant. 

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