UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 7th Annual International Postgraduate Conference

Inclusion Exclusion

16-18th February 2006

Thursday 16 February 2:30 – 4:00: Panel B3: Portrayal of Minorities

Dragana Obradović (University College London): ‘'The Aesthetics of Documentary War Reportage: Joe Sacco’s Safe Area Goražde'’

Media representation of the war in Bosnia certainly stretched the boundaries of genre in one particular sense: the war and its consequences were represented in the non-fiction of Joe Sacco’s comic books from Safe Area Gorazde to The Fixer and Šoba. In as much as the method of narration is unorthodox – coupling visual graphics with serious journalistic tone – Sacco’s books have been widely acclaimed in the Western press, the praise placed upon the originality and hybridity of Sacco’s work.

Yet, upon closer examination it becomes apparent that such a genre runs risks of incorporating the extremes of representation, along with an artistic exaggeration of visual effects (perhaps verging on fictionalisation) and also, an exclusion of narrative and symbolic material in between each frame. In essence, this is the basis of the proposed paper: to evaluate how comic reportage deals with, encounters and assimilates the ‘other’. The two main categories of discussion would be under the following sub-sections:

The Use of the Visual Space: this would include an analysis of Sacco’s artwork, paying attention to the manner in which he uses the visual space and what combination of frames he chooses to portray different narratives – for example, what are the implications of switching between forms of narration (from first to third and back again) in which the layout of the frames is irregular and erratic, saturated with images and sound bites? We also have to assess the effect of fluid boundaries that allow frames to merge into one another, forming a connectivity across different temporal moments (the portrayal of trauma is done in both the synchronic and diachronic mode); admittedly, a technique not available to conventional journalism but, it has to be asked, does this technique further add to the sense of fictionalization?

Perspective and the shifting gaze: this section will focus on the manner in which the gaze is directed. It will consider whether Sacco uses a top-down approach in scaling his artwork or whether he relies on portraiture to represent and close in the distance between self and the other. Furthermore, this section will analyse Sacco’s own self-implication in his comics: he is the only figure fully caricaturised with a blank stare and disproportionate facial features. Is this a suggestion of the conflicting nature of observation? The reflecting glasses could signify the purity of the gaze, the will to let oneself protect the capacity to observe, judiciously and however objectively. Equally, on the other hand, the glasses mask the eyes, betraying the utter blindness of the journalistic gaze at the centre of the conflict. And if anything else, the glasses offer protection, a route to escape (just as Sacco has to his disposal the UN, the Blue Road, America and the wider world).

In short, the paper will focus on the analysis of visual space and the politics of representation in the context of political and ethical responsibility. Slides consisting of excerpts from Safe Area Gorazde will be used to support and illustrate the argument.