3 research outputs found
Animal Man: Morrison\u27s Reflection on the Author
No full textGrant Morrison’s Animal Man debuted in DC Comics in 1988. For seven years as its author, Morrison explored themes of animal rights, conservationism, postmodernism, existentialism, and even free will all through their careful deconstruction of the superhero genre. In “Animal Man: Morrison’s Reflection on the author”, Ellie Harwood analyzes major portions of Morrison’s comic to identify their commentary on the relationship between people, animals, and fictional characters, and the moral ramifications of those relationships. Harwood achieves this through identifying the similarities between how Morrison portrays animals in the comic, as well as how they portray their own characters on a meta level, and the fundamental similarities between both parties. This essay primarily focuses on how the exploitation of animals is unequivocally tied to the process behind storytelling itself, and how both play into humanity’s intrinsic, primal desire for violence. By identifying the line Morrison draws between fiction and reality, then blurring it, the text’s moralistic claims become clear
The Justification of Johann Gutenberg
No full textWith his clever title, implying, simultaneously, Gutenberg's justification of his life as it nears its end, his judgment by posterity, and a typesetter's spacing of words so that both left and right margins are even, Morrison sets the tone for this fascinating story about Johann Gutenberg and his development of the first printing press. Probably the invention which was most responsible for the spread of knowledge from about 1460 till the development of the computer five hundred years later, the printing press was a far more clandestine and potentially subversive invention than one might imagine, and its creation, as Morrison shows, was fraught with peril, financially, legally, and intellectually.
Beginning as the first-person recollections of Gutenberg as an old man in 1464, as he thinks about his end-of-life exile in Eltville, not far from Mainz, the novel establishes both Gutenberg's desire to be remembered and his loneliness. Life for the inventor of something as revolutionary as the printing press has not been easy. Always in debt, never able to repay his creditors, willing to sacrifice the woman he loves for his ambition, and at the mercy of both the guilds, who have a vested interest in having his invention fail, and the church which fears the potential power of a secular press, Gutenberg's entire life has been a fight. Creditors constantly take him to court, and he often has to start over.
In clear, deceptively simple, and sometimes lyrical prose, Morrison recreates the physical, social, and intellectual environment in which Gutenberg and his acquaintances operate. Gutenberg's first person recollections are sometimes ingenuous, usually honest, occasionally apologetic, and always driven by his ambition "to help words fly as far as doves," by promoting the successful development of his press.
Though the actual Johann Gutenberg is something of a mystery, Morrison adds muscle and tooth to the skeletal framework of what is known, creating a character which, if not realistic, is certainly plausible. Though parts of the book, such as a section about the making of type may not be intriguing to all readers, Morrison sandwiches the technical sections between more personal dramas, like Gutenberg's love interests and the machinations of his enemies to gain his machines. Homely details add color to what might otherwise be a black and white exposition about an arcane subject, while the archaic and formal language helps to create a sense of time and place. Every person who loves or buys books celebrates in some way, however distantly, the achievements of Gutenberg. In this intriguing novel, author Morrison celebrates them without reservation and brings them to life. Mary Whippl
Rational Vs Emotional Appeals with Communications to Landholders: A Review of Focus Group Responses
No full textThere are many organisations that seek to communicate with landholders for the purposes of engaging them in local environmental or conservation programs and sustainable production. This study examined whether different segments of landholders are likely to respond better to communication based on different appeals (rational or emotional), using different messages and communication channels. Seven hypothetical communication campaigns were designed with specific messages and appeals, each produced in three types of media. Focus groups of three specific landholder groups lifestylers., traditional and absentee landowners were held to obtain their responses to the campaigns. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of communications with landholders can be increased by using preferred messages and appeals, and selecting a combination of media appropriate to the landholder group being targeted
