When I started reading the book “Notes from a Defeatist”, by Joe Sacco I had a hard time following the storyline. It seemed there was barely even a story to be told, but after the first twenty or so pages I came to better understand the interesting medium of the graphic narrative. In part one, ‘A Cartoon Genius’, you are introduced to Joe Sacco as a starving artist who has nothing but the deepest personal integrity. He doesn't’t care about the art world or the ‘market’. Joe Sacco is a F*@$!#* cartoon genius, not some puppet controlled by the establishment. That is, unless the establishment is willing to offer him paid work. Once he receives the phone call to do story boards he is thrown into a frenzy of excitement, thinking of the great dinner he’ll be having and the possibility of fixing his rotten tooth. In my opinion this brief glance into a portion of the author’s life was a very honest example of how hypocritical and fickle people actually are. Joe Sacco decides to use himself and a part of his life as an example to set the tone for the next couple of stories which are as sarcastic as the first.
Despite the sarcasm, I believe the graphic narrative is a most innovative way of relaying stories in a more personal format. Drawings from a talented artist like Joe Sacco can express specific feelings that are often unseen in still photos and even video. People are bombarded daily or even hourly with television reporters that relay “news” from what are sometimes unknown sources. Often the “news” will come from an associated press real (a.k.a. other peoples’ writing) or from a press release (a.k.a. other peoples’ writing). There are the interviews with witnesses who were there and ‘saw the whole thing’ (what ever it was), or some ignorant person regurgitating second hand information. How is any of this more reliable than an artist’s rendering of an account? News, in most cases, is filtered to eliminate unsettling images and cuss words so as not to offend anyone. During Vietnam reporters would occasionally show dead and dying people, even American soldiers. Soldiers were interviewed and some gave honest accounts and opinions about the war. This allowed people back home to better picture the terrible things that were occurring half way around the world, changing their stance on the occupation.
Now the United States is occupying Iraq and it is said to be the most televised war ever, but our military and government aren't’t about to make the same mistake of allowing unfiltered news to stream back to the states. The new policy is as follows: not to show any dead or dying Americans (hearing a number of the dead and wounded is much easier to stomach), only interview officers who have been properly briefed (no genuine opinions, only approved opinions) and quickly move onto the next story (so we don’t dwell on the war). This is not reporting! This is fabricated and filtered news! At least Joe Sacco uses cuss words, shows violence, all of these things actually happen in the real world, but you wouldn't’t know it from watching the evening news. A graphic narrative is exactly that, GRAPHIC! In my opinion, both are diluted in their own respects, but I’d much rather get the news from a graphic source than a filtered source.