Okay, so I haven't written a blog in quite awhile, but an article that came across my Facebook feed from a former professor, Susan Redington Bobby caused a guttural reaction that could not be ignored. So here goes...
Dear Tara Shultz,
I am writing to you as an educator and a mother. First and foremost, you are a 20-year-old college student, who has the right to choose a major and your classes. I understand that sometimes a major may demand that you take certain courses, but I am also aware that every college has a college board. If you knew or were concerned that a graphic novel course was going to have material that you found offensive, you might have thought about appealing to the board and asking for a supplemental course. Instead you made this comment to the Redlands Daily Facts, “I didn’t expect to open the book and see that graphic material within,. I expected Batman and Robin, not pornography". I strongly encourage you to take a closer look at Batman and Robin, particularly Frank Miller's The Dark Knight. I think you might be surprised that it too portrays violence, examines sexuality and the oppressed, and hints at pornography. I also would like to know since you say, “I don’t want them taught anymore. I don’t want anyone else to have to read this garbage," what do you recommend be taught in their place?
I ask this, because as an educator when a student comes to me concerned about an assigned reading, they are not excused from the reading. Instead you see, we establish an alternative assignment for the course. The origin of graphic novels stems back to dime store comic books. I feel it is important to point this out, as someone who took a graphic novel course as an undergrad, I discovered through research, just how remarkable comic books were to generations of people who had to stop going to school to help out on the family farm. You see, the "graphic" images helped them to understand the stories being told, and at a dime a piece it was quite the alternative to being illiterate. The Superheroes you may have expected were also created to help readers of the time cope with what was occurring in the world, evils of war, world war. These comics also helped readers cope with things they could not talk about, they gave them a sense of hope and normalcy.
Maybe you would have preferred to read about Wonder Woman and her lasso of truth? However, I would ask that you delve a little deeper and study her creator, William Moulton Marston. Yes, the inventor of the lie detector test. A man who not only had a wife, but a mistress, both of which fathered his children. Marston had an interest in women's suffrage, but also centerfolds, which many people overlook until they start to study the origin of the this legendary comic book icon. I mean seriously did you ever think about the fact that whenever a man binds her in chains, she loses all her powers? You see, comic books explain so many things, the suffragette movement and the rise of feminism.
Furthermore, I have to say that you are fortunate that Ryan Barlett was your professor for this course, because I probably would have added the graphic novel by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Saga to the syllabus. And based on popularity I may have even added The Walking Dead and Chew.
Lastly, as a mother, I must point out that you are a 20-year-old, so stop relying on your parents to stand by your side and start standing on your own two feet, you, Tara Shultz, are an adult, not a child.
Sincerely,
An educator, mother and comic book fan girl
