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Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan Analysis
The common thread between stories in this compendium: All stories are set in the same, off-kilter suburb. Some of the stories have no words, and might consist only of a single frame of narrative art. Creative Arts teachers find this really useful in the classroom.
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What is a twice-told tale?
Dictionary Definition of twice-told Twice-told officially means well-known from repeated telling. The word is used chiefly in the phrase “twice-told tale“. First Known Use The word first took off around the year 1597, in the meaning above. Various Meanings In Contemporary Use Twice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The first volume came out in […]
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The Axial Cut In Narrative Art
The axial cut is a film editing technique. It is a type of jump cut useful to the horror genres. In any ‘jump cut’, the viewer sees a ‘jump in the visual’. An axial cut is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line […]
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Symbolic Archetypes In Children’s Stories Analysis
These symbolic archetypes are very old. The earliest written record we have is often in fairy tales. Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding of situations instinctively as opposed to those supposedly in charge. Loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom as they accompany the hero on the journey. This pretty much […]
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What Is Surrealism?
The word ‘surrealism’ has a different use in everyday English from its meaning in critical discourse. Surrealism in everyday English: I don’t understand it. Weird somehow. Creepy. Like a dream. Disparate things are together and don’t make sense. Surrealism in critical discourse: Over and above. Literally, super-real (from French). ‘Surreal’ is a modern word and does […]
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Eric by Shaun Tan Picture Book Analysis
Eric is a miniature, post-modern picture book by Australian author illustrator Shaun Tan. This simple story says big things about cultural difference. The character design of Eric looks to me a little like Vertebrae C6, which could lead me in the direction of an absolutely ridiculous reading, but we shan’t be doing that today. NOTES […]
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The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan Analysis
The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan is an example of a modern environmental picture book, which critiques the historical environmental disaster which was the introduction of rabbits into Australia. Much has already been said about that. John Marsden has done a couple of interesting things with the traditional story structure, especially in the […]
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Rules Of Summer by Shaun Tan Analysis
On the surface, Shaun Tan’s award-winning picture book Rules Of Summer is simply a list of rules. Below I take a look at how Rules Of Summer is in fact a complete narrative.
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Blackdog by Levi Pinfold Analysis
Anyone who has ever seen a huge unfriendly dog standing right outside their glass door will know how frightening it can be. Pinfold takes that fear and now we have Blackdog.
