Un(Epic) Wonder Woman Assignment #2: Storyboarding your Super-heroine’s Origin Story

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Here's your May assignment!  Please upload studies by May 16, and give feedback by May 23.

ASSIGNMENT:

Write (or otherwise compose) your super-heroine’s origin story.  What was the crucial, formative moment in her past that made her what she is today?  If she has a superpower, how and why did her superpower emerge at this moment?  Tell this origin story through a comic-book story-board style.  As per Amar Chitra Katha’s style, there should be 3 major kinds of text/narration (with 4-5 as options, but not requirements):

(1)  Omniscient narrative, which is enclosed by horizontal straight lines across the page.

(2)  Dialogue: indicated through dialogue balloons

(3)  Thought bubbles: indicated by bubbles, and sometimes including imagery instead of text

(4)  Footnotes: asterisks which explain culturally specific terminology and/or non-English language

(5)  Voice of God: used when you don't actually see the god

Here are examples of ACK storyboards illustrating these 5 types of dialogue:

from "Bheesma," illustrates 1, 2, 3

 from "Kabir," illustrates 1, 2, 5

 from Kabir, illustrates 1, 2, 4

BACKGROUND:
This assignment takes inspiration from Zhan Li’s insightful theorization on super-heroes, as well as the technique of developing back-stories for character development.  These back-stories may or may not appear in your final product (short story, dance, video, comic-strip, screenplay), but deeply inform the character’s inner motivations, personalities, and actions in the plot.

As Zhan wrote (see his comment on our earlier post for his full discussion on US super-heroes):

"Origin stories are a more universal attribute of US superheroes than superpowers - a significant minority of prominent US superheroes lack superpowers (e.g. Batman, everyone in The Watchmen except Dr. Manhattan) but all virtually all prominent US (superheroes and supervillains) have origin stories - the moment in their past which made them what they are today. This typically might involve an incident or series of incidents which gives them superpowers (The Incredible Hulk), or an incident which is traumatic and the trauma moves them to adopt a new heroic (or villainous) role (Batman) or often it might involve both (Superman, Spiderman). (There are other cases which don't quite fall into these categories - e.g. Wonderwoman's origins are mythological and divine)." [emphasis added]

OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT: BACK STORY

If you find it useful, you can engage in further back-story writing apart from the origin story itself – figure out aspects such as your character’s parents, hobbies, job, childhood environment, where she lives, first love, etc and how those impact her convictions, values, personality.  Here is a quick example of questions you might address:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creating-the-backstory-for-your-screenplay.html

(Un)Epic Wonder Women Research References

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I've started dipping into research on comic books, both American (super-heroes) and Indian (Amar Chitra Katha).  While I'm still in very preliminary stages of research, I'm intrigued by how both forms seem to participate in nationalist political discourses (Superman fights for "the American Way," ACK often propagates Hindu ideals).  How we might appropriate these genres in a critical, parodic way?

Here are a few references that I've come across.  Please feel free to add in more references and/or notes on whatever reading you might do!

Queer Comics - No Straight Lines:
http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/comics-and-graphic-novels/2012/07/11/celebrate-history-queer-comics-no-straight

http://no-straight-lines.tumblr.com/

Superman's Origin Story:
http://supermanthrutheages.com/origin/

Dulce Pinzon (immigrant workers as superheroes) (from Kayhan):
http://www.dulcepinzon.com/superheroes.htm

Chitra Ganesh (queer feminist diasporic translations of ACK)http://www.chitraganesh.com/dc9.html

Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (from Sangita/Zhan)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1743034/

CNN's 2 part series on the Indian Comic Book Industry:
Part 1
Part 2

Spiderman, Indian-style (from Zhan):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_India

Superman renounces US citizenship (from Zhan):

 http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/superman-renounces-his-u-s-citizenship

Wonder Woman and alternative gender and sexuality roles (from Zhan): http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=7921

Reading Culture: Theory, Praxis, Politics, Pramod K. Nayar

Includes theory on super-hero and ACK comic books in India.

"ACK enables a construction of a certain kind of Indian identity: an Aryan, upper-class/caste, Hindu identity, which is projected as a secular 'Indian' one." (118)
 

Sculpting the Middle Class: History, Masculinity and the Amar Chitra Katha, Deepa Sreenivas

"This book is an analysis of the Amar Chitra Katha genre, historicalcomic-books that capture and promote a middle class masculine identity, as culture became the new site for right-wing hegemonic politics in India over the last 4 decades of the 20th century."

The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies).  John Dececco Phd (Author), Devdutt Pattanaik

Has stuff on Urvashi and Arjuna, so perhaps most relevant to my individual investigation or if you're interested in gender/sexuality.  There are some brief ACK mentions though.

Assignment 1, Babli

password: bablib





Feedback questions:

1. Can you detect a Superheroine in this video?

2. What do you think her superpower is?

3. Which one do you read as her signature move?

4. Can you figure out the story of this heroine, or a possible story?

5. Does the structure of the video work to tell a story?

6. Which elements work, which dont?

Shy's response to Assignment 1: Ganga Comic

This is a series of slides, made in powerpoint...

Here is a version where each slide is 6 seconds. if that's too fast, there's a 10 sec version below...

Vimeo:

Ganga Comic Study from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

10 sec slides:

Ganga comic with longer slides from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

Questions:

1. What do you enjoy about this "comic"?

2. What do you think of the comic book format?

a. What coud I do to make it more comic book like?

b. Were there too many photos on a page to take in during a movie format?

c. How were the speed of the slides (they're all 6 seconds right now, I'm not sure but I may be able to vary the timing for each slide.)

d. Should I "animate" things within each slide...so for example each photo could add in until you get the complete page, and I can add thought bubbles coming in sequence as well.

e: other ideas?

3. How was the superhero aspect?

a. Did you understand her superpower?

b. Do you have any ideas related to what her superpowers cover? I had a thought that human version of her is a clean freak and is always cleaning....and she looks into the toilet bowl like a crystal ball to show where troubled people are. Is that funny or just gross?

c. What are ways to make Ganga look more interesting...I think I want to give her rubber gloves and a blue eye mask. Anything else you can think of to make her costume more superhero like?

4. If this were a part of the live performance, I am thinking that the beginning could be projected, then the live dance could start with ganga's transformation and plunging...and it could end with the last slide of the yoga guy's reaction. Do you have other ideas about how this could be integrated into live performance?

5. Is there nything you would change?

Any other comments or ideas?

Bhumi --Modern Wonder Woman

During the 21st Century there exists a (dis)ease that is multiplying in Epic proportions. Anxiety/Stress is the silent plague affecting every mortal on this planet Earth. The age of technology and electronic gadgets has erased the ability to focus and affected our ability to see clearly. We exist in a haze. Multi-tasking has morphed us humans into frenetic, flitty cyborg folk that drive in one gear and one gear only: Autopilot.

Do not fear, Bhumi is here. She is Mother Earth incarnate. Always giving of her resources, a bountiful fountain whose waters never deplete. She offers of herself unconditionally in service to all. She can jump high but she cannot fly. What more can she give you ask. Her dance transports her to the land of mortals where she uses the power of her gaze to transmit instantaneous piece of mind to those in distress. Bhumi is saving the human race by Awakening a consciousness that has been lost.

Part 1: Face awakening: Looking into and beyond the mirror...who can it be now?
Password: Alter

Part 2: Bhumi signature movement/dance that transports her
To be posted Sunday


Feedback questions and Notes:
Note: I am really interested in seeing what can happen between some live action and animation in the medium of video and want to discuss possibilities with Doug
1) What/ how do you view the mirror framing this piece? Is it adding to the intrigue of the internal dialogue happening with the face or taking away from it? Suggestions for other framing options
2) What do you think of seeing the entire face versus doing a similar study with only focus on the eyes since I"m so interested in her gaze being Bhumi's superpower
3) Is the Bhumi dance physicality interesting as a movement signature to establish her character or do you have other suggestions for how she moves from mortal to immortal worlds?

Cyn's Response to Creative Assignment #1: Super Urvashi

Please take a look before reading the context and feedback questions!
password: "amar chitra katha"
FEEDBACK QUESTIONS:
1.  The video switches from close-ups of mudras to video of my face and body.  Do you like the combination or would you prefer that I focus on one approach.  If the latter, which do you prefer?
2.  What do you think of the combination of the cultural stereotype of the Hairy Arm-Pitted Feminist and the (usually lovely, feminine, and seductive) apsara, Urvashi?  Is it interesting?  Problematic?  What might need to be further fleshed out, if anything? 
3. Comments or suggestions on the text?  The movement vocabulary?
4. How would you like to see this further developed?
5. What do you know about Urvashi, the mythological character, if anything?
6. Other thoughts?

CONTEXT:
This video is a rough sketch that parodies the original Superman TV trailer, drawing on and translating its text, music, and imagery.  (I will eventually have to get different music if we want to further develop this.)  See the following link to see the original video:
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/superman.htm

Here is my script:

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Faster than a speeding bullet.
More powerful than a locomotive.
Able to blast through expectations in a single bound.

Look!  Striding angrily through the street!
It's a butch. It's a femme. It's...the HAIRY ARM-PITTED FEMINIST!

Yes, it's Urvashi, the Hairy Arm-pitted Feminist - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powerful body odor far beyond that of mortal men.  Urvashi, whose reek induces gender-bending reincarnations, whose stench can change the course of patriarchal oppression, and who, disguised as Good Little Confucian Girl, dutiful daughter of an Asian immigrant family, fights the never-ending battle for Truth, Gender Justice and Freedom of Sexual Expression.

 
According to Ravi, Urvashi was an apsara in the Mahabharata who transformed Arjuna into a woman as a punishment for him offending her (she was attracted to him, but he regarded her as a grandmother).  Later she turned it into a boon when he acknowledged how difficult it was to live as a woman, allowing him to switch genders at will; as a result at one point Arjuna became a court dancer.  There seem to be competing versions of the story; Wikipedia says that Arjuna was transformed into a eunuch rather than a woman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjuna#Urvashi.27s_curse.  I need to do more research, as I'm not so familiar with her or the story myself.