UWC2101F: Writing & Critical Thinking: Aesthetic Transformation

Aaron Tan Su Chiang
USWP14, Paper 1
Dr. Julia Gardner
21 Aug 2001

Lenore seems like a normal little girl living in a normal world. Except that her life is anything but normal. For one, she is involved in and surrounded by acts of grotesque violence. Secondly, she is dead. Brainchild of comic artist Roman Dirge, and sharing the same name as Edgar Allen Poe's 1892 poem, Lenore signifies and is part of the excessive violence which our society is exposed to everyday. Yet, when placed in a seemingly innocent and amusing setting, the escapades of this cute little dead girl are commonly mistaken as a glorification of brutality and the message about violence becomes less pronounced. So what message can Lenore bring us from her world of comic cuteness?

In this except from the comic series, we see Lenore in a dream-sequence, dancing with a seemingly friendly scarecrow. Lenore embodies what many societies have come to define and accept as cute. Her disproportionate head-to-body ratio reminds us that she is in some ways just like a newborn baby - innocent and adorable. Her wide-eyed look is captivating and emphasizes her innocence as she stares in awe and wonder at her surroundings. Unlike a typical child, she has rounded stumps for hands (not to mention no individual fingers) and limbs that melt back into her body when she is not using them. The lack of such details draws more attention to her facial expressions, which are simple and yet very effective in conveying her emotions (if a dead girl has emotions) of happiness and later, fear. Since Lenore is capable of basic emotions, readers see her to be just like a normal girl, allowing them to identify with her and embrace and accept her. With her shoulder length hair and an outfit resembling that of a catholic schoolgirl, her purity and naivety are unmistakable. Dirge's choice of drawing the comic in black and white (whether for financial or artistic reasons) draws the reader's eyes to the details, without the confusing kaleidoscope of colours prevalent in other comics. Lenore's hair accessories (hairclips fashioned after skulls) gives her a dark facet which undoubtedly would appeal more to mature readers, yet is not too horrifying to scare off younger readers. Dancing in a field of flowers under a starlit night (a scene which resembles a fairyland) suggests sublimely that all is peaceful and serene. A border of ghoulish skeleton musicians adds a romantic element of sound to the overall picture by playing, amongst the guitars, trumpets and harmonica, less conventional instruments like bagpipes, harps and a pipe organ - instruments associated with angels or a church wedding.

Lenore's dance partner contrasts with Lenore's cuteness. A scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head (often associated with Halloween), in a jacket with stitches that are reminiscent of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, does not satisfy our criteria of cute. However, the macabre sight of a cute, if dead, girl dancing with a smiling scarecrow is so far removed from reality that it destroys the very elements that make pumpkin-head terrifying. He shows shades of being a cultured gentleman when he initiates the dance, endearing him to us even more. The end result is that his image is tweaked to make him become a mystical being, rather than a horrendous monstrosity.

In true Lenore fashion, the serenity does not last. In the fifth frame of the second page, pumpkin-head blatantly declares "I… want your soul!", complete with burning eyes and tentacle-like innards ripping out of his chest to pull Lenore into the dark abyss of his body. Gory violence is once again depicted, seemingly senseless and possessing no social utility, giving the impression that violence is entertaining and that it sells. On the surface, the message appears to be simple - do not talk to strangers (or, in this case, do not dance with strangers). Maybe "things are not always what they seem to be". Or even more simply, bad things happen in nightmares.

Unfortunately, the general opinion that comics are not instruments for commenting on social issues hides the underlying meaning. The relationship between Lenore and pumpkin-head can be read as mimicking a parent and a child. When Lenore says "Wow! You're the greatest", she summarises the part that a parent should rightfully (or naturally) assume - the best caretaker and role model. Yet we witness the horrific and ironic transformation in pumpkin-head from guardian to abuser. The "romantic" and loving elements now mutate to "scary" and violent, manifesting the very same relationship. The starlight becomes twilight, and the music, once thought to be romantic, becomes eerie. Chillingly, Lenore's expression in the last frame (while she is being sucked into pumpkin-head) is one of hopelessness and helplessness. Her arms have once again melted back into her body, leaving her with no means to resist being sucked into a world of violence and abuse. This paints a very real picture of that which is happening in the world, where children subjected to abuse do not know how to fight back, or even that they are allowed to resist. Using Lenore as a subject of abuse just shows that these children are already as good as dead.

While violence has long been a part of comics and cartoons, violence involving children is not often seen. The fact that the violence inflicted upon Lenore does not shock us is, in itself, a rather shocking issue. An increasing number of children are either being subjected to violence or carrying out acts of violence. Violence has invaded the sanctuary of childhood and instead of vehemently battling against it, we have accepted it as something that is naturally occurring in our society. Lenore, by de-naturalizing violence in her artificial comic world, tries to remind us of our current state of mind.

Messages encrypted in comics are not easy to decode, as comics tend to dissociate themselves from reality due to their inherent cuteness. Social commentaries on the state of our society may well be mistaken as glorifications of violence. And while "Lenore" is obviously targeted at mature audiences, the cuteness of its artwork will nonetheless attract younger readers. Misinterpreting the message will have disastrous results. The concern here is that not all individuals possess an adequate level of critical reading required to glean the proper message from comics. This deficiency can only be rectified by providing better education and creating greater social awareness.