tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post6124377047239467251..comments2024-02-27T04:39:38.457-05:00Comments on with comb & razor: Color me cynical...Comb & Razorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912912211584098914noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-29768464207525040252007-03-22T22:42:00.000-05:002007-03-22T22:42:00.000-05:00I've been slipping on reading your blogs man....wi...I've been slipping on reading your blogs man....will hold a marathon afkap reading session this weekend thoughNunya https://www.blogger.com/profile/03071809877529473899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-46778120422436710962007-03-20T21:08:00.000-05:002007-03-20T21:08:00.000-05:00alisia--i'm glad that we understand each other's p...alisia--<BR/><BR/>i'm glad that we understand each other's positions... and again, i apologize if i ripped into you a bit too hard. i only meant to touch on the first paragraph of your essay before attacking some other reviews i read that were <I>entirely</I> much more naive and offensive... but i kinda lost myself in my tirade and lingered on you for too long!<BR/><BR/>my rancor is mostly tongue-in-cheek anyway. if anything, i probably tend more towards frustration than anger.<BR/><BR/>but hey... we cool.Comb & Razorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11912912211584098914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-26889187780771346752007-03-19T14:40:00.000-05:002007-03-19T14:40:00.000-05:00hi afkap,you know, i have though both long and har...hi afkap,<BR/>you know, i have though both long and hard about this, and you ARE right, i did not bring it full-circle, and i think this was due to one, trying to express abouet's own sadness about the present state of country, and two (probably the most difficult thing) trying to elicit sympathy for the crappy turn of events in a nation left high and dry by the french industrialists and bankers who profitted and then took off (and remember, both presses publishing AYA are French nad/or French friendly. I appreciate your critique, but your rancor took this art history prof who really is just trying to promote the things she loves (like AYA) off-kilter. peace for now...alisiaGracie Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700741247238540121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-3391603019214002702007-03-19T08:42:00.000-05:002007-03-19T08:42:00.000-05:00You know I finally watched that trailer....That I ...You know I finally watched that trailer....<BR/><BR/>That I want to see.Kwasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07998272157766815070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-63808924035612045972007-03-14T06:01:00.000-05:002007-03-14T06:01:00.000-05:00Kangol--in that case, i'd love to see your reactio...Kangol--<BR/><BR/>in that case, i'd love to see your reaction to the girlfight scene, when a tittie pops out!Comb & Razorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11912912211584098914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-17142538165501788622007-03-14T06:00:00.000-05:002007-03-14T06:00:00.000-05:00hey gracie chase! i had a feeling that you might c...hey gracie chase! <BR/><BR/>i had a feeling that you might come forth to defend yourself, and i'm glad that you did!<BR/><BR/>as the subject heading of the entry indicated, i had the cynicism dial turned all the way to 11 when i wrote this one and to be honest, i <I>did</I> actually feel a bit concerned that i might be coming off a bit hard on you... or worse yet, that it might appear that i was lumping you in with the "calabash cinema" enablers that i have issues with. that was not my intention at all.<BR/><BR/>on the other hand, while i understand your attempt to encapsulate the social milieu of Abouet's story within a limited space, i really do feel that you might have--inadvertently--fed into that familiar afro-pessimistic mode.<BR/><BR/>i had actually read the Abouet interview you linked and was gonna reference it in my blog entry, but i kinda rambled right by it! i know that she said that she didn't recognize today's Cote d'Ivoire as the one in which she grew up (almost any African who returns after a long time away can relate to that on some level) and that she wanted <I>Aya</I> to show a different face of Africa from the one that is most commonly seen in the western media. <BR/><BR/>but think for a moment of the bleak vision of Africa depicted in the media, constantly painted in stark, absolute tones without any gradations of humanity...<BR/><BR/>now you have said that it is "difficult" for Ivorian youths to procure a good education... okay, fair enough. but in your preface, you suggested that it was <I>impossible.</I> there's a considerable difference in wording there. especially when you consider that a lot of Americans actually don't know that there <I>are</I> universities in Africa at all. while attempting to salute Abouet's beautiful, nostalgic vision, you're running a real danger of validating certain preconceptions about modern Africa as a land without hope.<BR/><BR/>i've never visited Yopougon myself and i don't doubt that it is probably quite a bit more dangerous today than it was 30 years ago, but from what i have heard about it, it is still a bubbling nightlife quartier and youth center, full of nightclubs and maquis (especially Rue Princesse) as shown in pix like these:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://nigeldickinson.com/gallery/yopougon?page=1" REL="nofollow">http://nigeldickinson.com/gallery/yopougon?page=1</A><BR/><A HREF="http://koffi-yao.kaywa.com/divers/rue-princesse.html" REL="nofollow">http://koffi-yao.kaywa.com/divers/rue-princesse.html</A><BR/><BR/>is it really that far-fetched to think that the basic narrative of <I>Aya</I> could have easily been set in the contemporary context? <BR/><BR/>of course, obviously it was not... so that might be beside the point. but what i am really saying is that ultimately, African people are people. and while there <I>are</I> some pretty tough times to be had by people all across Africa, and there's no denying that people's social problems <I>do</I> impact their lives in very real ways. <BR/><BR/>my issue, though, is with the extent to which people in the West seem to expect our problems to <I>define</I> us. with the belief that abject misery be viewed as the default reality for Africa and any portrayal of Africans as just regular people needs to be <I>qualified</I> in some way.<BR/><BR/>i'm sure that's not what you <I>meant</I> to do, so i apologize if it seemed like i was beating up on you about that.Comb & Razorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11912912211584098914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-10670255140689597682007-03-13T19:40:00.000-05:002007-03-13T19:40:00.000-05:00This Aya book looks worth checking out. I always l...This Aya book looks worth checking out. I always like weird French comics. And I have to admit I felt guilty for glancing at her in that panel where she's wearing nothing, but hey, you say she's 19 so I don't feel that bad. OK, yes I do.KangolLovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597252529780412104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-7077616767590525702007-03-13T15:17:00.000-05:002007-03-13T15:17:00.000-05:00the author states as much, when she returned to he...the author states as much, when she returned to her home after 15 years, she cried, people were starving, they do not have the joy they did. here's a link to an interview with her:<BR/> http://www.du9.org/article.php3?id_article=632<BR/><BR/>i wrote what i did not to continue the media sterotype but to illustrate how much ease and pleasure is contingent on economic health<BR/><BR/>you are being too cynical by half, at least in regards to my essayGracie Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700741247238540121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-31042260529318476472007-03-13T14:51:00.000-05:002007-03-13T14:51:00.000-05:00Furthermore, if you read about Youpogon today, you...Furthermore, if you read about Youpogon today, you'd find that few young women would want to sneak out at night. An anomoly? Not in its potential, but in its inability to be reconciled at this moment.Gracie Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700741247238540121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-75764617392049241682007-03-13T14:47:00.000-05:002007-03-13T14:47:00.000-05:00Come on, I did not mean that Aya cannot become a d...Come on, I did not mean that Aya cannot become a doctor, or certainly, that people do not make love. I had one-thousand words to contextualize the historical period, and yes, it actually is very hard for most young people to procure a good education in Ivory Coast right now.Gracie Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700741247238540121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26746300.post-662008321367377602007-03-11T19:42:00.000-05:002007-03-11T19:42:00.000-05:00..................aflakete the wunderkidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08876462300903316272noreply@blogger.com