Speaking Spaces: A Material Ecocritical Approach to Graphic Narratives

Abstract

In this thesis I examine how spaces in graphic narratives can act as oppressive forces. I apply a material ecocritical approach to three graphic narratives; Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, Undocumented: The Architecture of Migrant Detention by Tings Chak, and Here by Richard McGuire. In all of these works, I consider the matter that makes up the spaces to be active and agential and I look at the ways in which it influences the characters and other agents in the narratives. Looking at the material realities in graphic spaces render visible wrongdoings and power structures that exists in the texts, but which are not necessarily linked to human intentionality.