Rebecca Suter will first give an overview of affective visual-verbal strategies in shojo manga, Japanese girl comics, with particular focus on the notion of 'emotive backgrounds'. Then, she will look at one case study where these strategies are deployed in relation to environmental issues: the collection 'Nanohana' (canola flowers), published by Moto Hagio in the aftermath of the 'triple disaster' (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear incident) that hit northeastern Japan in March of 2011.
Relevant reading:
Nanohano, by Moto Hagio, Translated by Rachel Thorn and Frenchy Lunning
Hagio Moto’s Nuclear Manga and the Promise of Eco-Feminist Desire, by Margherita Long