Animated Life Writing

Brandon Petryna

doi:10.17742/IMAGE29691

Authors

Brandon Petryna

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE29691

Abstract

This paper proposes that the medium of animation enriches the narrative portrayal of lived experiences. Despite the rise in popularity of animation as a tool for storytelling on digital video sharing platforms, as of yet, little scholarship explores the impacts of animation on life writing narratives. In an encounter with animation production, I develop an original example of these animated narratives which I term animated life writing. Through the approaches of critical making and research in practice, by which I have created an accompanying animated video, the benefits and drawbacks of animation are explored with a particular focus on embodiment in life writing and the liveliness that is generated by cartoons.

Author Biography

Brandon Petryna

Brandon Petryna completed his undergraduate studies in Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communications with a specialization in Digital Arts. His interests in creative digital design and scholarly inquiry inspired his pursuit of a master’s in English at the University of Waterloo, which he completed in 2021. His exploration in the evolving fields of graphic narrative theory and digital storytelling continue and inspire innovative works in his current position as a communications professional in the Tech Industry.

References

Blair, Jeremy Michael. “Animated Autoethnographies: Stop Motion Animation as a Tool for Self-Inquiry and Personal Evolution.” *Art Education (Reston)*, vol. 67, no. 2, 2014, pp. 6-13. *JSTOR*, [www.jstor.org/stable/24766137](http://www.jstor.org/stable/24766137).

Brosh, Allie. *Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mahem, and Other Things that Happened*. New York, Gallery Books, 2019.

Couser, G. Thomas. “Is There a Body in This Text? Embodiment in Graphic Somatography.” *A/b: Auto/Biography Studies*, vol. 33, no. 2, May 2018, pp. 347-73. *Taylor & Francis Online*, <https://doi.org/10.1080/08989575.2018.1445585>.

DeFalco, Amelia. “Graphic Somatography: Life Writing, Comics, and the Ethics of Care.” *Journal of Medical Humanities*, vol. 37, no. 3, Sept. 2016, pp. 223-40. *Springer Nature,* [[https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-015-9360-6]{.underline}](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-015-9360-6).

Dewsbury, J. D. “Inscribing Thoughts: The Animation of an Adventure.” Cultural Geographies, vol. 21, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 147-52. *Sage Journals*, <https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474012469005>.

Drąg, Wojciech. “Joe Brainard’s *I Remember*, Fragmentary Life Writing and the Resistance to Narrative and Identity.” *Text Matters*, vol. 9, no. 9, Nov. 2019, pp. 223-36. [[https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-2931.09.14]{.underline}](https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-2931.09.14).

Gardner, Jared, and David Herman. “Graphic Narratives and Narrative Theory: Introduction.” *SubStance*, vol. 40, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 3-13. *Project Muse,* [[https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.2011.0007]{.underline}](https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.2011.0007).

Goodbrey, Daniel. *The Impact of Digital Mediation and Hybridisation on the Form of Comics*. University of Hertfordshire, 2017.

Kadar, Marlene. “Coming to Terms: Life Writing—from Genre to Critical Practice.” *Essays on Life Writing: From Genre to Critical Practice*, edited by Marlene Kadar, University of Toronto Press, 1992, pp. 3-16. *JSTOR*, <https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442674615>.

Kress, Gunther, and Theo van Leeuwen. *Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design*. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2006.

Manning, Erin. *Relationscapes: Movement, Art, Philosophy*. MIT Press, 2009.

McCloud, Scott. *Understanding Comics*. William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2017.

Quesenberry, Krista, and Susan Merrill Squier. “Life Writing and Graphic Narratives.” *Life Writing*, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 63-85. *Taylor & Francis Online*, [[https://doi.org/10.1080/14484528.2016.1130571]{.underline}](https://doi.org/10.1080/14484528.2016.1130571).

Rallison, James. “Annoying Customers.” YouTube, uploaded by TheOdd1sOut, 11 April 2016, [www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yFCyPX3kT0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yFCyPX3kT0).

Rallison, James. “Sooubway 4: The Final Sandwich.” *YouTube,* uploaded by TheOdd1sOut, 19 Oct. 2019, [www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rB7zgPlC5M&t](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rB7zgPlC5M&t).

Ricoeur, Paul. “Life in Quest of Narrative.” *On Paul Ricoeur: Narrative and Interpretation*, edited by David Wood, Routledge, 1^st^ ed., 1991, pp. 20-33.

Taberham, Paul. “A General Aesthetics of American Animation Sound Design.” *Animation*, vol. 13, no. 2, July 2018, pp. 131-47. *Sage Journals,* <https://doi.org/10.1177/1746847718782889>.

Vertulfo, Mary. *Animating from the Margins: Women’s Memoir and Auteur Animation as a Method for Radical Storytelling*. University of Oregon, 2018.

Williams, Richard. *The Animator’s Survival Kit*. Expanded ed., Faber and Faber, 2009.