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[NABOKOV-L] Bunnies and Nabokov Cartoons
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In "Bugs Bunny, Postmodernism, Sadism, Nabokov, Characterization--Duck Amuck" we read:
"In Duck Amuck (created in 1953), Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator. In the course of the film the animator messes with and changes the scenery, interchanges props, replaces the soundtrack, mutes Daffy, and even erases and physically alters Daffy himself. ..Daffy keeps trying to live--and entertain--but he can't maintain any constancy or control of his surroundings, or even his body. The cartoon reminded me of Nabokov's approach to characterization--the way he kept his character under his, or rather God's, thumb. Torture them. Make them uncomfortable. Give them no joy. No freedom. Daffy kept attempting to liberate himself--to be a naturalistic, realistic character, in short, to serve the expectations of the audience--but he was ruthlessly denied such a life." Cf.litmatters.blogspot.com/.../bugs-bunny-postmodernism-sadism-nabakov.html - In contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures that could be drawn of this character. He illustrates some pages with adds from the New Yorker and a set of cartoons.
"Nabokov and the Comic" is referenced at: Nabokov at the limits: redrawing critical boundaries by Lisa Zunshine - 1999 -books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0815328958... More can be found at:Nabokov at Cornell Gavriel Shapiro - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0801439094...
In Zembla, we find an article by D. Barton Johnson, "Nabokov's Golliwoggs: Lodi Reads English 1899-1909"where he writes that:"Nabokov's memory was, first and foremost, visual. It was further developed by his art teacher, the celebrated painter Mstislav Dobuzhinski, who assigned the boy exercises in reproducing from memory chance objects and scenes. It is hardly surprising that Nabokov's recollections of his early reading matter center more upon their illustrations rather than the texts. Not only was this so for the Golliwogg picture books but for the more adult adventure books of his later boyhood..."
In Jeet Heer's blog, on Nabokov and Comics Revisited, July 28, 2009, the author writes about Nabokov's love of comics, and the reverse,the love cartoonists have for Nabokov. He quotes an interview with Jay Lynch (Comics Journal #114:) who tells about his passion for ADA ("Nabokov's Ada is the greatest, most complex piece of fiction ever written") which inspired him to create a charater named Phoebe and who once "did a thing for RAW called "The Goodnight Kids." "The Goodnight Kids" can be found in Raw vol. 1, #5 (1983). He also brings up Dan Clowes ( Comics Journal #233), inspired by Pale Fire. He states that "When I was reading Pale Fire, I remember ...that, as a kid, read comics that my brother had left lying around, and I had tried to take from them some unconscious message that wasn't necessarily there." There is a Nabokov joke by Clowes in Eightball #17: a gag cartoon titled "The Lepidopterist." Heer mentions that David Boring is full of allusions to Nabokov: "Perhaps the most subtle is a statement made by the hero to his lover, "You're the original of Wanda." (p. 92.). The third name is Chris Ware ( Comics Journal #200) describes a segment in Lolita related to "an accident scene in his front yard....He has to go through three or four paragraphs to describe what's happening, and he excuses himself and the limits of his medium for its inherent lack of simultaneity. This is, of course, something you could presumably do in a comic strip, though it wouldn't be nearly as funny." At last, we learn that Nabokov's animated character in Laughter in the Dark ("Cheapy the Guinea Pig" appears in the anthology Zero Zero, issue #27, in which Al Columbia worked on what Cheapy looked like.
The cartoon added as an attach comes from Nabokov Gifts www.cartoonstock.com/.../nabokov_gifts.asp -
Search archive with Google:
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Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
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"In Duck Amuck (created in 1953), Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator. In the course of the film the animator messes with and changes the scenery, interchanges props, replaces the soundtrack, mutes Daffy, and even erases and physically alters Daffy himself. ..Daffy keeps trying to live--and entertain--but he can't maintain any constancy or control of his surroundings, or even his body. The cartoon reminded me of Nabokov's approach to characterization--the way he kept his character under his, or rather God's, thumb. Torture them. Make them uncomfortable. Give them no joy. No freedom. Daffy kept attempting to liberate himself--to be a naturalistic, realistic character, in short, to serve the expectations of the audience--but he was ruthlessly denied such a life." Cf.litmatters.blogspot.com/.../bugs-bunny-postmodernism-sadism-nabakov.html - In contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures that could be drawn of this character. He illustrates some pages with adds from the New Yorker and a set of cartoons.
"Nabokov and the Comic" is referenced at: Nabokov at the limits: redrawing critical boundaries by Lisa Zunshine - 1999 -books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0815328958... More can be found at:Nabokov at Cornell Gavriel Shapiro - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0801439094...
In Zembla, we find an article by D. Barton Johnson, "Nabokov's Golliwoggs: Lodi Reads English 1899-1909"where he writes that:"Nabokov's memory was, first and foremost, visual. It was further developed by his art teacher, the celebrated painter Mstislav Dobuzhinski, who assigned the boy exercises in reproducing from memory chance objects and scenes. It is hardly surprising that Nabokov's recollections of his early reading matter center more upon their illustrations rather than the texts. Not only was this so for the Golliwogg picture books but for the more adult adventure books of his later boyhood..."
In Jeet Heer's blog, on Nabokov and Comics Revisited, July 28, 2009, the author writes about Nabokov's love of comics, and the reverse,the love cartoonists have for Nabokov. He quotes an interview with Jay Lynch (Comics Journal #114:) who tells about his passion for ADA ("Nabokov's Ada is the greatest, most complex piece of fiction ever written") which inspired him to create a charater named Phoebe and who once "did a thing for RAW called "The Goodnight Kids." "The Goodnight Kids" can be found in Raw vol. 1, #5 (1983). He also brings up Dan Clowes ( Comics Journal #233), inspired by Pale Fire. He states that "When I was reading Pale Fire, I remember ...that, as a kid, read comics that my brother had left lying around, and I had tried to take from them some unconscious message that wasn't necessarily there." There is a Nabokov joke by Clowes in Eightball #17: a gag cartoon titled "The Lepidopterist." Heer mentions that David Boring is full of allusions to Nabokov: "Perhaps the most subtle is a statement made by the hero to his lover, "You're the original of Wanda." (p. 92.). The third name is Chris Ware ( Comics Journal #200) describes a segment in Lolita related to "an accident scene in his front yard....He has to go through three or four paragraphs to describe what's happening, and he excuses himself and the limits of his medium for its inherent lack of simultaneity. This is, of course, something you could presumably do in a comic strip, though it wouldn't be nearly as funny." At last, we learn that Nabokov's animated character in Laughter in the Dark ("Cheapy the Guinea Pig" appears in the anthology Zero Zero, issue #27, in which Al Columbia worked on what Cheapy looked like.
The cartoon added as an attach comes from Nabokov Gifts www.cartoonstock.com/.../nabokov_gifts.asp -
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/
