Unflattening is the Sousanis meditation about the nature of visual communication and learning. The book utilizes the visual narratives in expressing the abstract ideas which are appropriately drawn and conceived. The author also presents the challenges to conventional western thinking on various images and words. The imagery is drawn from the movies, televisions, scientific programs and the classical canon of arts. Unflattening utilizes the comics as a tool which unpicks the acquired wisdom around the dialects and perceptions. The book describes the characterization of Charles Hatfield concerning the comic as the art of tension thus helping in distinguishing the words and image functions. This made the stress which arose among the codes becoming fundamental to the art forms. Therefore, this paper will focus on the way Sousanis uses the expressive power of the comics in making a rhetorically effective argument.
Sousanis utilizes the dichotomy which exists between the images and words in the western thought thus stating that they are both used in the acquisition of meaning. The use of the black and white diagrams, geometric images and the general help in capturing the attention of the readers through the ideas provided in the comic. This book tends to become an appropriate illustration of the visual and verbal drawings that people acquire meaning. Therefore, images used by Sousanis supplement and enhance the messages which could have been delivered through texts. The book can betray the thoughts of the reader since they portray a given mode as a flat which is in contrast to the three-dimensional thinking of a person. For example, the images which are the start of the book depicts the soul-less and identity-less education which leads to standardization of critical thinking, creativity, and freedom (Sossi, 2017). The images and writing of the books creates an opposition between the mechanical and organic and the flat and un-flat. The author "Sousanis" critiques the mindset of the individuals which is in contrast to the technology of expressions.
Unflattening starts with the apocalyptic claim which states that people are of a doomed community where they labor under the illusions of the free thoughts. Sousanis seeks to provide a solution to this problem as he makes a comparison of the combined humans' experiences with the ones of the flatlanders. The flatlanders are the individuals who experience the inner depth of a dimension through the circumstantial evidence. The current world view thing in three dimensions and one cannot explain appropriately to the flatlanders without being viewed as either incomprehensible or mad (Sossi, 2017). Therefore, Sousanis states that every individual is a flatlander; thus they require unflattening so that to perceive and approach the worldly things on their physical state.
Unflattening uses a collage-like the capacity of the comic hence incorporating and reevaluating various vantage points which are drawn from the philosophy, art, science, mythology, and literature. The images and the texts used to connect in a nonlinear fashion thus providing meaning to the comics. The comic use becomes allegories, allusions, motifs which make the readers aware of the real sense of what is presented than what is read in the pages (Genres, 2015). Also, the gaps which are created by Sousanis helps the readers in developing imaginations showing that there are a lot of things to discover.
Sousanis demonstrates the birth of flatness using a sequence of the conveyor belts which transport the humanoids via different levels of the machinery and the robotic arms hence altering the designs and forming appropriate human bodies. Flatness is described as the birth of conformity and the death of individuality thus making the reader develop an arguing base. Sousanis has explored the dimensions of the world and the space complexities thus creating the power of the transcending boundaries. The author highlights the flatness which is provided by every eye and the efforts which are produced by them thus unflattening the vision. Unflattening has created space for the comprehensive understanding through different interplays and the collaboration of dance which lead to differences (Matt, 2015). Through these aspects, Sousanis proceed in the utilization of the texts and images thus showing their application, purpose and the un-flattened potentials.
In the book, the author challenges the readers to consider the nature of their bodies and the way embodiment might affect their discernment. The experiences which a person goes through are siphoned and understood within one's encounters. Therefore, Sousanis states that drawings which are part of the comic lead to the provision of the metacognitive lens which individuals do not record in their thoughts. The unconscious cognitive processes are brought to the surface making the people come towards the less encumbered perspectives. Also, the stories and imaginations help the person to think beyond themselves thus making people proceed to have the creative association and the surprising synergies (Genres, 2015). People also learn they are involved in the process since it affects their lives due to their habits and thoughts.
The vectors describe how people are affected by biological factors and how they can learn to ensure they are progressing from different points in life - recognition of the strings and utilizing them as the harnesses make people move away from flatness. Awakening has helped people to become reborn thus having the capability of unflattening (Genres, 2015). Therefore, people can take arguments as the evolution of cooperative efforts since they end up arriving at the same stance despite their earlier cases.
Therefore, the comics give the appearance of approachability where the pictures attract the attention of an individual and draw various attitudes. Unflattening and understanding are required since the readers might not get to acquire the information which the author was communicating through the images. Also, comics gave Sousanis a broader dimension to express his ideas through the pictures. It is better to read and understand the comic which aspires to a high theory since they act on the arguments which prove the power of comics in learning, understanding, and exploration. The creator of certain comics like the images makes them do their work of expressing ideas and communicating various messages to the readers. For example, the text boxes which were used by Sousanis floated over the images hence giving the appearance of the written essay above the illustrations (Matt, 2015). Due to the non-uniform panel structures which led to the establishment of rhythm contributed to ensuring the mechanization and the standardization of the comics.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the use of comic has played a significant role in the Sousanis works since he was able to communicate his ideas to the public. Comic contributed to the emergence of arguments between the way people perceived images without looking at the deeper meaning. Most readers cannot understand the meaning of certain comics since they do not view them in three dimensions. Therefore, to follow the comics, one has to accept unflattening thus getting to open up their mode of thinking and perception of things.
References
Genres, M. (2015). Comics and scholarship: Sketching the possibilities. Composition Studies, 43, 178-182. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1062023
Matt, F. (2015). One Giant Leap: A Review of Unflattening; Unflattening, Nick Sousanis, Harvard University Press, 208 pages, 164 pages of illustrations, April 2015, ISBN: 9780674744431. The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship, 5(1). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279284121_One_Giant_Leap_A_Review_of_Unflattening
Sossi, D. (2017). Unflattening by Nick Sousanis. Visual Studies, 32(2), 193-194. Retrieved from http://spinweaveandcut.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Unflattening-Review-in-Visual-Studies-by-Sossi.pdf
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