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Post by megamaramon on Nov 7, 2015 17:48:02 GMT -5
Are you non compliant? Do you listen to the patriarchy? Is your second home BITCH PLANET?!
For November, we are reading Bitch Planet vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine Del Landro from Image Comics. This is going to be good.
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ocrush
Fearless Defender
Posts: 11
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Post by ocrush on Nov 28, 2015 15:05:41 GMT -5
I love this book so much! Reading this book, to me feels the same as going to a Bikini Kill or Heavens to Betsy show did in the early 90's, and the back matter in the books remind me of the zines kids would pass around. This book is very punk rock in a way, for me it's a huge middle finger to the status quo.
another thing I want to mention about this book. This book is super fun to read and it takes me twice as long to read each issue than any other comic. I love meticulously scanning the back ground in each picture for all the little extra details Del Landro adds to make the world building in this book the best!
one of my favorite moments so far was in Penny's issue. The reveal, when you get to see what she saw in the mirror! I cried! It was played out in the book so perfectly, how they made you turn the page to see it! What perfect effect and timing! I remember holding my breathe and saying a prayer before I slowly turned the page, and she saw herself, just how she is, and it was so powerful and perfect! Just thinking about it makes me feel emotional.
I could never express the gratitude I feel towards Kelly Sue and Valentine for creating this book. Bravo!
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Post by Bob Reyer on Nov 28, 2015 20:42:37 GMT -5
I love this book so much! Reading this book, to me feels the same as going to a Bikini Kill or Heavens to Betsy show did in the early 90's, and the back matter in the books remind me of the zines kids would pass around. This book is very punk rock in a way, for me it's a huge middle finger to the status quo. another thing I want to mention about this book. This book is super fun to read and it takes me twice as long to read each issue than any other comic. I love meticulously scanning the back ground in each picture for all the little extra details Del Landro adds to make the world building in this book the best! one of my favorite moments so far was in Penny's issue. The reveal, when you get to see what she saw in the mirror! I cried! It was played out in the book so perfectly, how they made you turn the page to see it! What perfect effect and timing! I remember holding my breathe and saying a prayer before I slowly turned the page, and she saw herself, just how she is, and it was so powerful and perfect! Just thinking about it makes me feel emotional. I could never express the gratitude I feel towards Kelly Sue and Valentine for creating this book. Bravo! "O", It's great to hear that you're digging it...and you know that I second that "Bravo!" With Bitch Planet, Kelly Sue and Val have managed an insane juggling act of influences, and all in the service of delivering some powerful messages, and all of that never seems to get in the way of telling a ripping good yarn!
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Post by megamaramon on Nov 29, 2015 22:18:45 GMT -5
Thoughtful questions from the trade:
1. Who is your favorite prisoner, and why? Is she also the one you identify with the most?
2. Does the science fiction setting influence your reading of the story? If yes, how?
3. How does non-compliance as displayed within the context of Bitch Planet work as an allegory for women today? How do characters in Bitch Planet use the term "non-compliant"? What does it mean for real women today? What does it mean to you?
4. This book builds a culture around itself through the retro art, stylized promotions, essays, the sale of back page garbage, and an active online community. How does this affect the way you read and think about the book?
5. Discuss the female characters in Bitch Planet who are not prisoners, such as Operative Whitney, Dawn Collins, the Model actors, and the patrons of Penny Rolle's bakery.
6. Kamau Kogo doesn't want to accept any compromise with the system that's oppressing her. How much would you get involved in the system to fight against it "from the inside"? Do you think that there's a clear-cut line where dealing with reality as it is becomes subservient cooperation?
7. Kam states that she does not want to be a part of any "movement". Do you think that "movements" are fundamental in a fight against oppression, particularly oppressive systems like prisons that rely on stasis as a form of punishment? How structured should they be? How much should they be open to different political positions, or to different tactics to address the same issue?
8. Intersectional feminism is the view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity. Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability, and ethnicity. An example of this would be that black women have higher incarceration rates for the same crimes white women commit. In Bitch Planet, Marion expected that, since her experience of being female didn't intersect with someone like Kam or Penny, this difference would protect her or offer her special consideration. Can you think of other instances, either in pop culture, in the media or in your own life, where you can point out the ways that different women's experiences don't always intersect?
Question to think of: which fictional character do you want to see interact with the ladies of Bitch Planet?
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