Chinese pop culture essay
1) Read the comic book The Complete Adventures of Three Hairs the Orphan” (San Mao liulang ji) AKA An Orphan on the Streets, which is available as a separate bound reader at Grafikart. 2) Choose one or two sequences in the comic book which you find particularly interesting. (Most sequences consists of a series of approx. 4-6 panels, although there are more than 12 in some sequences and only 1 for others…) 3) Write a 2-3 page “close reading” of the sequence you pick in the context of popular culture and/or politics. You can combine discussions of the formal aspects of the comic with your reading of its literal and/or symbolic meaning. What does the sequence say about China? What does it say about popular culture? Is there a political meaning embedded in the comic? What social problems does it address and how? How does the sequence affect the reader? These are just of a few of the types of questions that you might want to address…but be creative and really think about what the images mean.

Most of the comics are “silent,” that is there is no written content. If you don’t read Chinese you will probably want to stick with one of the “silent” sequences, otherwise just ask a Chinese-speaking friend to translate the few Chinese characters that appear in the sequence.