Pieces of Me

Introduction

    Literature has played an important role to society. It is the human’s way of entertainment, information relay, and preservation of culture. It is important to everyone because it preserves memories, emotions, knowledge, lifestyle, and etc. Literature has drastically evolved through the times. During the 21st century, these literary pieces have transcended from paper to the digital world and has never stopped ever since. The most iconic pieces of literature of today’s world are called memes. However, memes wouldn’t exist without the other forms of Literature.

    In this blog, I am going to specify three very important and renowned 21st Century Literary Masterpieces, and then I will compare and contrast them. The three pieces are the aforementioned on the title: Graphic Novel, Manga, and Doodle Fiction. 

Graphic Novels are narrative and written in comic book formats. These novels can be employed in broad manner, encompassing non-fiction to fiction, from short to long stories. An example to this is the Archie Comicsby John Goldwater and illustrator, Bob Montana. 

    Manga, a Japanese word for comics, is a generic term for all comic books and graphic novels originally published in Japan. Manga has many genres as well, some of these are Shonen, or boy’s manga (e.g. Naruto), Shojo, or girl’s manga (e.g. Sailor Moon), Seinin, or men’s manga (e.g. Akira), Josei, or women’s manga (e.g. Paradise Kiss), Kodomo, or children’s manga (e.g. Doraemon), and many more. 

 Lastly, Doodle Fictions are literary presentations where the author incorporates doodle writing, drawing, and handwritten graphics in place of the traditional font to enhance the story, or to add humurous effects. A perfect example to these are The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.

SIMILARITIES

  All of these genres incorporate drawings, illustration, or graphics in telling a story. This is just basic definition of each of the genre. Doodle Fictions use doodles for a more humorous and/or engaging effect, while both of the Manga and Graphic Novels use a comic book style. All of these styles, to be even more obvious, contains pictures that engages viewers effectively. These are all from the 21st Century. Each genre couldn’t come into being without the assistance of a computer or through digital mechanisms.

    For the specific contexts, Manga and Graphic Novels are both in comic book style as aforementioned repetitively. They use panels with illustrations and texts for readers to quickly understand. Doodle Fictions and Graphic Novels are not necessarily from a specific country, as long as the literary piece contains elements with or defines itself as these genres, they can be branded likewise

DIFFERENCES

In Terms of Elements

    Although they have their many respective elemental similarities, they’re most common elemental difference is in art style and narration. Doodle fictions use handwritten elements to write its text and drawing. Manga use a very specific Japanese art style to draw the graphics, also they are read from right to left. Elements in Manga always pertain, exclusively, to the Japanese. These Japanese elements include culture, the people, environment, behavior, and the likes. Whereas, the Doodle Fictions and Graphic Novels can be from any country. Lastly, Graphic novels use a very Americanized art style in drawing the comic, and must be read from left to right.

In Terms of Structure

    Structural differences in Manga and Graphic Novels are very little since both are in comic book style. Both of which have panels to separate a scene from another scene. In terms of text, they vary their language and structure in the formality of the pieces. Basically, the most obvious difference in structure is in contrast to Doodle Fictions. Doodle Fictions follow a novel or story book type of narration, unlike the Manga and Graphic Novels. Doodle fictions show both text and pictures in a way like articles are written, while, the comic book styles don’t.

CONCLUSION

The three of these 21st century literary masterpieces have many similarities and differences in terms of structure and elements, yet, these don’t actually matter when you read them. Just have fun, be entertained, appreciate the art, and live life at your fullest. Always remember to keep rekindling the fire of literature.

All sources for the definition of each literature came from 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World.

By: Jobert Mendoza

Enhance Community Quarantine , General Community Quarantine , MGCQ, this is what the major cities in the Philippines have been encountering since March 2020. The restriction in movement , as well as the health protocols implemented , affect the socio economic behaviors of Filipinos.

With many aspects of daily life done virtually our country have indeed accepted the challenge of the New Normal but what is New Normal really meant to Filipinos?

Change the Spirit of Bayanihan

Nowadays, Filipino consumers put a premium on safety and convenience. This is why we can observe a significant rise in the number of online marketplaces and delivery services.  With a  few clicks, anyone can get their items delivered right at their doorstep. However, change in the modes of transaction is not the only aspect affected by the crisis. This shift has also paved the way for the spirit of bayanihan to thrive in the digital age.

Bayanihan is a FIlipino value which pertains to having a spirit of unity and cooperation. At a young age, Filipinos are taught that bayanihan is innate and unique to the Philippine culture. In olden times, it has been portrayed through people working together to lift a house.

The spirit of bayanihan in the digital age manifested through FIlipinos showing preference for products and services that help fellow Filipinos survive the pandemic. We see more microbusinesses emerging online. A quick look at your list of social media connections and you will see friends and acquaintances venturing into selling goods– from beloved family recipes to sanitation products such as alcohol, face masks and face shields. The increase in the number of microbusinesses can be seen as a result of an increase in demand-People are buying, so people started selling more. We have seen people rally behind Benguet farmers who had to throw away their produce and delivery drivers who struggle with cancelled orders. Online groups have been created to help support these causes and help link them to customers willing to purchase their products.

“The spirit of bayanihan in the digital age manifested through FIlipinos showing preference for products and services that help fellow Filipinos to survive the pandemic”

The Filipino New Normal

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged our way of life, thus, it prompted all of us to adapt and create a new normal. But what is the new normal? Is it just the transition of life into a virtual mode? Is it having everything we need with a few clicks? No. The Filipino New Normal is more than that. 

The Filipino New Normal takes advantage of the opportunities offered by technology. But more than that, the Filipino New Normal embodies the spirit of bayanihan that is innate in all of us. The Filipino New Normal consciously chooses to make decisions that would uplift others. The Filipino New Normal encourages the growth of Social Enterprises so that they continue to identify innovative solutions to ensure that no one is left behind.

The COVID-19 pandemic indeed made our sky the darkest, but it is in the darkest nights wherein brightest stars shine.