Delving Deep Into Nemo's Dreamworld
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Delving Deep into Nemo’s Dreamworld Foucault’s Heterotopia Concept in the Dream Landscape of Winsor McCay’s Early 20th Century Comic Strip “Little Nemo in Slumberland” Aantal woorden: 20.325 Orane Schotte Studentennummer: 01305919 Promotor: Dr. Maaheen Ahmed Masterproef voorgelegd voor het behalen van de graad Master in de richting Vergelijkende Moderne Letterkunde Academiejaar: 2017 - 2018 2 COPYRIGHT The author and the promotor(s) grant permission for this study as a whole to be made available for personal use. Any other use is subject to copyright restrictions, in particular with regard to the obligation of explicitly citing the source when citing data from this study. The copyright regarding data in this study rests with the promotor(s). Copyright is limited to the way in which the author has approached and written down the problems of the subject. The author respects the original copyright of the individually cited studies and any associated documentation, such as tables and figures. 3 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS AND WORDS OF THANKS Below, you can see the instigator of this project. My thesis is the result of my curiosity that was piqued when, a long time ago, I stumbled upon this Little Nemo in Slumberland panel (by Winsor McCay) while surfing the web for graphic art. Working with Dr. Maaheen Ahmed – to whom I am very thankful for all her constructive criticism, help and insight – I was given the opportunity to approach this comic strip from a more academic point of view. I would also like to thank the people who ameliorated my work by refining my precocious ideas and voicing their honest thought – Jean Claude Schotte, Leen van Bogaert, and Amber Brown. Figure 0. See sources. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 6 - RESEARCH QUESTION 6 - RELEVANT FIELDS OF STUDY 7 o SOCIOLOGY – FOUCAULT’S CONCEPT OF THE HETEROTOPIA 7 o COMIC STUDIES 8 o MODERNITY AND POPULAR CULTURE 9 - THE ARTIST: WINSOR MCCAY 9 - A BRIEF NOTE ON THE TERM ‘COMIC’ 10 ANALYSIS 12 - SPACE IN THE HETEROTOPIA 12 o THE DREAMSPACE 12 § IMAGINATION: A VITAL ASPECT OF THE HETEROTOPIC SPACE 12 § THE DIALECTIC OF HOMELY AND UNCANNY 15 o THE SPACE OF THE NEWSPAPER: THE ‘FUNNIES’ SECTION AS A HETEROTOPIA 16 o THE CITY: A SPACE OF IMAGINATION OR CONTROL? 17 o SPACE AND MODERNITY 24 § THE NEWSPAPER 24 § MASS CULTURE AND IMMERSION (1) 25 § MODERN ENTERTAINMENT AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE URBAN LANDSCAPE 26 • The Circus 26 • Amusement Parks 30 • Department Stores 33 § HETEROTOPIC POTENTIAL OF MODERN ENTERTAINMENT SITES: CONFIRMING THE STATUS QUO OR CRITIQUING IT? 35 - TIME IN THE HETEROTOPIA 40 o HOMOCHRONIA 41 § STORY ARC 41 § READING EXPERIENCE 44 § SPEECH 45 o HETEROCHRONIA 47 § PANEL LAYOUT 47 § (IR)REGULARITY 51 § TEMPORAL MAPPING AND STASIS 52 - IMMERSION INTO THE HETEROTOPIA: FORMAL AND STYLISTIC ASPECTS 54 o FORMAT AND IMMERSION (2) 54 o STYLE AND IMMERSION (3) 61 o CRITICISM 62 - FOR WHOM DOES THE HETEROTOPIA EXIST? 64 o THE ‘OTHER’ IN THE HETEROTOPIA 64 o LITTLE NEMO AND THE AMERICAN DREAM 68 CONCLUSIVE REMARKS ON THE HETEROTOPIA IN LITTLE NEMO 71 SOURCES 74 5 INTRODUCTION RESEARCH QUESTION By pausing for a moment to think about what might be hiding behind the weekly ‘funnies’ of Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905 – 1911) created by the artist Winsor McCay, it will quickly become clear that the work is far from merely trivial and humorous, as many people judge comic strips to be. My research will revolve around the following question: to what extent do dream spaces in Little Nemo allow themselves to be read as heterotopias, or alternative spaces? To what extent can Little Nemo be read as an exploration of the heterotopia? A more detailed definition of the term ‘heterotopia’ will follow under the header of ‘Relevant Fields of Study’. In this thesis I will discuss spatiotemporal aspects in detail (as space and time are the two most important aspects of a heterotopia), as well as taking into account more technical aspects of the comic strip such as narrative and form. Lastly, while discussing these aspects, it is important to explore if and how the heterotopia is betrayed in any way. For example, is imagination ever discouraged (see ‘Relevant Fields of Study’), or are there actors present that disturb the safe and protected space? While scholars have already noted the utopic quality of Little Nemo (amongst others Scott Bukatman, who describes Slumberland as a “utopic space of exploration and discovery” (12) in his short essay, Little Utopias of Disorder) and have spoken about space and time (such as Katherine Roeder), both of which are essential in the discussion of the heterotopia, no research has been done connecting Little Nemo and the concept of the heterotopia, the existing, alternative space within society. This research could be considered as socially relevant, as heterotopias are existing places which allow us to understand how space is utilised in our society, and thus comic studies might benefit from this study. By constructing a space that is distinctly different from all the other spaces in society, it is possible to gain insight on how space is usually utilised. As Foucault says, “we do not live in a kind of void … [but] we live inside a set of relations that delineates sites” (23). The heterotopia, then, does not exist by itself, but exists in a network of other spaces, and the heterotopia “contradict[s] all the other sites” (24). 6 RELEVANT FIELDS OF STUDY SOCIOLOGY – FOUCAULT’S CONCEPT OF THE HETEROTOPIA One of the main theorists whose work is crucial to understand this thesis is Michel Foucault and his work Des espaces autres (Of Other Spaces). Foucault begins his essay by distinguishing traditional/mediaeval space and modern space: the former is ordered in a hierarchical manner (e.g. profane places are considered as being less worthy than sacred places), and the latter is understood in terms of a network of relations. Foucault then distinguishes two types of space: internal and external space. According to Foucault, the space of our dreams is internal; it is a type of void with intrinsic qualities, such as being ethereal, or transparent. However, in this thesis I wish to clarify that when I speak of dreamspace, I mean to denote an external space that exists inside a set of relations: although the content of the comic represents someone’s internal space (Nemo’s), it is actualised (it is put into form, it exists) as an external space. The dreamspace consists not of dreams, but consists of Slumberland and all the places Nemo and his friends go to on adventures. The dreamspace as an external space can also be understood in a more literal sense: the material, physical comic is meant to be shared and is thus part of an external space, it is meant to be published and read. This will be discussed later on in this thesis, under the header of ‘The Space of the Page’. Let us move to the crux of the matter. Foucault discusses a particular type of external space that I believe applies to Little Nemo: the heterotopia. Foucault defines the heterotopia as “an effectively enacted utopia”, a distinct, existing space in society that is ruled by a different sense of time (it is heterochronic, as will be explained in the chapter on time) and is subject to a different set of rules, different from all other spaces within society. In a heterotopia, the space has to be separate and has to share a certain type of relationship with the outside world. The experiences within the heterotopia deviate from everyday life, especially in terms of imagination: the space is considered alternative because it encourages and depends on imagination. Scholar Bart Keunen, in his book Ik en de stad published in 2016, writes that heterotopias are “spaces that go beyond the indifferent spaces with which we are confronted every day” (170 own translation). Without imagination, the heterotopia ceases to exist. One ought not to confuse the heterotopia and the utopia. Although they may share some elements (which is why I have mentioned the utopia and not other types of topoi), such as being an 7 ideal place, the main distinction between the heterotopia and the utopia is that the heterotopia is an existing place, unlike the utopia (ou-topia), the non-existing place (Keunen 170). After having explored the difference between heterotopias and utopias, Foucault continues his essay with a list of six principles that characterise the heterotopia. Throughout this thesis, the principles will return and will be fleshed out in more detail. 1. There is probably no culture that does not have heterotopic spaces. 2. The heterotopia has a “precise and determined function within a society” (Foucault 25). An example is the cemetery, which serves as a “cult of the dead” (25). 3. The heterotopia is capable of containing several other, sometimes contradictory, sites in one space. 4. The heterotopia is heterochronic: it represents an absolute break with traditional time. Heterotopic time is either fleeting, or oppositely, reaches for the infinite. 5. The heterotopia “presuppose[s] a system of opening and closing that both isolates them and makes them penetrable” (26). Entry to the heterotopia can be compulsory, or can be accompanied by rites and/or purifications. 6. The heterotopia has a function “in relation to all the space that remains” (27): it is either a space of illusion (it “exposes every real space” (27)) or a space of compensation (it creates a space that is “perfect” and “meticulous” (27)). In other words, although the heterotopia is alternative to all the other spaces in our society, it is real and is therefore part of our society.