In our discussion about “Neurocomic” yesterday, someone mentioned page 126, where the main character touches the mirror and is pulled into it. This image was so familiar to me, and after mulling over it for a while, I realized this exact same thing happened in “The Matrix.” [spoiler alert] Neo touches a mirror and is suddenly coated by the glass, which moves up his arm and onto his face. Immediately after, he wakes up outside the Matrix, a fabricated reality, into the real world. Having the main character in “Neurocomic” do the same thing was a clever way to bring him back to his own “real” world, where he finds out he’s actually not real.
Another thing I began to think about is how the narrative structure stays mainly on the tangible parts of the brain, and then eases into the concepts of consciousness and imagination. I really enjoyed how the story gives the reader a primer of the different parts of the brain and how neurons work, and by transitioning into memory, where things get a little hazy and less concrete, can create discourse (with a reflection of the main character himself) about consciousness, about imagination, and about the concept of “self,” in a way that is not jarring or too far detached from the physical activities of the brain.
It is interesting that I never took into account the fact that he is going back to the “real” to in fact be told he is not real himself. The page actually reminded me of all the fairytales or stories that the character ends up in another reality always after being confronted with an image or reflection of theirselves. As for the narrative stays on tangible parts of the brain and is not as present when its in conversation about parts that most likely cannot be fully explained and its a way to visualize how we apply words and feelings to a situation that we can explain and instead ones we can’t we use examples or illustration in hopes that they will make it easier.
Funny thinking about the Matrix! haha. I thought about the music video to the 80’s song “Take on Me” where he becomes a comic book character! I really enjoyed this book and felt like I learned a lot about all the different aspects of the brain as well! I do agree with Ashlie that the book reminds me somewhat of a fairytale character when he goes through all of these obstacles and just wants to escape being inside the brain, and soon realizes this is all just part of his imagination. Hard to wrap your brain around. I did enjoy the joke at the very end when the narrator tells the audience we have a good imagination and we can basically keep this story going.
I’m probably one of the only people who has never watched the Matrix… I only know the one scene where the guy is dodging everything in slow motion. Colin, your point about the tangible parts of the brain is something I never thought of before. I also believe the flowing into different topics also helps to ease the reader into something unknown and difficult. You also mention the fact that everything is a fabricated reality in this text and the Matrix, I think it’s safe to say that the same goes for our experiences. What I mean is that our own brains and consciousness creates our reality, and because nobody else can experience it but us we do not know anyone else’s, we just assume it’s the same. It’s the same concept of looking at yourself in the mirror. We have only ever seen our own reflections and through pictures, we have never really seen ourselves through another’s perspective. This is why there are differences of opinion when it comes to attractiveness I think and there are no set standards for anything because every human experience, consciousness and perception of the world and the life we live is different.
Colin, I really liked the connection you made to the Matrix. Sadly, like Renee, I have seen the Matrix either. “Neurocomic” is a very interesting book. I really enjoyed the activity we did in class because it helped me to understand comic and it actually made me like it. Even though there weren’t much words on the pages, there is still so much to learn, for example from the pictures of the character, their facial expression, the bubbles, shaded areas, and many more intricate details.
Colin, this is awesome; I hadn’t even thought to connect the mirror image to the Matrix even though I’ve seen the trilogy several times. The idea that the protagonist must be transplanted into an alternate reality to realize that he is not real – and that a beautiful woman is the one who points it out to him – is definitely Matrix-like.
I also really enjoye the narrative structure of the comic book. As you point out, the protagonist travels from the “concrete” parts of the brain like the neurons and such and transitions into the abstracts theories about memory and identity. I think it would be great to explore the link between the brain and the mind with a similar approach. Perhaps someone can post about it next time or bring it up in discussion.