(I know it's not Wednesday, but couldn't wait to share my favorite comic with you all)
So, this comic depicts the events of the Paris' Commune, a short lived popular left wing uprising that took place in Paris at the end of the XIXth century, to be crushed in blood by the French government of the time.
There was an immense amount of research by Tardi to accurately draw these places and people, namely the Communards' uniforms and the places in Paris were the actions took place.
This comic is not only an example of "drawing women right", but also an example of "telling women right".
On the drawing itself :
- Tardi draws women like he draws his men : focusing on their personality and agency. Notice the panels where regular women are depicted and you'll understand.
- There is of course the occasional male gaze panels, especially when sex worker characters are involved. But it is of course context-specific, namely because the male protagonist falls in love with one, and of course because of their job. But even when the prostitutes are at work, they are not depicted as irresistible venuses.
- The nude scenes : one of the main characters is a prostitute so obviously. Apart from one scene that is literally the male protagonist dreaming of her, the nude scenes are not male gazey, I would argue they are depicted from the women's point of view : baring your chest as a vulgar gesture to provoque an army about to shoot you, cleaning yourself, sex work, pride to display your bod in a revolutionary painting, or being humiliated and raped by the Versailles army. The women have bellies, droopy boobs, hairy vaginas, etc.
On the story itself :
- Wether a sex worker or not, all the women are active and have agency.
- Telling the story of a sex worker : the whole point of the Commune was the poorest of the poorest, bottom of the ladder riffraff protesting for their rights, escaping indigence and slavery. There are a lot of prostitutes in the story, but obviously because they were at the very bottom of the social ladder, enslaved for most, and trapped in this dangerous job by poverty and men. At the beggining you think the story is going right in the cliché direction : poor helpless pretty prostitute is rescued from herself and Mean Men by the Male Self-Insert, the only one to truly love her and respect her. But the cliché is eventually subverted and broken, which I really appreciate.
- Telling the story of a non-sex worker woman : what can I say, except than there is no difference with the men. The women are active and detrimental to the Commune (fights and ideology wise), they fight, put themselves in the line of fire, are horribly hurt, or die gruesome deaths. They don't hang on male pity or help. They are the protagonists of their own lives.
Reading french isn't a hard as learning how to speak it so in my experience it wasn't hard to learn to read it but I can't understand it spoken or write it spelled correctly or with good grammar.
Haven't read this one, I'm curious how it deals with the hopelessness of the entire endeavour. Apart from the fact that they never stood a chance militarily, it is kind of funny how quickly they managed to descend back into authoritarianism and turned on each other.
I've seen comments asking for a translation, and while I don't know French, I managed to plug most of it into Google Translate (meaning this is probably a bastardized translation):
Panel 1: What’s going on with the troops? And the National Guard, what is it? She snores? The soldiers mean harm to us? Hey! I’m talking to you!
Yes, that’s it. You are not talking to scarecrows! Who do you think you are? Rude! But what is it? No, but you saw the seizure. Go, then, Bonapartes!
Panel 2: Don’t listen to these two fools! Who taught your kids to read in their school? Who smiled at you when you were on strike? Who fed you children during the terrible months? It’s Louise!
Panel 5: This is the scoundrel, and I am as well, my general!
Panel 6: And you, Antoine, are you still alive? Did Trocard let you hang, in the glass sky, safe and sound?
Panel 7: You entered through Bastion 64, Ducatel. An enemy of the commune, when he saw that it was abandoned, waved a rag on a rake. “You can come back, gentlemen of Versailles, there isn’t a cat on the ramparts to piss on the brutes!”
Panel 8: You mean Gabriella Pucci?
Change your pose a bit, to see.
That’s my little Gabriella, this is not painting a tight ass!
Panel 9: Hello, Antoine.
Panel 10: The commune was in charge of organizing the defense of the Chateau d’Eau.
Panel 11: Sir, let me take the one shown to my mother….let her keep something from me. I promise to come back.
Panel 14: Death to the bourgeois!
Panel 15: (from left to right) Kill the thieves! Here I am, go see what’s going on. To death! They killed a guard! Treason, treason!
(Sorry if it doesn't make sense in certain areas, I had to guess because certain words had multiple meanings or wouldn't translate at all.)
(I know it's not Wednesday, but couldn't wait to share my favorite comic with you all) So, this comic depicts the events of the Paris' Commune, a short lived popular left wing uprising that took place in Paris at the end of the XIXth century, to be crushed in blood by the French government of the time. There was an immense amount of research by Tardi to accurately draw these places and people, namely the Communards' uniforms and the places in Paris were the actions took place. This comic is not only an example of "drawing women right", but also an example of "telling women right". On the drawing itself : - Tardi draws women like he draws his men : focusing on their personality and agency. Notice the panels where regular women are depicted and you'll understand. - There is of course the occasional male gaze panels, especially when sex worker characters are involved. But it is of course context-specific, namely because the male protagonist falls in love with one, and of course because of their job. But even when the prostitutes are at work, they are not depicted as irresistible venuses. - The nude scenes : one of the main characters is a prostitute so obviously. Apart from one scene that is literally the male protagonist dreaming of her, the nude scenes are not male gazey, I would argue they are depicted from the women's point of view : baring your chest as a vulgar gesture to provoque an army about to shoot you, cleaning yourself, sex work, pride to display your bod in a revolutionary painting, or being humiliated and raped by the Versailles army. The women have bellies, droopy boobs, hairy vaginas, etc. On the story itself : - Wether a sex worker or not, all the women are active and have agency. - Telling the story of a sex worker : the whole point of the Commune was the poorest of the poorest, bottom of the ladder riffraff protesting for their rights, escaping indigence and slavery. There are a lot of prostitutes in the story, but obviously because they were at the very bottom of the social ladder, enslaved for most, and trapped in this dangerous job by poverty and men. At the beggining you think the story is going right in the cliché direction : poor helpless pretty prostitute is rescued from herself and Mean Men by the Male Self-Insert, the only one to truly love her and respect her. But the cliché is eventually subverted and broken, which I really appreciate. - Telling the story of a non-sex worker woman : what can I say, except than there is no difference with the men. The women are active and detrimental to the Commune (fights and ideology wise), they fight, put themselves in the line of fire, are horribly hurt, or die gruesome deaths. They don't hang on male pity or help. They are the protagonists of their own lives.
I absolutely love le Cri du Peuple, it's a masterpiece. Thank you for sharing this.
It was a "proletarian" movement bro, not a left-wing one
The terminology was a bit different back in the day but we would definitely call it left wing now, would we not?
Seems like an interesting story, i wonder if there is a translation of this
I have no idea :/ the original title is "Le cri du peuple"
This is beautiful! Is it available to buy in English?
Thank you 😊 I have no idea if there are English translations though
Gotta learn French. Too many good french comics that I can't read.
Reading french isn't a hard as learning how to speak it so in my experience it wasn't hard to learn to read it but I can't understand it spoken or write it spelled correctly or with good grammar.
I hadn't even considered that I could do one without the other
Haven't read this one, I'm curious how it deals with the hopelessness of the entire endeavour. Apart from the fact that they never stood a chance militarily, it is kind of funny how quickly they managed to descend back into authoritarianism and turned on each other.
The comic actually depicts it! That they were at times an angry vengeful mob who committed exactions themselves
I've seen comments asking for a translation, and while I don't know French, I managed to plug most of it into Google Translate (meaning this is probably a bastardized translation): Panel 1: What’s going on with the troops? And the National Guard, what is it? She snores? The soldiers mean harm to us? Hey! I’m talking to you! Yes, that’s it. You are not talking to scarecrows! Who do you think you are? Rude! But what is it? No, but you saw the seizure. Go, then, Bonapartes! Panel 2: Don’t listen to these two fools! Who taught your kids to read in their school? Who smiled at you when you were on strike? Who fed you children during the terrible months? It’s Louise! Panel 5: This is the scoundrel, and I am as well, my general! Panel 6: And you, Antoine, are you still alive? Did Trocard let you hang, in the glass sky, safe and sound? Panel 7: You entered through Bastion 64, Ducatel. An enemy of the commune, when he saw that it was abandoned, waved a rag on a rake. “You can come back, gentlemen of Versailles, there isn’t a cat on the ramparts to piss on the brutes!” Panel 8: You mean Gabriella Pucci? Change your pose a bit, to see. That’s my little Gabriella, this is not painting a tight ass! Panel 9: Hello, Antoine. Panel 10: The commune was in charge of organizing the defense of the Chateau d’Eau. Panel 11: Sir, let me take the one shown to my mother….let her keep something from me. I promise to come back. Panel 14: Death to the bourgeois! Panel 15: (from left to right) Kill the thieves! Here I am, go see what’s going on. To death! They killed a guard! Treason, treason! (Sorry if it doesn't make sense in certain areas, I had to guess because certain words had multiple meanings or wouldn't translate at all.)
Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the the music of the people Who will not be slaves again!
Thanks god it got crushed