Added Elements in Memoirs and Essays

Other modes add to memoirs and essays by providing more context and substance to process as a reader/viewer. Through the five readings/videos we were assigned, my favorite was “Adventures in Depression” by Allie Brosch. Last semester I took a graphic narratives course and found a new appreciation for stories accompanied by pictures and/or drawings. I love how Brosch’s topic is something that a lot of people experience and go through on a daily basis and how the cartoon makes it more relatable and the text more approachable. I think the one downfall to graphic narratives is that the pictures are not relatable for everyone, and for some they distract from the text. I love how Brosch depicts both her mental state and her negative thought patterns that speak out against her mental well-being – this element is something I believe would have been difficult to convey with writing alone.

In the videos, “How to Lose Everything,” “Lucky,” and “How Long Does It Take to Become an American,” I think they provide the viewer with a different context and understanding than if we were to read it on our own. Videos add tone of voice, facial expression, added visuals, and other sounds to influence our interpretation of a reading/speech. Interpretation is everything and I think with all these added elements sometimes interpretation is guided by the authors intentions and influences. Reading gives people their own thought processes and creativity to imagine context and scenes without any visual help. I believe that there are different stories and situations in which visuals are not as beneficial for a reader.