Graphic Narratives of the Affective Turn: British Millennial Authors and Metamodernism in the Post-2020 Era
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2024
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en
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This master’s thesis explores the manifestation of the affective turn and metamodernism in a selection of five graphic novels by British millennial authors on the topic of mental health, published between 2021–2023. The literary analysis is approached through a close reading of the graphic novels. The analysis details portrayals of affect as experienced by the characters, and pays attention to features such as rationalisation, performance, and emotional distance and proximity. Manifestations of literary metamodernism are presented through different oscillations (irony and sincerity, and failure and utopia), the use of (visual) direct interior monologue and metamodern language utility, and the constructive nature of metamodern narratives. The graphic novel medium is considered as an affective medium, facilitating the presentation and transmittance of affect through the visual tools of “bleeding” and “colouring.” Finally, the graphic novel’s hybrid form is presented to demonstrate its potential for the creation of metamodern art, for example by using its position between comics and literature, and the tension between showing and telling. The analysis demonstrates that the selected graphic novels present immersive narratives that prioritise affects, emotions, sincerity, human connection, hopefulness, and an ethical consciousness. As the first study on graphic novels in a context of the affective turn and metamodernism, this thesis offers insight into the position of graphic narratives in these respective discourses, and the scope of literary metamodernism.
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Faculteit der Letteren