Stereotype and the ethics of representation

In Howard Cruses Stuck Rubber Baby, we are thrown into the world of a man who was raised with prejudice and is also struggling with his own homosexual feelings that cast him away from acceptable society.

The main focus of this comic is to show the effects of social prejudice by putting someone in the situation of being hated for who they are, when they do it to someone else as well.

This theme translates well to me with the aid of the heavy cross hatching in the illustration. Though this was created in the 90s when I feel like this was more popular (and brings back memories of posters in my elementary classrooms) I believe the thick weight to each shadow brings about a sense of uncertainly which matches the storyline and mood. Looking at the panel dense pages make me feel somewhat depressed and frustrated; I can really get the sense that ideas don't flow as well as I have seen in other books.

I would also like to point out how although this book puts a lot of emphasis on race and gender, there is not too much of an emphasis on racial features, like there are in other books. I noticed that white characters were drawn with larger lips and flatter noses, and everyone seemed to have sort of a buff metro stance.

I really enjoyed this subtle equality. I felt like it was easier to relate to each situation by giving a sense of balance; yet not too much emphasis was placed on "evening it all out."