Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco describes the war and its aftermath in Eastern Bosnia from the years 1992-1995. The idea of graphic journalism may sound a little like an oxymoron because when we think of graphic novels, a lot of times people picture fiction or superhuman and supernatural events. That would appear to be the complete opposite of journalism as it is intended and used to report on actual news events that are going on around the world. So what happens when the two are combined and why is it not used more frequently? The idea of graphic journalism imposes some implications, but has its benefits as well. In the case of Safe Area Gorazde, Joe Sacco, both the author and reporter, depicts what he experienced and learned while visiting Gorazde. The fact that there were visitors and journalists taking an interest in Gorazde was such a huge deal that Sacco describes it in his graphic novel as a “red carpet” event as shown in the page below.
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| Joe Sacco and his Colleagues Arriving to Gorazde |
This is where some of the benefits of graphic journalism start coming into play. The audience and readers of Safe Area Gorazde appear to get some first hand knowledge of the happenings and people of this foreign country in a way that feels familiar. In Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, the author discusses how viewer identification is a specialty of cartooning. In most cases, the simpler something is drawn or conveyed, the easier it is for an audience to identify with a story’s character. When considering Safe Area Gorazde, the fact that these are actual events portrayed in the form of a cartoon, makes it to where the audience is able to sympathize with the characters or people that have been affected by the war in Eastern Bosnia. The families, women, and children all fleeing for safety while being shot at might seem more horrifying and heartbreaking because of how the people are represented. Since the drawings depict people in a way where they look like your average everyday person, the audience begins thinking about their own families, friends, neighbors etc. As ironic as it sounds, the simple portrayal of the horrible events happening in Gorazde seem to be more effective in a comic format because the reader feels as though it could be happening in their own backyard rather than a foreign country. This is largely in part because the images are not as detailed as what a live video newscast or documentary would reflect, where the viewer may feel more distanced and indifferent watching it from the safety of their own home.
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| Women and Children Attempting to Flee to Safety |
Safe Area Gorazde is able to show us a country and a large scale event that many people probably have no knowledge of in a way that is not only informative, but brings us right down to the action. The people who have lived through such a tragic and invasive war have been interviewed by Sacco and his colleagues. As a result, we as an audience, are taken right into their homes and personal lives. In the panel below, the reader is introduced to specific characters that all share their stories of the losses and pain they have suffered because of the attacks on Gorazde. This not only gives the audience insight, but helps the reader see how terrible things have been for so many years. It also allows us to get a glimpse of just how many individuals have been harmed by the disastrous events taking place in their country.
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| Individuals Sharing Their Experiences from the First Attack |
The combination of both words and pictures work quite well together to familiarize and educate the audience about Gorazde. Scott McCloud discusses the importance of pictures and words working synchronously in Understanding Comics. McCloud states that “words and pictures have great powers to tell stories when creators fully exploit them both.” This is exactly what Joe Sacco does in Safe Area Gorazde as he combines the approachable yet dismaying images of Gorazde with words and dialogue. The audience is better able to understand and empathize with the people of Gorazde because of Sacco’s pictures corresponding to the answers and responses of the people he has interviewed. So what is the final result of all this? Joe Sacco’s surprisingly effective take on graphic journalism and a world that is able to view one completely different from their own.
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