Victim or Perpetrator?

Uncovering the Nuances of Perpetrators in Graphic Narratives

Abstract

Graphic narratives about genocide allow for different and unique ways of visualizing and imagining trauma and trauma-induced subjective experiences. In their attempt to initiate active reader participation in filling in the gutters with reader-induced closure, graphic narratives are unique as they work with emotion to mobilize their readers to act. This form of narrative also allows creators to expose the liminality of subject positions more easily. Through an analysis of Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda and Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story, this paper demonstrates that the dimensions of perpetratorhood are far from well-defined and that the perpetrator often resides in the ambiguity of what Primo Levi calls the ‘gray zone.’ This zone describes a middle ground between good and evil which draws attention to complications in how perpetrators are judged as well as how victims are represented. Comics scholar Hillary Chute explains that the power of graphic narratives comes from their ability to “intervene against a culture of invisibility” through the ethical portrayal of trauma. This risk is displayed in the graphic novels Deogratias and Waltz with Bashir as they both centralize characters that expose the hidden nuances of perpetratorhood.