1) Read the comic book The Complete Adventures of Three Hairs the Orphan” (San Mao
liulang ji) AKA An Orphan on the Streets,
2) Choose one or two sequences in the comic book which you find particularly interesting.
(Most sequences consists of a series of approx. 4-6 panels, although there are more than
12 in some sequences and only 1 for others…)
3) Write a 2-3 page “close reading” of the sequence you pick in the context of popular
culture and/or politics. You can combine discussions of the formal aspects of the comic
with your reading of its literal and/or symbolic meaning. What does the sequence say
about China? What does it say about popular culture? Is there a political meaning
embedded in the comic? What social problems does it address and how? How does the
sequence affect the reader? These are just of a few of the types of questions that you
might want to address…but be creative and really think about what the images mean.
Most of the comics are “silent,” that is there is no written content. If you don’t read
Chinese you will probably want to stick with one of the “silent” sequences, otherwise just
ask a Chinese-speaking friend to translate the few Chinese characters that appear in the
sequence.
