(In)human Visual Metaphors: The Animal and the Doll

Abstract

This chapter offers an insightful look at the use of visual metaphors in graphic novels that deal with genocide. The figure of the animal and the doll allow for a graphic discussion of complex and sensitive elements of genocide and this is achieved through the metaphors’ particular oscillation between human and non-human components. in ’t Veld connects these tropes to the discussions around kitsch and the representations of atrocities, engaging in critical readings of the performance of innocence and the melodramatic focus on a sense of “too late-ness”. In response, in ’t Veld points out that the “softened” representation of trauma, destruction, and death through the use of the metaphors can provide affective access to the genocide narrative.