The 1965 Civil Rights Movement In The Book March By Nate Powell

462 Words2 Pages

In the book March, a graphic novel detailing the trials and journeys of the 1965 civil rights movement, and those heavily involved in it, author John Lewis and artist Nate Powell use specific techniques and elements to show the pain and hardships of those who were involved in making a change for the better and starting a human rights revolution. Lewis and Powell use techniques such as gutter, graphic weight, as well as paneling to articulate the experiences of those involved in the civil rights movement. On page 109, Powell and Lewis use gutters to show the different contributions and involvement that people of differing racial and financial backgrounds had in the civil rights movement. The second slide in the top right corner of the page …show more content…

The background of the top right slide is completely blacked out, except for the words. The black background is very intentional, causing the reader to understand the seriousness of the corrupt situation. Similarly, the bottom slide depicting the jail cell is almost completely blacked out. This is also very intentional, showing the sadness that surrounds the cell itself, with the only white thing being the window, which is also important, considering it is the only depiction of freedom on that panel. The middle portion of the page showing the mayor making the decision to release the prisoners is shaded very differently however, having a mostly white and light gray color scale opposing to the darker colors of the panels surrounding it. This is because although the mayor is involved in the movement, he is not the target of racial violence, and is not affected on a daily basis by a lack of rights, considering he is a wealthy white man. The graphic on this page is used very deliberately, to show the significance of the hardships the students were going