WP2: Rough Draft 2

Denial is a common defense mechanism that is often viewed as a potentially harmful method of coping with anxiety. Through this comic strip, Bill Watterson uses humor to show some of the more serious effects of denial, revealing a thin line between the active use of the imagination and this harmful defense mechanism. Watterson uses a unique arrangement of the panels in this comic strip to guide the audience through an otherwise unclear path. This arrangement leads the audience to make comparisons between different frames of the comic and, in a similar fashion, the different uses of denial. Within this arrangement Watterson uses aspects such as the level of detail, size of the panels, and typography to show extensively the contrast between dream and reality.

The concepts of denial, dreams, and the imagination are all important aspects of psychoanalysis, a comprehensive theory of human nature and behaviour. Sigmund Freud, a famous neurologist who developed much of what we know to be the theory of psychoanalysis, theorized that dreams are basically a "fulfillment of wishes" (Chiriac 5). This can be clearly seen in the comic strip, as Calvin daydreams that he is a pterodactyl. Through this dream Calvin is fulfilling his wish to fly, to be a dinosaur, or, more importantly, to escape reality. Coincidentally, denial, another concept originating from the theories of Freud, "entails ignoring or refusing to believe an unpleasant reality" (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders 3). Calvin, as he says himself, is in a state of denial. Calvin chooses to ignore the "unpleasant reality" of his geography class through the act of daydreaming--or imagining himself flying around as a pterodactyl in prehistoric times. Thus, Calvin's dream, a product of his vivid imagination, is directly related to the denial of his unpleasant reality.

Bill Watterson is well known for using unique arrangements of panels in his comic strips. For example, in this strip, none of his panels are aligned and some of them are even tilted. Similarly, panels in the primary comic overlap one another and are greatly varied in proportions. Watterson uses this unique setup to ensure that the audience follows a strict path through the comic strips, moving from one panel to the next and to help support the purpose of the comic. As an effect to this setup in the primary comic, a sort of background and foreground is produced. The background is filled with all of the panels that resemble Calvin's daydream while the foreground is composed of a few panels depicting his reality. This creates a structure that feels logical. Generally speaking, the foreground is the main focus rather than the background, and this comic is reflective of that. However, the differences between these two elements contradict the logic of this structure, demonstrating the effects of denial.

Watterson strengthens his argument by creating several differences between the background and foreground besides the fact that one represents fantasy while the other shows reality.
The panels displaying Calvin's imagination are enlarged to the point that they cover the entire strip, while the panels depicting reality are notably smaller, and overlapping the background panels. Additionally, the panels in the background show much more detail than those of the foreground through aspects such as shading and the overall number of hues. The difference in size and detail of these panels not only emphasize the extent of Calvin's imagination, but also reflect Calvin's rejection, or denial, of the reality in which he is trapped. Truly, throughout this entire strip, Calvin's imagination seems to carry much more importance than his reality. The above comic strip uses a similar method, enlarging the pieces of Calvin's imagination and giving them more detail. In both cases we could see that Calvin has a vivid imagination or that he lives in denial, in his own little world.

The author's choice of hues plays a crucial role in emphasizing the contrast between fantasy and reality. In the majority of the panels depicting dinosaurs, the background is filled with shades of blue. On the other hand, the background is completely white in the two reality-based panels located at the bottom left of the strip. This creates visual unity using repetition of hues in each panel, causing the remaining two panels to contrast with the rest of the comic; the hues are completely swapped in these two panels where Calvin is called out of the daydream by his teacher, showing a transition from dream to reality. This logos causes the audience to make a comparison between these two panels. Additionally, the two panels in the upper right are split in nearly the same way by a white sky in one and a white speech bubble in the other, linking the two panels together and further helping to lead the audience into making a comparison. Because one panel is positioned in front of the other, the two panels share an extremely close relationship. From this, the audience can clearly see that Calvin is the pterodactyl and his teacher is the dinosaur that's coming out of the water. All of these aspects support the juxtaposition being used by the author, showing the similarities between two completely opposite concepts: Imagination and reality.

Watterson uses the prehistoric bird and the concept of flight itself as a symbol of freedom. Calvin, out of complete boredom, denies his own existence in the classroom, thus freeing his mind just as the pterodactyl in the comic strip is free from the limits of gravity. Psychoanalytically, this means that Calvin is in denial because he ignores the reality of his geography class by daydreaming in order to fulfill his wish of being free. At a glance, this might seem completely fine, but has Calvin solved his problem, truly freeing himself from his unpleasant reality? In the very last frame, the pterodactyl can be seen drifting along, continuing its flight; Calvin has once again returned to his dream, perhaps even as he speaks to his teacher. The two frames depicting reality overlap this final frame, suggesting that Calvin's imagination continues while he converses with his teacher.

Calvin is well known for having an active imagination; after all, the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip series is almost always centered around the adventures of both Calvin and his imaginary talking tiger friend, Hobbes; it could be assumed that Calvin lives in denial of the fact that he has no real friends. Defense mechansims such as denial are often regarded as "potentially maladaptive behavioral patterns that may lead to psychological disorders" (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders 3). Does this mean that Calvin lives in denial with the threat of developing a psychological disorder, or is Calvin simply a child who likes to fantasize about dinosaurs and flying through the clouds? Should these two ideas be regarded as one and the same? These are the questions that Watterson's comic forces us to ask ourselves. Most people who see this comic strip have probably experienced a situation similar to that of Calvin--sitting in a boring class at school and letting the mind wander far away. As a result we can easily connect to the strip and apply it to ourselves. Most of us have probably never considered ourselves to be in a state of denial for simply daydreaming or imagining ourselves elsewhere.

Works Cited

Chiriac, Jean. "Dream Interpretation and Psychoanalysis." 2009. AROPA <http://freudfile.org/psychoanalysis/dream_interpretation_and.html>.

Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. "Denial." 2009. Advameg, Inc. <http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Denial.html>