"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated May 25, 1907:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNem01905 (AUGUST 20, 2020):
Before I even really *read* the strip, I noticed that the title seemed different than it has in the past… not how it was written (that's been varying since the strip began), but where it was located within the spatial design of the top tier. - 1/21
In the past, the title (as paratext) has floated above the panels and, every time that a letter has landed IN the gutter, it has simply ignored it's existence: - 2/21 [INSERT IMAGES]
But this time, it's different… The tail of the "S" breaks at the gutter and slides back into panel 1… This is a break in tradition; I haven't been able to find another example like it (though my back-checking wasn't an 85-strip intensive review). - 3/21
How are we to read this? Clearly, the title is "panel content" now, but it is most certainly not diegetic… - 4/21
Knowing about all of the wondrous things that McCay will do with the title as paratext in future strips, this seems a subtle, though meaningful, shift. We'll have to keep an eye on this. - 5/21
The caricature of the previous few strips is, of course, on full display here again, but with an alteration: all of the Imps are "adult-sized". What does this tell us? Are the smaller imps children like our heroes? - 6/21
Prior to coming across this strip, I'd thought all of the Jungle Imps were of the smaller stature (aside from the Chief) so this is potentially important new information about the Candy Islands and how this exotic area of the dreamscape works. - 7/21
Of course, the gag of this strip fails if they aren't tall, adult-sized imps so, we might infer, that their inclusion was one of narrative necessity over intentional worldbuilding (not that it matters; both the "intentional design" and the "worldbuilding" readings work). - 8/21
Flip is, yet again, the primary target of the strip. His presence was unforeseen by the Chief so, rather than sitting comfortably like the Princess and Nemo, he must hold onto the back of the chair as they cross the river. - 9/21
As the imps carry the group across, the deepness of the river causes them to become completely submerged and, ultimately, the bottom of Flip's legs get wet. - 10/21
As Flip berates the imps carrying the back, a crocodile and hippo threaten to take the carriage… is this possibly why Nemo wakes up? It does seem as though he and the Princess are the only ones who notice the incoming animals? - 11/21
It wouldn't be out of character for fear to be the factor that wakes Nemo, but I felt almost as though we were passed the stage where Nemo's fear interrupted his visits to Slumberland. What else might have made him shoot up to standing in his bed, though? - 12/21
Finally, it's worth noting that these imps do not speak the English that the smaller imps in strip #83 (May 12, 1907) do, but rather speak their own type of language. - 13/21
I'm torn about the inclusion of an imp language… on one had, it makes sense that we shouldn't *expect* them to speak English; that would be a very euro-centric expectation and would deny them their own culture and background… - 14/21
…but on the other hand, we've seen English spoken by the smaller (younger) imps… why would the older imps speak a unique language, but the younger imps speak English? - 15/21
This might seem odd… unless we read this language difference between children and adult imps as the result of Slumberland's colonization of the Candy Islands? Did Morpheus arrive on the shores of CI and insist that the children learn the "common language"? - 16/21
As a Canadian, I may be seeing my country's own history of cultural genocide (aka Residential Schools) present here within the strip… - 17/21
Canada is complicit in endangering the survival of many Indigenous languages as a result of the settler colonial edicts around English Language assimilation. Could the imps be experiencing a similar situation on Candy Island? I'm left unsure… - 18/21
That said, I think the fact that McCay decided to include a unique imp language (not a poorly spoken English dialect that could enhance caricature, but a language that could reflect the jungle imps own cultural maturation) should be noted. - 19/21
Though the language does certainly emphasize the imps position as "Other", and leans into stereotypical perceptions about African languages (i.e. click languages), I think it also demonstrates that they are their own independent culture in the dreamscape. - 20/21
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #85. What's yours? - 21/21