The Voice Within
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This article is about the graphic novel. For the franchise, see The Voice Within (franchise)
The Voice Within is a black-and-white American comic book series created by writer Marvin B. Cho and artist December Draws. It follows Ashia Gaither and her path to self-discovery.
It has been stated by the author that the novel’s main goal is to attack structural racism that exists today through a fantastical medium. He hopes that through seeing how racism is handled in this fiction setting, it could help people address racism in the real world.
Contents [hide]
1 Setting
2 Plot
3 Characters
4 Themes and Social Critique
5 Influences
6 Visual and Literary References
7 Graphic Novel Episode
7.1 Summary
7.2 Analysis
8 Authors and Illustrator
9 Criticisms
10 Episode
11 References
Setting [Brian Kim]
The story is set in an alternate reality of our world, primarily focusing on Los Cielos, a city based on Los Angeles. In this world, everyone is born with a second mouth on the back of their heads. This mouth is initially closed but can open in certain situations. When someone feels the immense weight of systematic oppression, that person’s second mouth will open and remain open for the duration of their life. At this point, these people are called “bi-bocas,” or two-mouthed. People of color happen to be the ones who are systematically oppressed in this world and are typically the most at risk of becoming a bi-boca. The government takes advantage of this by portraying these people as monsters and demons who deserve to be punished. The existence of open second mouths gives the police force complete justification for racial profiling, racial bias, and preemptive aggressions towards people of color. The bi-bocas’ second mouth will also try to protect itself when attacked by taking control of the person’s hair and defend against perceived threats. This wild phenomenon intensifies society’s fear of bi-bocas despite the fact that they simply serve as defense mechanisms. Because of the fear of people with open second mouths, the current fashion trend of the United States is to wear hats at all times. As long as people keep their second mouths hidden, they are deemed safe. Hats are marketed as a way to express individuality and ultimately protect your freedom. However the true intent was to disadvantage people who couldn’t afford hats or people who chose not to wear hats; in other words, bi-bocas.
Plot [Brian Kim]
Ashia Gaither is attending her first year at UCLC (University of California, Los Cielos). Being adopted by a white police family, Ashia grew up with a lot of biases against the bi-boca community. This, in turn, led to a fear of people of color, despite being black herself, because of the correlation between black and brown people and bi-bocas. However, she wishes to embrace her racial identity and discover who she really is and ends up joining the prominent black organization on campus - the Micro Ryza Association. There she meets many peers of color who teach her about the the realities of systematic oppression. All members of the Micro Ryza Association are bi-bocas, and they teach Ashia how to embrace her second mouth and use it in a way to change the world for the better. One day, the MRA was doing their weekly “Feed the Second Mouth” event in the Los Cielos ghettos when several Los Cielos policemen showed up. They claimed that the MRA were trespassing on government property, and despite attempts to reason with the officers by Absolon, the leader of the Micro Ryza Association, the officers refused to listen. The situation escalated as the police became aggressive, and in reaction Absolon’s mouth opens wide to protect her and her students. At this point, the police see Absolon as a threat and gun her down without hesitation. This is the first real instance that Ashia experiences the injustices of the world first-hand, and the death of Absolon serves as the catalyst that unlocks Ashia’s second mouth. Ashia soon discovers that she has a unique ability to control her hair. She takes up the responsibility as the new MRA leader and uses her newfound abilities to help the community around her.
Months after the death of Absolon, a recording was released of an innocent bi-boca being shot by a police officer. This was the first time police brutality was recorded and shared rapidly across the country. However, the two officers responsible were acquitted of their crimes. This causes thousands of people of color to unleash their second mouths out of sheer anger. A protest is formed, but quickly transforms into a full-blown, destructive riot. Ashia and the rest of the Micro Ryza Association reach out to stop the rioters, and direct the crowd down a constructive path to promote a different way of dealing with the injustices. They promise to form a community so strong that the system is forced to listen and reform. The community ultimately listens and helps rebuild the city. Although unsure of what the future may bring, Ashia believes there is hope for a better tomorrow.
Characters [Brian Kim]
Ashia Gaither is the main protagonist of the series The Voice Within. She is a half black, half latina woman who was adopted by a white family and raised in a predominately white suburb. Ashia struggles with her racial identity and is constantly worried about whether she is black or white enough in the eyes of society and her peers. She also has the unique ability to control her hair once her second mouth is open.
Chesil Hassan is a young Jewish woman who befriends Ashia in college. Much of her knowledge of social issues and how the world works has been taught to her by her overprotective parents. In her circle of friends, she cherishes Ashia’s company most, as she looks up to her. She follows Ashia and joins the Micro Ryza Association and learns to be a respectable and supportive ally.
Absolon is the founder of the Micro Ryza Association, or the MRA. She has laid the foundation for the organization’s beliefs and wants to use the MRA as a means to change the world. Her worldview is greatly influenced by civil rights era people and organizations such as Malcom X and the Black Panthers.
Dante Tyson is the figurehead of the current bi-boca civil rights movement. Tyson is the first victim of police brutality that has been recorded and shown nation-wide. His beating and execution was filmed by a bystander and served as key evidence against the police force.
Jack Nelson is a police man who would do anything to protect his family and his home. Despite being known for his strong protective tendencies, Jack Nelson has ironically become more fearful of the world around him. Jack Nelson has a strong racial bias against people of color and feels that acts of aggression against possibly threatening bi-bocas are justified. He is also the one to murder Dante Tyson.
George Watson is a middle aged Caucasian man who is the chief of the LCPD, the Los Cielos Police Department. As the head of the LCPD, Watson struggles with trying to protect the name of his department and appeasing the public. The reaction against Nelson’s acquittal was more than Watson anticipated.
Themes and Social Critique [April Damon]
The Voice Within aims to address and critique structural racism within the context of modern American society in an alternate universe much like our own. In this society, those who are targets of oppression and have felt its overt effects undergo the opening of their second mouth—hence the name “bi-boca”. Once these mouths open, they can never be closed and upon feeling threatened, the person’s hair becomes uncontrollable and acts as extra appendages for this second mouth. Given the unsettling nature of this phenomenon, society has deemed these defensive mechanisms as a threat to public safety. This fear manifests in the dress, behaviors, and identities of the citizens in this society. Hats are normally worn at all times in public, especially by bi-bocas to hide the shame of their second mouths. Hair, particularly for black individuals, is strictly regulated in a way that stigmatizes their natural hair and pressures them to conform to a more controlled, socially acceptable appearance. There is a distinct social divide between people whose second mouths are closed and those whose are open, contributing to an overwhelming sense of anti-bi-boca sentiments that penetrate just about every aspect of society. These negative associations ultimately result in a poorer standard of living for most bi-bocas and countless legal, economic, and social implications that affect their everyday lives and opportunities. Due to the overwhelmingly negative connotation a bi-boca identity brings, those whose second mouths are open are ashamed of their identity and are prone to believing that the harmful narrative society attributes to bi-bocas applies to them—that they’re lesser members of society because they cannot control their second mouths like the rest of “civilized” society.
This parallels the structure and effects of racism in modern society and the overwhelming amount of anti-blackness in America. In the graphic novel, the readers get to see what it’s like growing up as a person of color in a white, middle to upper class family. The main character, Ashia, is frequently reminded of her otherness from people of her own race as friends and family members make racist comments and actions while also reassuring her that she is different, essentially because of her privileged upbringing, since she is “not like most black people”. From comments that contribute to racial erasure (“But you’re basically white”) to her parents maneuvering to stand between her and people of color they’ve deemed as threats on the street, Aisha becomes painfully aware of the idea that “being white is right”, and growing up she had tried her best to dissociate herself from her race by hiding behind a barrier of whiteness.
The story progresses as Aisha acclimates to her new college life, and after joining a student organization called the Micro Ryza Association, the reality of structural racism and how it operates is revealed to the reader. Finally seeing behind the veil of economic and social privilege, Aisha experiences a harsh awakening to the hardships of marginalized groups and begins to understand what it means to be a bi-boca. Prior to joining the student org, bi-bocas were merely seen as violent individuals with a lack of self-control, prone to acting out in uncivil ways. However, upon learning more about systematic structures of oppression through conversation with her peers and guidance by the leader of the Micro Ryza group, she begins to understand that becoming a bi-boca was a symptom of routine oppression. That the opening of these second mouths were triggered out of fear and self-preservation rather than malevolent intent.
This story also addresses the systematic structure of racism, particularly how it is upheld by the media and justice system during the story’s climax after the shooting of Dante Tyson and the officer’s acquittal. Inspired heavily by the events and media coverage of the protests and riots in Ferguson and Baltimore, The Voice Within challenges the current narratives that have been broadcasted by many major new stations across America. By focusing on how the millennial generation is taking news coverage into their own hands through civilian video recordings, livestreams, personal blogs, and activist twitter feeds, it reveals the faults within the system rather than putting the blame on marginalized groups when they call out to the nation for help.
Ashia’s path to self-discovery and acceptance is what makes this graphic novel a counter narrative. Taking the readers from the surface of the master-narrative of racism, this story leads its readers by the hand through the inner workings of systematic racism by using Ashia as an audience self-insert. By challenging harmful thought processes through their recital by Ashia’s family members and friends, to illustrating Ashia’s cognitive dissonance as she tries to reconcile her past biases with her newfound understanding, and then to exposing the reality of modern day racism through events and society’s reactions that parallel real-world examples such as the Ferguson and Baltimore protests, The Voice Within takes an immersive approach to confronting society’s internalized racism.
Influences [Brian Kim]
The fantastical aspect of The Voice Within is based on the japanese myth of the Futa-kuchi onna, the two-mouthed woman. The origin of this second mouth is typically associated with how little the woman eats. Many stories depict the futakuchi-onna as a wife of a miser who rarely eats because of how frugal her husband is. Because of this, the woman will most likely starve. In compensation, some women sometimes “[sprout] a second mouth, at the back of her head… [which embodies] all the desire for food this woman had suppressed.” The second mouth is often depicted to mumble threats to the woman and demand to be fed. It will often inflict major pain to the woman until she complies. Eventually the second mouth will take control of the woman’s hair and feed itself, using the hair as serpent like limbs. The mouth requires twice as much food as a typical person which means that a person housing a futakuchi-onna will more than likely lose their food supply. One variation of the story tells a story of a negligent stepmother who would only feed her blood daughter and starve her stepchild to death. The spirit of the dead stepchild lodges itself onto the mother’s head and demands enough food for her and the dead child, cursing the mother to a life of constant hunger.[1]
These stories are typically warnings: don’t be too stingy or a monstrous woman will come get you. However, Marvin B. Cho wanted to take this woman, who is cursed with constant hunger and who is seen as a monster by others as a woman who is wrongly accused. This woman hungers for righteousness and justice and will strive to achieve it. This idea is inspired largely by Cherrie Moraga’s rendition of La Llorona, The Weeping Woman. She, like Cho, saw the myth of La Llorona as a depiction of a struggling sister, rather than of a monster. She states in her essay, “When I first learned the Mexican story of La Llorona, I immediately recognized that the weeping woman, that aberration, that criminal against nature, was a sister. Maybe by being a lesbian, my identification was more easily won, fully knowing my crime was tantamount to hers. Any way you slice it, we were both a far and mournful cry from obedient daughters. But I am convinced that La Llorona is every Mexican woman’s story, regardless of sexuality. She is sister to us all.” Cho’s take on the futakuchi-onna myth is not a black and white story of protagonists who have to deal with these monsters/curses. It takes a look at what it means for the individuals with the second mouth and how they act as human beings and have real thoughts.[2]
Historical and Literary references [Brian Kim]
The origins of hats as the dominant fashion culture comes from the 1920’s flappers. In this era, flappers, the “new-age woman,” would cut their hair short and wear hats as a sign of independence and swaying away from traditions. Although women were still very much oppressed in the 1920’s, it offered the illusion of freedom that the hats in The Voice Within also offer. In both cases, arbitrary fashion is used and manipulated to bring about a certain ideological change.[3]
The climatic event in The Voice Within, where Dante Tyson is shot and killed is a direct reference to the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson and all instances of recorded police brutality after that incident. In Ferguson 2014, Mike Brown, an 18 year old African American boy was confronted by a white officer, Darren Wilson, who claimed he had robbed a store. Brown was shot multiple times and left to die in the middle of the street. The man who killed Brown would never be tried despite much evidence against him and the improper processing of the case by the Ferguson police department. After this event, an enormous sum of videos of policemen clearly brutalizing black people accumulated over the year with most of these policemen rarely punished.[4]
In the events immediately following the acquittal of Brown’s killer, hundreds of black Americans went out and protested against police brutality. The slogan “Hands up, don’t shoot” came out during this time, referencing the actions that black americans have to take in order to live in America. It became the rallying cry against police violence. The slogan “Hats off, Don’t shoot” in The Voice Within is a nod to the Ferguson Slogan.[5]
The climatic event in The Voice Within is also largely inspired by the Rodney King Trial / LA Riots. Rodney King was an African American man who was pulled over for speeding. However, the white policemen “claimed that they believed he was on drugs… [and] proceeded to beat Rodney King severely for 15 minutes, resulting in skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, and permanent brain damage.” The entire event was filmed and shown to the public. This, like the Tyson shooting in the graphic novel, was the first time police brutality was caught on tape. Unlike the mostly peaceful protests of Ferguson, the black americans in LA rioted and laid waste to the city.[6] The desire to capture both the destructive side and peaceful side of civil unrest was the the reason for referencing both LA Riots and Ferguson within the graphic novel.
How the world deals with and handles the second mouth is influenced by the works of Kiik A. K. Kiik has a series of stories that represents the lives of japanese people in internment camps during the World War II era. The stories he writes show the intricacies of human life and relationships in the setting of great oppression. He writes his characters as people rather than victims of an unfortunate event. The world he represents is also “one world over” as he puts it. A character sometimes has wings sprout out of his back, meets the devil, or meets someone who is a few inches tall. However, all of these characters are not “abnormal.” These supernatural things just happen.[7][8][9][10] This is how the world of The Voice Within is represented. Cho has stated that he wanted his world to have the feeling that second mouths were always part of the world. It isn’t something spectacular like mutant powers from the X-men series. It is a part of everyday life.
Authors and Illustrators
Marvin B. Cho, the author of The Voice Within is an aspiring writer-illustrator-musician- composer who is currently a student at the University of California, San Diego. Although never mastering anything, Cho prides himself in being a jack-of-all-trades. He is the percussionist of the upcoming indie band Camera Queue, which specializes in improvisational music. Cho also has his own personal music channel where he hopes to compose for other independent projects. He has been an actor, writer, cameraperson, and editor in mockumentaries and shorts submitted to local film festivals, a few of which got honorary mentions. He is also proficient in Photoshop, having created fliers and banners for a few school organizations. Cho has also won third place in the 3.1 Women’s Association Essay Contest and performed a spoken word piece written by him and his friends for a High School event. Cho ultimately hopes to bring his passions and skills together in a meaningful creative way, be it a graphic novel or an independent video game.
December Draws, the illustrator for The Voice Within, is a self-proclaimed artist, actor, director, writer, and pet enthusiast based in Southern California. Although she has dabbled in playwriting and specializes in writing play and TV show reviews, she has stated that her main passions and strengths lie within the visual and performing arts. Draws has undergone several years of training in the visual arts and has been an active thespian for over 5 years as well as received awards and high marks in several theatrical categorizes for her work. She is comfortable with both traditional and digital mediums and primarily uses painting programs like Photoshop and Paint Tool SAI for her art. In addition, she often contributes “fanart” to her favorite fandoms when she finds the time. She used to regularly attend conventions and has some experience with assembling cosplays and designing makeup. Some day she hopes to have her own booth at a convention to showcase and sell her artwork. Her dream is to work for an animation studio in hopes to pursue her love for storytelling and find way to promote diversity, awareness, positivity, and self-love to the public.
Criticisms [April Damon]
There are several aspects about The Voice Within that have been targeted for critique. Critics have made comments concerning the fact that the story revolves around black lives, yet the creative team for the graphic novel were all of varying Asian descent. Some assert that one’s understanding is limited by one’s experiences, and that creating a character of a different race from one’s own can sometimes lead to surface level characterization. Although the writers did conduct research online to find personal stories of black people who were adopted into white families, they do recognize that they should have extended their resources to actually communicating with people in these types of situations. In addition, seeking advice and guidance from local black student organizations while writing and creating the graphic novel would have been beneficial to ensure that certain topics were handled respectfully and accurately, and also for a chance to address any race related issues that weren’t initially acknowledged by the comic creators.
Others also argue that Aisha should have been raised by her own family in order to fully encapsulate the lives and struggles of most people of color rather than giving Aisha such a privileged background. In response to these claims, the writers do agree that it would have been advantageous in many ways to fully represent a family of color and their day to day struggles. However, they assert that having Aisha come from a place of privilege and ignorance was essential to guiding the graphic novel’s readers to confronting society’s, and maybe even their own, racial biases and practices along with Aisha in what they deemed to be the most intuitive way possible.
Episode [April Damon]
Graphic Novel Episode Summary and Analysis [April Damon]
This episode is the climactic scene in the graphic novel that follows the official acquittal of officers Jack Nelson and George Watson. In response to the murder of an unarmed bi-boca teenager, the citizens of Los Cielos had been protesting tirelessly for months, demanding justice for the obvious case of police brutality. However, upon hearing the news about the non-indictment and obvious failure of the justice system, the city’s enraged citizens pour into the streets, calling out corruption and demanding that justice be served. The protest soon transforms into a full blown riot, and this chaos is immediately captured on the news. From the Micro Ryza Association’s club room, Aisha and the other members watch the riot unfold from news stations and social media feeds and realize that they must intervene before the situation gets worse. On the scene of the riot, the citizens are in a frenzy and seem to be unresponsive to the Micro Ryza’s efforts to placate them. In a desperate attempt, Aisha decides to use her power to control her hair and picks up a car, successfully commanding the crowd’s attention with her incredible feat. Aisha then speaks out to the crowd, affirming their right to be angry and empathizing with them while also calling for an end to the destruction. She suggests to the crowd to channel their energy and passion into something constructive that will benefit the already hurting community. Aisha offers the help of the Micro Ryza Association and ensures that with the community’s cooperation, the people of Los Cielos can bind and grow together to show the country, if not the rest of the world, that they intend to change things for the better.
This chapter aims to address not only the reality of police brutality and immunity, but specifically challenges how society views and unfairly critiques civil rights riots. From the perspective of the citizens of Los Cielos, this chapter communicates their justifiable rage when even insurmountable evidence of police brutality and corruption isn’t enough to warrant a trial. Their posters reading “Am I next?”, “I am human”, and “Bi-boca lives matter”, makes it clear that this case of injustice isn’t just some isolated instance, but rather a terribly similar and frequent event that coincides with a long history of systematic and targeted injustice that these marginalized racial groups face. This subtly adds context to their anger, characterizing this protest and subsequent riot as less of the people’s inclination to misbehave and more as another fissure in a dam that has been pummeled by the pressures of injustice. Aisha’s speech specifically characterizes riots as “the language of the unheard”, urging the graphic novel’s readers to look at these outbursts as an escape from silence and encourages them to find parallels between the novel and events from history and the present.
In addition, this chapter also addresses media bias when covering protests and riots. By framing these riots as acts of “terrorism”, media outlets influence their audiences with harmful biases. This can prove extremely detrimental to people’s understanding of the incident considering that most people across the nation viewing this coverage don’t have the context that those in touch with the directly affected community have. This often leads to many strong and uninformed opinions that degrade and dismiss the efforts of the protestors, opinions that further contribute to the “delinquent” narrative society attributes to black youth. Through selective framing and coverage of these events that only capture the riots, peaceful protests, community clean ups, and evidence of excessive and abusive police force are rarely given the attention they deserve.
References
^ "Futakuchi-Onna." Internet Archive. N.p., 27 Feb. 2007. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20070227233426/http://www.youkai mura.org/futaku.htm
^ Moraga, Cherrie. 2000. “Looking for the Insatiable Woman” in Loving in the War Years. Lo que nunca paso por sus labios, Cambridge, MA: South End Press. Reprinted in LOLA Press, 85. Retrieved from http://www.lolapress.org/elec2/artenglish/mora_e.htm.9-25-2010.
^ "Flapper Fashion 1920s: C20th Fashion History." Fashion-Era. N.p., n.d.
^ Bello, Marisol; Toppo, Greg; Eisler, Peter (November 25, 2014). "Grand jury charges are easy, except against police".USA Today. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
^ "'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' becomes rallying cry despite questions whether hands were raised high". Fox News. Associated Press. November 27, 2014. Archived from the original on January 15, 2015.
^ "LA Riots." South Central History. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from http://southcentralhistory.com/la-riots.php
^ Kiik A. K. 2015. “Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi Interview with Karen Stefano.” Connotation Press: An Online Artifact. Issue IV, Volume VI: March 2015. Retrieved from http://www.connotationpress.com/fiction/2502-kiik-araki-kawaguchi-fiction/
^ Kiik A. K. 2014. “a marriage.” Portland Review. 03.21.14. Retrieved from http:/port landreview.org/a-marriage/
^ Kiik A. K. n.d. “whiskey over barbed wire”. The Masters Review. Retrieved from http://mastersreview.com/new-voices/whiskey-over-barbed-wire-by-kiik-ak/
^ Kiik A. K. n.d. “soapberry wasp, thundercloud plums”. The Stoneslide Corrective. Retrieved from http://stoneslidecorrective.com/2014/07/soapberry-wasp-thundercloud- plums/
