Exploration of Society in "Brainstrips"
Abbey Lawrence
The ultimate purpose of “Brainstrips” is to answer life’s most thought-provoking questions. Bigelow gives his input on the questions but due to the structure and how open-ended the piece is, the reader has the chance to give their opinion on what is being asked. Bigelow also makes sure to highlight prevalent societal issues that impact the overall population rather than targeting a specific demographic. In their own unique way, the various modules in the series bring awareness to conflicts in ethics, science, and mathematics. In “Deep Philosophical Questions”, some ideas include:
→ Does God exist?: where throughout the comic, God is an actual person and regarded as a “Him”. Some may argue that God can be a “She”, too.
→ What is art?: in the comic, “art” requires a formula and cannot be done freely.
In “Science for Idiots”, problems mentioned are:
→ Global warming: due to the industrialization of Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, the area turned from a large lake into a town polluted by people and cars.
→ Nuclear fission: if a nuclear blast would ever occur, the only thing that remains of the reader is their outline sketched into the ground. They would not feel it happen or feel anything at all again.
During “Higher Math”, the issues brought up relate to ethics and morality. These involve:
→ Geometry: people in today’s society try to fit all of their problems into a specific space. They must consider the overall shape and make do with what they have.
^^^ Above is the opening screen to "Brainstrips". In order to move to the different sections, the reader has to click on the syllables of the word.
