Free “Nightly News” by Jonathan Hickman Essay Sample
Nightly News is a graphic novel written by an astonishing and innovative graphic designer Jonathan Hickman denoting media control and the corporatization of the world. It was written in 2006 and since then it has continued to receive major criticism from the media and political world. Unlike the ordinary novels and comic books, Hickman has challenged the readers to re-examine the world around them and at the end it urges them to create something out of what they see. The book is rather an expressive piece of graphic literature which incorporates info-graphics, photos and comic arts to make-up a story. This has led to the use of first person narrations and interjections which gives the book an authoritative tone.
The Nightly News is a story which has significantly analyzed the American cult of domestic terrorists, commonly known as the brotherhood of voice that is purely determined to bring down the glory of the American news media. The cult is formed by the many culprits whom their either directly or indirectly their lives have been destroyed by the subjective reporting of the media. The book is therefore based on the indoctrination and control theme on how news media influences people making them to establish a united voice.
The story which is mainly told from the cult leader’s point of view forces the reader to initially agree with the story. The dogma fed by the fanatics and the extremists, makes the reader to go along with it and at times end up agreeing to their opinions. Hickman have also used the opaqueness and ambiguity in his story which has further increased the credibility of his artwork. But in my opinion readers should not allow Hickman to manipulate their perception towards the American news media. Instead they should critically analyze his views and relate it to the actual performance of the media and then make an informed judgment on the same.