The Arrival by Shaun Tan story discussion

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a wordless graphic novel. It successfully conveys a story with no words at all through a few clever strategies. One strategy uses close up shots in a sequence showing the same subject matter in multiple panels with slight changes. This can simulate movement and linear progression. Another one works by using frames that begin zoomed in for a couple panels and then the following page will zoom out to reveal the larger scene for some establishing context of location. One example in particular begins with the family walking out of the house, but then that same shot is zoomed out next panel to show these huge, black, tentacle like forms within the vicinity. Other similar examples show an activity over continuous shots, and then there is an establishing shot to show where the action is happening. There are a lot of similarities to film here and I would compare a silent graphic novel to a silent film. Shaun also includes a few shots showing one singular action in one frame in linear succession to show a broader range of activities happening over a specific time frame. Another story telling relationship between panels and frames is accomplished by clearly setting up cause and effect shots. One shot acts as the cause, and the next acts as the effect. Most of these strategies are interchanged and they all weave together to create the story that we see in “The Arrival”.