Crocodile In Water, Tiger on Land

Like other Indian webcomics, Crocodile in Water aims to "take shots" at the political systems and the modern problems that occur in the nation. Often called out are stereotypes that the common man would practice. The language is extremely sarcastic. Each post is told in the perspective of different groups. For example, one post will be told through the eyes of a corrupt politician; the next post would be told by the TV News Media. In fact, the image shown here is a post that is told in the perspective of the TV News Media. It illustrates the media's response to the terrorist attacks on Amarnath Yatris. We see a television screen for most of the images, suggesting that the art is mainly a way to suggest who the speaker is, rather than for any artistic beauty. The media first brings up the fact that there has been criticism of its one-sided coverage of the recent attack (in favor of the government). It ends off by rebuking those criticisms and then, hypocritically, asks the government an extremely simple question. Speaking in the perspective of that which is being criticized is powerful. It allows for certain attributes of hypocrisy to be exposed, where otherwise they would go unnoticed.

This frequent change in perspective allows for the webcomic to point out criticisms in all facets of Indian life [1]. The author and illustrator have remained anonymous so that they feedback they get is "real" and not fabricated to suit their real-life personas. This allows the creators of the webcomic to have a "true" interaction with their readers, rather than merely getting satisfaction from praise [2]. All in all, Crocodile In Water, Tiger On Land reinforces the hypothesis that Indian webcomics generally tend to serve the function of moving society and politics toward a better future [3].

1. Hargovind, A. (2017, Aug 08). A phenomenal platform. The Hindu Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1926830304?accountid=11107

2. Choi, Jinhee. “Webtoon as an Adult Education Tool in South Korea” Penn State University. ,2018. Accessed February 22, 2019.

3. Bhadury, Poushali. "“There Is No Such Thing as a Straight Woman”: Queer Female Representations in South Asian Graphic Narratives." Journal of Lesbian Studies 22, no. 4 (2018): 424-34. doi:10.1080/10894160.2018.1449999.