Abstract This paper analyzes Anne Rubenstein's book "Bad Language, Naked Ladies, and other Threats to the Nation: A Political History of Comic Books in Mexico". It discusses the impact that comics have had in shaping the Mexican political scene, as well as showing how the comics themselves served as a stage for the playing out of political and cultural battles, as Mexico grew from a very Catholic, sustenance-agrarian culture, to a modern industrial one. It shows how in the 1930s there was for the first time in Mexico, a literate or at least semi-literate force with a growing amount of spending cash for entertainment and while the new government may not have directly encouraged the reading of comic books, by promoting civil freedoms and providing economic support for independent publishers, it created an atmosphere that allowed comic books to proliferate.
From the Paper "In regarding this study it might be best to consider that the story of comic books in Mexico was but a microcosm that when studied gives one an idea of what was happening in Mexico from the 1930s to the 1970s, rather than something that truly shaped Mexican culture and politics into the 21st century. Rubenstein is aware of this concern and says as much, "Comic books and related periodicals were not the only forms of mass media and popular culture that were part of this process in postrevolutionary mexico. Similar stories could be told about many entertainments: shopping, television, recorded music, dance, cinema, cooking, fashion, and holidays, to name only a few."
Tags: economy, culture, periodicals, mass, media, postrevolutionary, entertainment
Abstract This paper examines how this film uses an original mix of fiction and reality, which illuminates the life of comic book hero and everyman, Harvey Pekar. The paper also discusses the skill of an artist to communicate, focusing on the art of comics.
From the Paper "How does an artist communicate? In the paintings of the great classical artists, the colors, expressions of their subject's faces, and the surrounding activities all contributed to a mood and content of the times in which they wrote, as well as their own emotional connection to their painting. During the time of Michelangelo, when the human body was considered an art form his paintings and sculptured were created in fine detail, of beauty and specific realism. At the turn of the 20th century, Artists had a new idea, a new flavor to express in their work. The European art world had been dominated by the Michelangelo, his contemporaries, and his imitators for so long that public sentiment in the art world moved in new directions. In response to, or more aptly in reaction against, Claude Monet shoes a unique style, which communicated the beauty of the content, but in a swirl of dots and colors rather than smooth blended strokes. Impressionist art was suited for Monet, and he established his reputation by departing from the smooth colors blending and undetectable brush stroke of the Renaissance era."
Abstract This paper depicts the comic language, style and the features of the play "Tartuffe" as shown in Moilere's play. It analyzes and describes the manner in which comedy is employed to show social commentary and problems.
An analysis Paul Montrose's scholarly paper, "The Place of a Brother in 'As You Like It': Social Process and Comic Form," and the author's own analysis regarding Shakespeare's play.
1,463 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 2 sources, 2005, $ 48.95
Abstract This paper critically analyzes Paul Montrose's essay, "The Place of a Brother in "As You Like It": Social Process and Comic Form". The paper presents a response to this essay, which reiterates Montrose's main thesis that the conflict in William Shakespeare's "As You Like It" is resolved by elements of Nature and Fortune, as opposed to the usual way, which involves using the resources of playfulness and boldness, moral virtue and witty deception.
From the Paper "At the beginning of this motherless play, we see certain elements of savagery, which can be linked to male behavior. Oliver's savageness can be demonstrated as he hires Charles to, in so many words, kill his brother and can be seen in the following passage: "Therefore use thy discretion. I / had as life thou didst break his neck as a finger" (I.i.144-145). In As You Like It, all of the laws and savage masculine behavior occurs in the courtyard, a place which lacks feminine characteristics and influence."
Abstract This paper provides a brief review of this action movie based on a comic book series. The review also contains comparisons with the Marvel comic that it is based on. The review includes a look at what makes the movie work in light of other recent comic to movie adaptations; and highlights those features that make this comic to movie adaptation a success.
From the Paper "Daredevil starts off with what is at once an identifiable comic book inspiration, a battered and bruised costumed vigilante gripping a cross atop a chapel. Its images such as these and numerous other references sprinkled throughout the movie that make it such a delight to watch, in the process making scribe and relatively novice director, Mark Steven Johnson, a winner among the legion of Daredevil fans."
Abstract In this article, the writer examines the charge that superhero comic books are invariably sexist in their production and speak to deep-seated and traditional gender stereotypes. Historically, the writer argues that this has been almost exclusively the case, with some notable, if controversial, exceptions such as Wonder Woman. However, content analysis of three works by Alan Moore, 'Watchmen', 'Tom Strong' and 'Top 10', illustrate that it is possible to appropriate the traditionally sexist imagery of the superhero genre and utilize it to call attention to the gender stereotypes that permeate much of the comic book industry. The writer notes that Moore's work has progressively satirized tropes in the superhero genre and have helped, inadvertently or not, through satire to call attention to the wealth of sexism apparent in portrayals of women in comics. The writer maintains that the implication of this hypothesis is that there may be an emerging trend toward the dissolution of traditional gender stereotypes in comic books.
Outline:
Introduction
Aim and Rationale
Content Analysis as a Methodological Approach
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings, Discussion, and Conclusion
From the Paper "Content analysis is the approach by which one examines a particular cultural text, and critically examines it to unearth specific socio-cultural trends and realities. Some might question this as a viable research method. After all, how useful is a critical analysis of comic books, when one is talking about a pervasive problem such as sexism? How can content analyses of popular movies add anything pertinent to contemporary discussions of poverty in Western nations?"
"The reality is, however, that cultural productions--such as novels, movies, and even comic books--can be powerful, if unintentional portals into the manifestations of cultural trends. Culture and society is really little more than the way in which people interact with one another and the artifacts that they create in the process. These artifacts might be songs or books or movies or ephemeral speeches and behaviors. But what they all share in common is an innate reflection of the socio-cultural trends and attitudes possessed by their creators or society at large. In other words, targeted content analysis of items such as comic books can reveal important information about the attitudes and beliefs of the society in which those particular artifacts were created."
Abstract This paper analyzes "Maus II" a comic book story by Art Spiegelman, telling of the story of the Holocaust in a new approach. The paper describes Spiegelman's use of the mouse characters to humanize and personalize the tragedy. It illustrates how Spiegelman manages to address difficult subject matter in a reader-friendly manner by utilizing the methods of the comic book to tell a very un-comic story.
From the Paper "Art Spiegelman's Maus II, a continuation of the story in Maus I, is part of a new approach to the telling of the story of the Holocaust. The form selected is the comic book format, and it has a number of powerful advantages. First, it is a fresh approach to a much-told story. Second, the use of the mouse characters interestingly humanizes and personalizes the tragedy much more than might a dry narrative. Third, the choice of a comic format serves the particular understanding of a visual society and a generation more attuned to the image than to the word. Fifth, the format may actually be a more palatable means of addressing such difficult subject matter for some people. Sixth, Spiegelman accomplishes all of this in an ironic fashion, utilizing the methods of the comic book to tell a very un-comic story."
Abstract This paper examines the comic book "Maus" by Art Spielegman and analyzes how its portrayal of the history of the Holocaust is shown as subjective to its characters and relationships, mediated by time and memory. It looks at how Spielegman's task is challenging in its scope, in trying to grasp the human dimensions of an unfathomable experience of a Holocaust survivor. It evaluates how the medium of the comic strip aids in the creating a larger exposure to the story, as well as demonstrating the assembly of a history as a narrative through its use of inclusive interviews and interview methods.
From the Paper "Remembering is a construction of the past, clips of memory placed into frame. Maus examines the limitations of the techniques of recording experience, by engaging the problems of oral history and memory. The comic strip is a story about telling a story, the testimony of a witness to a significant historical event, as well as a telling of that event. Because it is only one man's story of the Holocaust, his interpretation is limited in the larger picture of the Holocaust. Yet it also becomes everyman's story due to the personalizing of the event, the ability an individual's story has to humanize and universalize. Artie discusses his father's romances, depression, things that would not otherwise be included or deemed important in a life history during a time of war and genocide. "
Abstract This paper discusses how since childhood, people had been exposed to different forms of media, which can be in the form of broadcast (radio and TV), print and film media. It looks at how of all the forms of mass-communicated media, television and print are the most popular forms to children, since they contain audiovisual (for TVs) and visual (print) entertainment. It shows how the most prevalent forms of entertainment in broadcast and print media are cartoons and comic book heroes, which are not only visually-stimulating for the audiences, but also full of stories that provide children room for make-believe and fantasy thinking in their imagination. It analyzes why comic book heroes proliferate and what exactly they bring to their audience that makes them more appealing than any other forms of media entertainment and how these superhero shows affect the thinking and behavior of the audiences.
Outline
Introduction
Analysis of the Superhero Characters
Underlying Positive/Negative Messages of Superhero Character to the Audience
Bibliography
From the Paper "Wonder Woman is a DC Comics character who initially appeared in the 1941 issue of All-Star Comics, and was fully launched as the new female comic book character in Sensation Comics in the year 1942 (Wonder Woman Pages 2003). Like She-Ra, Wonder Woman was not a human character that developed into a superhero, but rather, she is a member of an alien planet called the Amazon world where women reign as the powerful, brave, and beautiful inhabitants of the said kingdom. Wonder Woman's power was bestowed by the powers of the deities or gods of the Greek mythology, and became involved with planet Earth and a member of the Justice Society when she was banished and became an outcast in the Amazon world."
Tags:comic, books, television, wonder, women, batman, media
Abstract This paper examines Art Spiegelman's "Maus", a digest-sized comic book using mice, cats, pigs and other animals to portray a history of the Holocaust. The story recounts the history of the holocaust through highly detailed drawings and comic panels. The paper shows that "Maus" was designed to translate history into a format that would be readily read by younger generations.
From the Paper "As we delve into the relationships within the story, including those that we are familiar with from history books, we begin to realize more and more what these relationships did to shape the ideology of a group of people, if not a community. The use of comic-images would, you would think, soften the realizations and accounts of events in the Holocaust, but in actuality they greatly amplify them. They are drawn images of memories, which in some aspects are somewhat more horrifying and true to life, than the photographs of the time were."
Abstract The paper will argue the thesis that superhero comics have performed an ideologically dichotomous role in modern popular culture: at once they are both key structural supports of the ideological architecture of American imperialism while, at the same time, often functioning as subversive figures of resistance to the primary authority structures of that same empire. While an ideological analysis allows us to explore the functions of comic book superheroes in the power dynamics of mass culture, a semiotic analysis complements this approach by allowing us to understand how their ideological function has been reinforced by their "iconic" status within modern culture.
Abstract If the measure of a literary work is the degree to which readers identify or sympathize with its characters, then "A Sentimental Journey" may be considered a failure. This paper will argue that he key to appreciating Sterne's comic masterpiece may lie in our lifting the "burden" of literary prestige from the work and approaching it as one would a modern comic narrative.
Abstract The paper argues that Shakespeare's heroines were vital and constructive protagonists; they were fully realized, independent, and capable beings. Through the presentation of such examples of females within the framework of the comic, Shakespeare was able to argue for a re-evaluation of gender norms and stereotypes at a safe distance. The writer explains that the comic framework served as a type of buffer, allowing him to castigate his society without coming under attack for doing so because, in the end, he was writing comedy.
From the Paper "Shakespeare's comedies, possibly due to the unfailing tendency to unfairly contrast them to his tragedies and historical dramas, have never received the critical attention they deserve. His body of comedies, according to Milton Crane, contain some of Shakespeare's most insightful comments regarding human nature and society in addition to some of his most quotable and profound lines (68-69). Nevertheless, and in comparison to the attention given the other Shakespearian works/genres, his comedies have received comparatively scant attention. While Crane forwards explanatory theories, two in particular stand out. According to the first theory, Shakespeare's comedies are underappreciated because they do not subscribe to any set ad established definition of comedy. They rarely elicit laughter and, as Crane contends, are "sensible and serious" even as they are lighthearted (68). What this means is that according to the predominant critical view, as explained by Crane, critics have been unable to truly accept Shakespeare's comedies as comedies because they are not the thoroughly humorous, farcical or satirical works that they tend to categorize comedies as being. Instead, they are, at one and the same time, lighthearted and sensible and, tragic and comic, thereby defying any categorization (68). Consequently, the failure of Shakespearian comedies to fit neatly into predefined conceptions of comedy have enforced their comparison to his other works, with the result being that his comedies end up being dismissed as lightweights within the totality of his works (68-69). It is because of this that Shakespeare's comedies have not received the attention awarded to his other works."
Abstract This paper explains that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" has awaken the need for superheroes in the U.S. government; however, the leadership of President George Bush is even more ludicrous than that portrayed in this 'comic' book. The author points out that the reader can easily see the current Washington administration in "Watchmen"; the character Dr. Manhattan, like Mr. Bush is a self-resurrected, all but omnipotent man. The paper relates that the book activates numinous perception held and offered by Mr. Bush such as that Iraq held within its 'evil' boundaries many undiscovered stores of Weapons of Mass Destruction; even the terminology sounds that a comic book.
Table of Content
We Need a Hero
Ordinary Superheroes
Life Imitating Art?
Parallel Universe
Flawed Heroes
From the Paper "In fact, "Watchmen" is the perfect foil for the current superhero juggernaut of the United States. Thompson notes that "much of the comic's poetry lies in the counterpoint and convergence of its parallel narratives and visual motifs. In keeping with its themes of surveillance, symmetry and time, the story emerges from a multiplicity of perspectives, incorporating flashbacks, found correspondence and precognitive clues." It is, in fact, an apt parallel universe for the United States Congress and administration."
This paper describes how Flannery O'Connor utilizes irony and characterization in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" to illustrate the frailty of the human condition.
Abstract In this article, the writer examines the concepts of irony and characterization in Flannery O'Connor's work "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The writer notes that through the characters of The Misfit and the grandmother, O'Connor demonstrates how different personalities can be delicate in their own way. Tee writer relates that, through a comical and upsetting setting, one sees the importance of characterization in a story; one also sees how irony can be a used a comic relief in telling a horrifying story. The writer concludes that by allowing the two difficult characters to interact with each other in this story, we see a little bit of ourselves and we realize the fragile state of our existence.
From the Paper "Characterization is another literary technique O'Connor employs in "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The primary characters in this story are the grandmother and The Misfit and the fact that they encounter one another is another blend of the comical and the ironic. However, the dramatic contrast between the two characters is the center of attention. Both characters are grotesque. The grandmother is grotesque because she is a good person only on the surface. We know that she is annoying and overbearing. Because she had to have her way, bring the cat, and show the children the house with the secret panel, the family pays the ultimate price. We can see the grotesque nature of The Misfit because he is a cold-blooded criminal, but it is important to recognize how his character acts as a foil to the grandmother. It is interesting that these two seemingly different individuals almost make a connection by the end of the story. However, it is because of their personalities that they do not connect - she being the domineering type that only wants to talk and he being the psychotic refusing to listen."
