Response to Graphic Novels from Argentina

The Eternaut and Mafalda are two very interesting sites of struggle and resistance—they both seem to use the comic form as a way to digest modern politics and war. Mafalda balances comedy with reality in a way that both questions the existing structures and challenges its readers to act. I think that Mafalda, and The Eternaut, introduce a new aspect of popular culture that can be political, but not exhaustingly political—readers are not confronted with images of war or violence. In other words, these very harsh realities of modern times are made unreal so that people can consume without becoming hopeless or overwhelmed. The comic becomes a place to voice the inner struggles of the average citizen, and as a result becomes a part of popular culture.

While some openly critique the “popular” or use the “popular” for political means, comics are means through which the people own national struggles; it is a form of empowerment that allows everyone to participate. Mafalda shows this when the character (a child) challenges others to think about political issues. And then, The Eternaut indicates that humanity can be the hero, and that good can/will eventually triumph over evil. In their own ways, these comics bring ways of popular culture dealing with issues that were normally dominated by elites (i.e. that anyone can be a hero)—ordinary people can become political and can make a change. To contrast the idea that the masses are dangerous and inhumane, readers are being shown that the masses have agency and power, and are in fact responsible players in the social structures of their country.

Specifically looking at The Eternaut there is this general theme that surfaces that humanity will survive despite the powers of evil. There might be a way to see culture in the same light. Despite globalization—and a rise in a global culture at the expense of local cultures—there might be a growing appreciation for Latin American culture, and other cultures. The threat that comes to culture with modernization and globalization are not helpless, but might help citizens to see that culture is something worth preserving and worth fighting for. The international interest in understanding different cultures might be the only way that certain stories and traditions are reproduced and maintained (i.e. through history books, museums, etc). Globalization might not only be erasing some cultures, but might be capable of saving others.

Comments

  1. Maya Redlinger4 April 2017 at 20:14

    What you write about at the end about a sense of decline or finality contributing to people's appreciation of things is insightful. I think it is often the case with human beings that we come to take things for granted until we feel like we are losing them, at which point we begin to care a lot. It is interesting how you apply this concept to cultures. I think the most typical example of this surge of caring can be seen in climate change and the extinction of animals, since we know climate change is happening yet fail to do anything about it on a large scale until we begin to directly feel and see the impacts (which makes the threat of loss real as opposed to abstract).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5 April 2017 at 22:22

    I like what you said here about "these very harsh realities of modern times are made unreal so that people can consume without becoming hopeless or overwhelmed." I read a lot of graphic novels (or comics if you'd like) and I think that's one of the reasons I like them. For instance, reading The Walking Dead was a totally different experience than watching the tv show (which I only watched a few of here or there when other people were watching it). In the graphic novel the gruesome scenes show beautiful art work and one can flip through the intense scenes at their own pace, taking it in how they like. However, with the tv show these violent and intense things are thrown at you with you no warning. I've also read a number of political graphic novels such as Maus which is about a super intense and horrific part of history (the Holocaust) but the Jewish characters are depicted as mice and the Nazis as cats. A seemingly light-hearted way of depicting a tragic part of history but at the same time it has extremely dark and serious undertones.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Response To: The End of Popular Culture?

I grew up listening to three different types of music: rock (i.e. Journey), salsa (i.e. El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico), and classical. Listening to salsa music was a way of connecting to Puerto Rico while living in Seattle, WA—for both my parents and for their children. It is interesting then that a part of Puerto Rican, and Latin American, identity is a genre of music that has both European and African influences. It goes back to what Latin American identity actually is, and who owns it. Music—something that is considered an important part of any culture—has become widely distributed and consumed. It is identified with Latin America, but is listened to and danced to in Europe and North America by people who are not from Latin America. What is culture then if it can become so easily sold off? It must have been an important part of Latin American identity, especially for the Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York City, but now it is no longer just for these groups of people. Does i...
Read more

Response to Pop Culture as Folk Culture

First, Arguedas’ The Pongo’s Dream was significantly easier for me to understand than Asturias’ collection of fables. For that reason I will start by considering Arguedas’ story. It was a very interesting tale, short but terrifying. The treatment that the pongo received was troubling and degrading, and I can of ended up just assuming that pongo was not particularly well educated since he did not attempt to converse with the lord about his treatment. Arguedas seems to be portraying a pitiful man who has nothing and is completely controlled by his master. Despite this, the pongo tells a story to the lord that says that he is not as unfortunate as the lord paints him out to be. In the end, the pongo is either equal to the lord or slightly better. It seems to me that the pongo represents the average indigenous person, and the lord the average person of Spanish descent. Assuming this to be the case then it follows that the pongo represents that although seemingly obedient and silent, t...
Read more

The People

My Message and A Celebration of the Monster chart two different perspectives of the masses and of uprisings. My Message sees the hope and the power within the people, which are necessary to Perón's cause and her movement. Evita Perón does not back away from stating that she hopes to move people to act: “I want to incite the people. I want to ignite them with the fire of my heart.” (30). In her eyes, the people are an important part of the nation and her cause. She relies on the people, on the masses, and she even critiques those who do not join the fight. In My Message , the people are seen as influential and good in the way they provide to the fight, by giving a reason and a cause to fight for. The people, not the elites, deserve to be heard and listened, at least in this text, and this view of the people as good and reliable contrasts with the way that A Celebration of the Monster portrays the people (or the masses). In A Celebration of the Monster , Jorge Luis Borges follow...
Read more