Bad Language, Naked Ladies, and Other Threats to the Nation : A Political History of Comic Books in Mexico [electronic resource]

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rubenstein, Anne, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Comic books, strips, etc--History and criticism--Mexico.

Comic books, strips, etc.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (223 p.)

Place of Publication:

Durham, NC, USA Duke University Press 19981001

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Bad Language, Naked Ladies, and Other Threats to the Nation, Anne Rubenstein examines how comic books—which were overwhelmingly popular but extremely controversial in post-revolutionary Mexico—played an important role in the development of a stable, legitimate state. Studying the relationship of the Mexican state to its civil society from the 1930s to the 1970s through comic books and their producers, readers, and censors, Rubenstein shows how these thrilling tales of adventure—and the debates over them—reveal much about Mexico’s cultural nationalism and government attempts to direct, if not control, social change.Since their first appearance in 1934, comic books enjoyed wide readership, often serving as a practical guide to life in booming new cities. Conservative protest against the so-called immorality of these publications, of mass media generally, and of Mexican modernity itself, however, led the Mexican government to establish a censorship office that, while having little impact on the content of comic books, succeeded in directing conservative ire away from government policies and toward the Mexican media. Bad Language, Naked Ladies, and Other Threats to the Nation examines the complex dynamics of the politics of censorship occasioned by Mexican comic books, including the conservative political campaigns against them, government and industrial responses to such campaigns, and the publishers’ championing of Mexican nationalism and their efforts to preserve their publishing empires through informal influence over government policies. Rubenstein’s analysis suggests a new Mexican history after the revolution, one in which negotiation over cultural questions replaced open conflict and mass-media narrative helped ensure political stability.This book will engage readers with an interest in Mexican history, Latin American studies, cultural studies, and popular culture.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One. The Creation of Mexican Comic Books, 1934-1952

Chapter Two. Home-Loving and without Vices: "Modernity," "Tradition," and the Comic Book Audience

Chapter Three. The Uses of Tradition: Conservative Opposition to Comic Books

Chapter Four. The Uses of Failure: La Comision Calificadora, 1944-1976

Chapter Five. Comic Books Respond to Their Critics, 1944-1976

Conclusion. The Lessons of Cultural Conservatism

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Jan 2021)

ISBN:

0-8223-9991-1

OCLC:

1229160960