Jean Lee Cole
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781496826527
- eISBN:
- 9781496826572
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496826527.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
In the popular press of the early twentieth century, immigrant masses and the tenement districts were frequently portrayed as occasions for laughter rather than as objects of pity or problems to be ...
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In the popular press of the early twentieth century, immigrant masses and the tenement districts were frequently portrayed as occasions for laughter rather than as objects of pity or problems to be solved. This distinctly comic sensibility, most visible in the form of the comic strip, merged the grotesque with the urbane and the whimsical with the cynical, representing the world of what Jacob Riis called the “Other Half” with a jaundiced, yet sympathetic, eye. Various forms of the comic sensibility emerged from a competitive, collaborative environment fostered at newspapers and magazines published by figures including William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, and S. S. McClure. Characterized by a breezy, irreverent style and packaged in eye-catching typography, vibrant color, and dynamic page design, the comic sensibility combined the performative aspects of vaudeville and the variety of stage, the verbal improvisations of dialect fiction, and a multivalent approach to caricature that originated in nineteenth-century comic weeklies, such as Puck and Judge. Though it was firmly rooted in ethnic humor, the comic sensibility did not simply denigrate or dehumanize ethnic and racial minorities. Stereotype and caricature was used not just to make fun of the Other Half, but also to engage in pointed sociopolitical critique. Sometimes grotesque, sometimes shocking, at other times sweetly humorous or gently mocking, the comic sensibility ultimately enabled group identification and attracted a huge working-class audience.Less
In the popular press of the early twentieth century, immigrant masses and the tenement districts were frequently portrayed as occasions for laughter rather than as objects of pity or problems to be solved. This distinctly comic sensibility, most visible in the form of the comic strip, merged the grotesque with the urbane and the whimsical with the cynical, representing the world of what Jacob Riis called the “Other Half” with a jaundiced, yet sympathetic, eye. Various forms of the comic sensibility emerged from a competitive, collaborative environment fostered at newspapers and magazines published by figures including William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, and S. S. McClure. Characterized by a breezy, irreverent style and packaged in eye-catching typography, vibrant color, and dynamic page design, the comic sensibility combined the performative aspects of vaudeville and the variety of stage, the verbal improvisations of dialect fiction, and a multivalent approach to caricature that originated in nineteenth-century comic weeklies, such as Puck and Judge. Though it was firmly rooted in ethnic humor, the comic sensibility did not simply denigrate or dehumanize ethnic and racial minorities. Stereotype and caricature was used not just to make fun of the Other Half, but also to engage in pointed sociopolitical critique. Sometimes grotesque, sometimes shocking, at other times sweetly humorous or gently mocking, the comic sensibility ultimately enabled group identification and attracted a huge working-class audience.
John A. Lent
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628461589
- eISBN:
- 9781626740853
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461589.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
Myanmar’s comics history dates to the British colonial period (1912, in fact). Among the first Burmese cartoonists were Ba Gale and Ba Gyan in the 1910s-1930s. This chapter traces the history of ...
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Myanmar’s comics history dates to the British colonial period (1912, in fact). Among the first Burmese cartoonists were Ba Gale and Ba Gyan in the 1910s-1930s. This chapter traces the history of Myanmar comics through three stages, pointing out problems caused by government interference, economics, lack of privately-owned media, and competition from new media. Some discussion is given to the prevalence of comics rental shops in Myanmar.Less
Myanmar’s comics history dates to the British colonial period (1912, in fact). Among the first Burmese cartoonists were Ba Gale and Ba Gyan in the 1910s-1930s. This chapter traces the history of Myanmar comics through three stages, pointing out problems caused by government interference, economics, lack of privately-owned media, and competition from new media. Some discussion is given to the prevalence of comics rental shops in Myanmar.
