In France; Belgium; and other Francophone countries; comic strips---called bande dessinee or "BD" in French---have long been considered a major art form capable of addressing a host of contemporary issues. Among French-speaking intelligentsia; graphic narratives were deemed worthy of canonization and critical study decades before the academy and the press in the United States embraced comics.The place that BD holds today; however; belies the contentious political route the art form has traveled. In Drawing France: French Comics and the Republic; author Joel E. Vessels examines the trek of BD from it being considered a fomenter of rebellion; to a medium suitable only for semi-literates; to an impediment to education; and most recently to an art capable of addressing social concerns in mainstream culture.In the mid-1800s; alarmists feared political caricatures might incite the ire of an illiterate working class. To counter this notion;proponents yoked the art to a particular articulation of "Frenchness" based on literacy and reason. With the post-World War II economic upswing; French consumers saw BD as a way to navigate the changes brought by modernization. After bande dessinee came to be understood as a compass for the masses; the government; especially Francois Mitterands administration; brought comics increasingly into "official" culture. Vessels argues that BD are central to the formation of Frances self-image and a self-awareness of what it means to be French.
#4221860 in eBooks 2010-05-20 2010-06-15File Name: B003N3TULG
Review
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Adam Brody So AdorkableBy Kimberly PaulThis was for my Daughter. She loved it.
