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Superheroes & Stereotypes: A Critical Analysis of Race, Gender, and Social Issues Within Comic Book Material

Cruz, Gabriel Arnoldo
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542044502896871

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Media and Communication.
The popularity of modern comic books has fluctuated since their creation and mass production in the early 20th century, experiencing periods of growth as well as decline. While commercial success is not always consistent from one decade to the next it is clear that the medium has been and will continue to be a cultural staple in the society of the United States. I have selected this type of popular culture for analysis precisely because of the longevity of the medium and the recent commercial success of film and television adaptations of comic book material. In this project I apply a Critical lens to selected comic book materials and apply Critical theories related to race, class, and gender in order to understand how the materials function as vehicles for ideological messages. For the project I selected five Marvel comic book characters and examined materials featuring those characters in the form of comic books, film, and television adaptations. The selected characters are Steve Rogers/Captain America, Luke Cage, Miles Morales/Spider-Man, Jean Grey, and Raven Darkholme/Mystique. Methodologically I interrogated the selected texts through the application of visual and narrative rhetorical criticism. By using this approach, I was able to answer my guiding research questions centered around how these texts operate to reinforce, subvert, and modify socio-cultural understandings related to the race, gender, and economic class in the United States.
Alberto González , PhD (Advisor)
Eric Worch, PhD (Other)
Joshua Atkinson, PhD (Committee Member)
Frederick Busselle, PhD (Committee Member)
Christina Knopf, PhD (Committee Member)
310 p.
Communication; Gender; Mass Media; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Rhetoric
Race; Critical Race Theory; Gender; Rhetoric; Visual Rhetoric; Narrative Rhetoric; Comic Books; Class; Whiteness

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cruz, G. A. (2018). Superheroes & Stereotypes: A Critical Analysis of Race, Gender, and Social Issues Within Comic Book Material [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542044502896871

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cruz, Gabriel. Superheroes & Stereotypes: A Critical Analysis of Race, Gender, and Social Issues Within Comic Book Material. 2018. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542044502896871.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cruz, Gabriel. "Superheroes & Stereotypes: A Critical Analysis of Race, Gender, and Social Issues Within Comic Book Material." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542044502896871

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1542044502896871
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© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.