BOBC |
Resource type: Web Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed BibTeX citation key: Labarre2010 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details |
Categories: General Keywords: "Justice League", France, Geography, Imagology, Space, Superhero, USA Creators: Labarre Collection: Transatlantica |
Views: 37/1193
|
Attachments | URLs http://transatlantica.revues.org/4943 |
Abstract |
Any extensive reading of super hero comics will reveal that the representation of France within the genre borrows mostly from touristic clichés, using the country as a foreign, exotic yet not too disorientating setting. Narrative economy and gradual refinements have led to the creation of a codified, consensual and unrealistic depiction of France, centered mostly on Paris and the Eiffel Tower. However, this efficient codification is not value-free. A study of Justice League Europe, a rare example of super-hero series set in France over a long period reveals that France is consistently depicted as a place of history, while being denied a contemporary significance. The country appears as a fascinating but subordinate neighbor, and this evaluation can in turn be found, albeit in a more elliptic way, in numerous series portraying France only in short episodes. The self-consciousness of modern super hero comics, however, suggests that the notion of representation should be handled with care. The depiction of France in super-hero comics originates in part in the perception of the country in the United States, but it also derives in a significant way from the internal evolutions of the genre.
Added by: joachim |