Overview

This text examines how comic books - 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, the author shows how these tales reveal much about Mexico's cutural nationalism and government attempts to direct, if not control, social change. The text looks at 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.

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9780822321415

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This thoughtful yet entertaining work gives new insights into the relationship between the state, civil society, and mass production of popular culture in Mexico... an enlightening and original exploration of Mexican popular culture, nicely illustrated with examples of this singular medium. --British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, April 2000 Duke University, which has developed a fine list of publications on Latin American culture, once again strengthens its contribution to this genre with Anne Rubenstein's well-written exploration of Mexican popular culture. Using the vehicle of comic books, Professor Rubenstein provides fresh insights into the relationship between the state and the publishing world, challenging the myth of strict state authoritarian control over cultural matters. --Latin American Studies, Vol 32 2000 ... this is an extremely well researched book, very well grounded in the context of Mexian national culture, and makes important observations regarding the loci of power in Mexico. It will be welcomed by those interested in cultural history, gender relations, and the Mexican political system, and is a valuable contribution to a subject which has been unjustly neglected. -- Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, January 2001

This thoughtful yet entertaining work gives new insights into the relationship between the state, civil society, and mass production of popular culture in Mexico... an enlightening and original exploration of Mexican popular culture, nicely illustrated with examples of this singular medium. --British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, April 2000 Duke University, which has developed a fine list of publications on Latin American culture, once again strengthens its contribution to this genre with Anne Rubenstein's well-written exploration of Mexican popular culture. Using the vehicle of comic books, Professor Rubenstein provides fresh insights into the relationship between the state and the publishing world, challenging the myth of strict state authoritarian control over cultural matters. --Latin American Studies, Vol 32 2000 ... this is an extremely well researched book, very well grounded in the context of Mexian national culture, and makes important observations regarding the loci of power in Mexico. It will be welcomed by those interested in cultural history, gender relations, and the Mexican political system, and is a valuable contribution to a subject which has been unjustly neglected. -- Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, January 2001

Author Information

Anne Rubenstein is Assistant Professor of History at York University, Toronto.

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