In terms of race do comics offer stereotypes? Yes, comics do offer racial stereotypes.Creating a character that can not be used as a stereotype in some form or another is almost impossible. The early creators of comics drew characters as obvious racial stereotypes. African Americans and Indians were illustrated in a very racist and stereotypical way. These characters were later redesigned to look less stereotypical. The new authors were trying to depict the characters as being equal to all other characters, but they found it difficult to not offend anyone. So even when the authors were being mindful to not make them fulfill stereotypes they did anyway. It is hard to satisfy all readers, and to characterize someone to make them 100% original.
Throughout the 60’s, comics were at the forefront of social transformation. Possibly the best example of this is through comics reflection of the public’s view of the Vietnam War. At the beginning of the war a majority of Americans fully supported the cause. The idea that communism, the most evil idea conceived, could spread first through South-East Asia and eventually to the US lead Americans to accept the need to occupy Vietnam. However as the war progressed it became more obvious that it was less to defend democracy and actually just a proxy war against Russia. As support for the war diminished, comics greatly altered their position on the war to question the causes of the war, and whether the US should actually be there. The comic Iron Man accurately represented this shift in support as he stopped dealing arms, and took a moral stand against their use. As well as Vietnam War culture, comics also accurately portrayed youth culture in the US throughout the 60’s. Comics suc...
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