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| author | Miho E Watabe |
| title | The Virtuous Fan: Historical Identity and Modern Minority Representation in Comic Book Culture |
| abstract | Comic books are a powerful communicative medium. Even so, the comic book community--made up of dedicated readers--is a
subculture associated with stigmas such as perpetual adolescence or social awkwardness. The comic book community is also stereotypically known to consist
only of white, straight males. Despite this, new minority characters emerge as discourses around how minorities should be represented occur within the
subculture. This thesis explores a phenomenon that is seemingly contradictory: how can progressive conversations around accurate minority representations
be taking place in a community perceived by mainstream American society as only immature, socially inept white men? Ethnodata was collected through a
mixed-methods research project and analyzed in the context of cultural history. What emerged were three themes that are identified as 'virtues' due to
their moralistic nature in the subculture. These virtues are essential to community identity, and are also helpful in conveying the 'geist' of the culture.
Furthermore, because of their permanence throughout the subculture's history, these virtues help inform how seemingly contradictory discussions about
minority representations can organically take place in the comic book community.
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| school | The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University |
| degree | B.A. (2015) |
| advisors | Professor Allan Dawson
Cordelza D. Haynes |
| committee | Professor Allan Dawson
Professor Sandra Jamieson
Professor Marc Boglioli
Professor Nancy Noguera |
| full text | MEWatabe.pdf |
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