{"product_id":"reading-comic-books-critically","title":"Reading Comic Books Critically","description":"\u003cp\u003eEducation knows no boundaries but ‘hot button issues,’ like their students’ love for comic books, highlight school, teacher and parent bias. Japanese comic books (\u003ci\u003emanga\u003c\/i\u003e) play an important role in the lives of most Taiwanese teenagers. This study includes surveys, a textual analysis of five student-selected \u003ci\u003emanga \u003c\/i\u003eseries and multiple interviews with students and educators about comics’ appeal and educational value. Japanese \u003ci\u003emanga \u003c\/i\u003econtain complex and sometimes contradictory ideologies of ethnicity, gender, class, and violence. From an ethnic perspective, although students may glean cultural content from \u003ci\u003emanga \u003c\/i\u003eheroes and their retinues, people of color and non-Japanese Asians are either caricatures or non-existent. Taiwanese consumers seem largely unaware of this. Depictions of social and economic class distinctions are subtle although the dominant ideology of \u003ci\u003emanga \u003c\/i\u003ecreators is middle-class. \u003ci\u003eManga \u003c\/i\u003eaficionados are, for the most part, oblivious to class distinctions, but some notice that ancient caste precepts flourish. Although most \u003ci\u003emanga \u003c\/i\u003efocus on violent combat, their youthful consumers seem unaffected by excessive gore. Bloody battles with enemy legions are seen as a necessary element for the hero’s journey. From a post-colonialist perspective, \u003ci\u003emanga\u003c\/i\u003e’s exaltation of Japanese cultural archetypes may preempt their readers’ allegiance to and pride in being Taiwanese.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter Lang Publishing Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54262822142296,"sku":"9781433188473","price":40.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781433188473.jpg?v=1777809663","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/reading-comic-books-critically","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}