Historias de la Frontera: Using Critical Latinx Border Cultural Studies Theory to Explore the Latinx Identity of the U.S.-Mexico Border in Comic Books
Abstract
In the United States, Mexican immigration is constantly a hot topic in the news and within politics, and it is also found in various forms of media and popular culture. Within this research project, I focus on one of those forms of popular culture, comics and graphic novels. I use a new theoretical approach called Critical Latinx Border Cultural Studies Theory, which intersects Critical Race Theory, Latino/a Critical Race Theory, Latina/o Critical Communication Theory, and Border Studies into a theoretical approach. Using Critical Latinx Border Cultural Studies Theory I analyze fifteen comic books and graphic novels, (Holyoke One Shot-U.S. Border Patrol Comics 5 [1944]; The Border Patrol [1951]; Guía Del Migrante Mexicano [2004]; Migra Mouse: Political Cartoons on Immigration [2004]; I.C.E. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [2013]; The Punisher: Border Crossing [2015]; Rendez-vous in Phoenix [2016]; El Peso Hero: Border Stories [2016]; Barrier [2018]; Border Town [2018]; El Peso Hero: Border Land [2019]; The Scar: Graphic Reportage from the U.S.-Mexico Border [2019]; Red Border
[2020]; The Other Side of the Border [2020]; Home [2021]) that focus on centrally on immigration, Mexican immigration into the U.S. through an analysis of the visuals, storylines, characters, and language, I discuss a variety of themes of Latinx identity, representation, and border immigration found within these comic books using textual analysis, visual rhetoric, and narratology as my methodological approaches. The themes found within this project revolve around Border Narratives, Latinx Representation and Characters of the Border, Use of Language, Cultural Signifiers, Gender Roles of the Border, White Saviors and Militants, Violence and Brutality, and finally, the Reinforced Negative Stereotypes. By doing this research, I want to bring awareness to the lack of representation of Latinx identity in both comic books and academia, and issues such as border immigration within comic book storytelling.
Citation
Ramirez, Anthony R (2022). Historias de la Frontera: Using Critical Latinx Border Cultural Studies Theory to Explore the Latinx Identity of the U.S.-Mexico Border in Comic Books. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /198549.