Politics, Ideology, Nationalism

Since the Cold War, many Arabic children comics’ titles put out numerous stories and content that touched on current affairs and dealt with complex ideological and nationalistic politics and social issues. This was done in ways that a young audience could relate to, trying to enlist and reach out to a young emerging social stratum. In fact, whether used for government propaganda or for contentious politics, Arab comics have, since the fifties and until the present, captured, crystallized, expressed, and shaped the pulse of the time. Hence, looking at them critically and creatively within the context of the classroom promises to unravel numerous significant details, theoretical, political and social angles, as well as emotional layers of the modern history of this region, details which are unfortunately often overlooked in more traditional linear historical discourses. Comics can indeed be seen as a magic lantern onto our past, as well as a magnifying lens onto our present.