Ikonoklastiese strip, polemiek en Bitterkomix

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study considers the history and problematics of the contemporary comic strip,particularly in regard to issues of controversy and iconoclasm. Special attention is paidto the local magazine, Bitterkomix as an example.In Chapter One, the comic medium is identified and discussed as a homogeneous artform. Its independence from both fine arts and literature is explained and the identifying,intrinsic characteristics of the medium are used as a basis for the analysis of form andmeaning in selected contemporary comics.Chapter Two provides a brief history of iconoclasm, subversion and controversysurrounding selected comics from the 1950's up to the present. The emphasis is placedon pivotal developments in the medium, particularly in the United States. A link issuggested between the post-war affluence of the American society and the conservativevalues which underpin it.Because of the many similarities which exist between the value systems of white SouthAfrica and those of the more conservative states of the U.S., a contextual parallel ismooted which identifies the development and impact of controversial comics abroad andthe reception which Bitterkomix encountered in South Africa. Chapter Three outlines andanalyses this connection, emphasising that Bitterkomix has to be seen in the widerhistorical context and not simply as an expression of a parochial, alternativecultureamong young Afrikaners.In the final two chapters, satire and the use of stereotypes in the comic form isconsidered. The study pays particular attention to the publications, Gif, AfrikanerSekskomix and Loslyf(an Afrikaans skin magazine) in order to establish connectionsbetween deviant sexual behaviour in a repressive society.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University