Should comics be political?

Spider-Man and 9/11: Comics should not be politically controversial

Question: Should comics be political?
Position‹2 of 3›: No, comic books should not be political.
Argument‹2 of 2: Spider-Man and 9/11: Comics should not be politically controversial

Spider-Man #36 focuses depicts Spider-Man cleaning up the rubble after the attack on the Twin Towers. By focusing on the attack itself and not the motivations behind the attack, politics are avoided as best as they can be.

The argument

Comics should not be politically controversial, and the way this comic book handles September 11 shows what that looks like in practice. While the attacks on September 11, 2001 were inherently political, the manner in which this comic book explores this event is not controversial. By refraining from discussing the motivations behind the attack and instead focusing on those affected, this comic book humanizes superheroes and avoids controversy as best as it can. The choice of subject is the whole difference: a story about the people caught in an event asks readers only to recognise suffering, while a story about why the event happened asks them to accept an account of it. The small amount of politics that are present in this book are not controversial. The attack on the Twin Towers was an attack on civilians, and condemning an attack on civilians is not a position that divides the audience it is addressed to. The readership of these American superhero comics is predominantly American. As such, it was not a stretch to speak out against the attacks on 9/11; most Americans agree that they are horrible. That distinction matters to the general case. The objection is not to comics touching on real events, since this one plainly does. It is to comics taking sides on questions their readers actually disagree about, because a reader who finds the book arguing against them is being asked to accept a political position as the price of the story they came for. By making comics politically uncontroversial, a sense of relatability is maintained without alienating any of the readership. The Spider-Man response to 9/11 is on this argument the model to follow: comics can address the world without becoming politically controversial, and that is what they should do.

Premises

[P1]Though the 9/11 attacks were inherently political, this comic avoids controversy by focusing on those affected rather than the attackers' motivations, humanising its superheroes. [P2] The attack targeted civilians, and since the readership is predominantly American, speaking out against it aligns with what most readers already agree on. [P3] Keeping comics politically uncontroversial preserves relatability without alienating any of the readership. [C] Therefore, as with Spider-Man and 9/11, comics should not be politically controversial.

Counter-arguments

While politics may be avoided to a certain extent in comic books, they are still very much a part of the story. For example, in this book the message is one of unity, with both super heroes and villains coming together to help sort through the rubble. Unity is a political concept, and is used in treaties and other political agreements. Further, while reflecting on the scene in front of him, Spider-Man explicitly acknowledges that there will be a war as a result of the attack. Wars are inherently political conflicts.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] The attacks were still talked about in a way that was political.

The argument

Premises

Counter-arguments

Rejecting the premises

Further reading