English Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2042

This collection contains some of the theses and dissertations produced by students in the University of Oregon English Graduate Program. Paper copies of these and other dissertations and theses are available through the UO Libraries.

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Browsing English Theses and Dissertations by Author "Brambley, Matthew"

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    Beyond Binaries: Rediscovering The Fantastic Four through a Multi-Dimensional Lens
    (University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Brambley, Matthew; Saunders, Ben
    Contemporary trends in literary and cultural analysis are predicated on a reading practice that reduces their subjects to a binary dichotomy that can be summarized as a hegemonic-versus-subversive discourse where, in the former case, the text promotes and enables the dominance of politically and economically privileged social groups over others and in the latter, the text resists such dominance in its subversive deployment of artistic and literary forms and conventions. Such patterns are especially pronounced in the burgeoning field of comics studies, specifically regarding the superhero comic book. This article attempts to destabilize this dichotomy by demonstrating the inherent overlap of these two reading models. In my analysis of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s The Fantastic Four (1961-1970), I argue that such analyses tend to reduce the narratives, characters, and underlying themes in superhero comic books to mere instruments of dominant cultural norms on the one hand or expressions of radical difference on the other. In juxtaposing diverging analyses, I highlight how such conclusions necessitate a disregard for contradictory evidence, thereby oversimplifying the interactions between these unique cultural productions and their socio-political surroundings while also obscuring other analytical frameworks crucial for a more comprehensive understanding of this material. I assert that the superhero comic book facilitates subversive and hegemonic readings simultaneously, demonstrating this through my close readings of various characters and stories, and conclude by proposing alternative methodologies with which to analyze the superhero comic book. Ultimately, my analysis challenges privileged reading models ingrained in academia and begs the question, “How do we read?”