Belgian comics and constructing Belgian national identity

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

12/18/2008

Category :

Arts & media

Sub category :

Journalism

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Summary :

Introduction.
Smith's civic model of nation.
1. The essence of the civic model of a nation.
2. The legal-political community.
3. Preventing conflicts between the regions and communities.
4. A measure of common values and traditions among the population.
Belgian national identity.
1. Federalism, democracy and cooperation.
2. Comics and Belgian culture.
3. Comics: a powerful means of expression.
4. Influence on popular culture and identity of all ages.
Belgian comic strips.
1. Hector Malot's Sans Famille.
2. Tintin and Herge.
3. Serious comics that deal with mature topics.
4. The comic Spirou.
5. The cartoon periodical Pilote.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

Abstract

Belgium is a unique country that uses a federal solution to construct a civic nation from two competing ethnic and cultural identities. In the north is the Flemish region, in the south, Wallonia, and in the middle, the capitol and mainly French speaking, city of Brussels. There is also a small German-speaking region in the east. These regions are divided along linguistic and cultural differences, but are united under one state. Talks of the country breaking up are not uncommon, but hardly ever get anywhere. Neither of the two communities would be willing to give up Brussels, which can be classified as neither Flemish nor Walloon. Much of the cultural differences between the two regions are exaggerated by politicians. For almost 200 days last year, the political tension was so high that the national government could not reach a consensus, and it was unsure who would govern the country. Despite these ethno-linguistic boundaries, there is a movement for belgian nationalism, as shown when many citizens flew the belgian flag during the past political crisis.