Comics Could Inspire Civic Engagement

Our discussion of media literacy and civic engagement left me wondering what role libraries really can play in encouraging civic engagement in young people? What is it that we as librarians can offer that would ignite that spark? I have to say that I left class thinking that public libraries (especially small ones) are at a distinct disadvantage in this arena because a) they do not have the captive audience that schools provide their teachers and school media specialists and b) they do not have the large budgets that other public libraries have and can dedicate to reaching out to youth via programming or marketing campaigns.

Joao Montanaro has given me hope – and he should make you hopeful, too. Featured in an NPR story earlier this week, Montanaro is an artist with a gift and a passion for political cartoons. He produces work for one of Brazil’s oldest and most popular newspapers, Folha, on a weekly basis. He is also 14 years old.

How did a 14-year-old boy come to be a political cartoonist? According to the NPR piece, Montanaro was fascinated with his father’s political cartoon anthology books and would pour over them long before he understand the messages that the artists were trying to share with their audience. Over time, he came to understand that there were much more to these images than initial meets the eye, and he started to appreciate these cartoons and their power.

“I like the political because you can joke about somebody bigger than you,” he says.

Montanaro’s cartoon collection also includes work by Charles Schulz (Peanuts) and Bill Waterson (Calvin & Hobbes). Though neither work is overtly political (well, other than Hobbes being named after the English political philosopher), it can be argued that these cartoon also require readers to be aware of the messages that are hidden between the (drawing) lines. In addition to the steady diet of political cartoons fromhis father’s books, Montanaro no doubt honed his media literacy skills while readingabout Calvin’s latest game of Calvinball or Charlie Brown’s repeated failure to kick the football when playing with Lucy.

As a middle-schooler, I loved reading Calvin & Hobbes in the Sunday paper. The interplay between six-year-old Calvin and his anthropomorphic “stuffed” tiger, Hobbes sent me into fits of laughter over and over again. I especially liked the strips in which Calvin would create weird snowmen scenes:

At the time, I knew nothing of grant writing or art interpretation, but I appreciated the humor of each piece in my own way.Another cartoonist who enjoyed great popularity while I was in middle school and high school was Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side comics:

Larson’s comics differed from many others in that most of his works were contained in a single panel with witticisms or simple dialog contained beneath the image. Again, these comics were rarely (if ever) political, but did require the reader to think about what made the image or situation funny:

Another comic illustrator whose works I enjoyed as a young person is Mike Luckovich. His syndicated works appear in newspapers across the country and tackle political and social issues in the United States and around the world:

His cartoon portraying Michael Jackson’s journey to the afterlife garnered a great deal of criticism from people who believed his work was insensitive:

What does all of this have to do with civic engagement and libraries? I believe that one of the ways in which libraries could encourage civic engagement in youth would require thinking outside the box. Joao Montanaro found his passion for politics in the panels of a comic – a comic that was contained in a larger anthology. Many libraries already collect comic books and graphic novels – two mediums that naturally appeal to many young people.

Perhaps the best way for libraries (and educators) to approach civic engagement is really a backdoor approach - one that does not overtly press social activism on our youth but perhaps inspires some to it. I would suggest introducing young people to the works of comic illustrators like Watterson, Larson, and Luckovich. Allow young people to explore their work and encourage them to interpret what they are seeing, reading, and feeling as a result of these images. Feature political cartoons somewhere in the library (avoiding any obvious slant toward one party or end of the political spectrum) and maybe even encourage young people to create their own social commentary through the medium of cartooning.

While the story of Joao Montanaro is impressive, what is even more impressive to m is that before he began working for Folha, his work was being published in Folha’s kids’ newspaper, Folhinha. A kids’ newspaper – a real one, not one produced with oversight at school. Huh. Now there’s an idea that might get kids interested and involved in what is going on in the world around them. That’s something we should all encourage.