Abstract
The politically and socially tumultuous world of the mid-20th century in both Argentina and the United States inspired the creation of two incredibly influential comic strips: Joaquín Salvador Lavado’s, also known as Quino’s, Mafalda in Argentina, and Charles Schultz’s Peanuts in the United States. These comics changed the popular conception of childhood in their respective countries by reflecting the cultural shifts which challenged existing social conventions like family organization. Primarily, however, the central theme of these works rested in the commentary on the growing middle-class and the role of younger generations in championing countercultural and antiestablishment movements against this expansion. The children became mouthpieces for the anxieties of their cultures, employing broad emotional ranges and an intelligence which often surpasses their age. Doing so grants fraught political struggles levity while additionally magnifying these issues in the public consciousness. Both Mafalda and Peanuts demonstrate the use of children as voices for the fears of adults as the shifting social organization of both Argentina and the United States in the mid-20th century created unease regarding the position of the emerging middle-class while simultaneously highlighting the growing role of the youth culture in the political arena.
Recommended Citation
Baize, Eden E.
(2024)
"Good Grief!: The Challenging of Middle-Class Life by Youth Culture in Mafalda and Peanuts,"
The Cardinal Edge: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 11.
Available at:
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/tce/vol2/iss1/11
Included in
Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Latin American History Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, United States History Commons, Women's History Commons
