Originally Posted by
CentralPower
On the other hand, do you really want people who would make a decision about going to war based on a comic to participate in elections?
At the most basic level, if a political question is worth writing about, it is worthy of good writing.
Saying that bad writing is okay because it is comics does not under-sell politics, it undermines the value of the comic industry as a whole. If comics are a place where bad writing is lauded (or at least not punished), then why bother with comics?
I accept that we are going to get crap. But, I am going to call it crap.
Spencer is a unique case (which is why I avoided talking about him earlier). At first glance, he is the most qualified person in the industry to write about politics. (Look at his background in politics.) Honestly, if I lived in OH, I probably would have considered supporting Spencer and his party. Spencer is also a damned good writer at a technical level. His non-political work is very readable. And, he can write about ideas.
But, his ethics and his partisanship more than balance against all of that.
Politics is often a question of principle or ideology. Biology and physics are pretty unambiguous. Politics (or philosophy), less so.
There is also a practical consideration. People are much less likely to think that they understand physics or biology based on reading fiction.
However, people's politics and ideology are often impacted by what they read (fiction or otherwise). While readers are responsible for what they read and how they use it, there is arguably an ethical obligation on the writers.
Consider Spencer. He is closely affiliated with a political ideology. He is not a believer, he is an operative. His run on Captain America could fairly be seen as an attempt to create opportunities supporters of his party and ideology. The vicious partisanship that Spencer projects could be an attempt to manipulate voters.
There is nothing wrong with an ideologue making a case for their beliefs. But, it should be done well, and honestly. Politicomics often fail at one or both of those things.
ASIO? Does Australia censor political commentary or entertainment?
Please elaborate.
A docu-drama is one thing. And, Nixon is good fodder for that sort of project.
But, I would think that people should be informed more by news than by art or entertainment.
I would not mind seeing Marvel or DC consider the question of where masked heroes fall on the political spectrum. (This will never be a mainline project, for obvious reason.)
Are masked heroes liberal interventionists or conservatives that act outside a flawed government?
I want comics to be about ideas. I do not need comics to be about the world outside my window, because I can look out the damned window. I can read a newspaper.
"Red Son" and "Squadron Supreme" (1985) have more to say about what we should think about the role of the state than "Dark Reign", President Lex Luthor or any of the Trump riffs that have become common in the last few years.
Exactly. At that point, Stone was not even talking about Nixon. He was talking about a Nixon fantasy, while presenting it as Nixon.