'Is There Any Boudin on the Moon?' Depicting Cajun Ethnicity in Bec Doux et ses amis

Abstract

The Bec Doux et ses amis comics series, written by Cajun authors in Cajun French, is little known outside of its native French-speaking Louisiana. Although it can be inscribed within the wider Cajun ethnic revival that began in the late 1960s, it constitutes a unique example of graphic self-representation in this field of cultural productions. This article examines how the series' use of regional French, in the context of increasing acculturation by a dominant English-speaking America, is not only a statement of cultural resistance, but also a creative negotiation of communication with a dialectal readership, within the comics format. The article also focuses on the iconic effectiveness of the series, and more specifically on its nuanced and authentic depiction of the Cajun minority's ethnic habitus, in order to understand the complexities of such cultural self-caricature.