Qui est Charlie…? A Sociological Perspective on Charlie Hebdo and the Culture of Comics

Abstract

In this paper, I will argue for key role played by the global culture of comics, of which the French publication Charlie Hebdo is but one small part, in the development and aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks of 2015. I begin by exploring and elucidating this culture of comics that exists across France and other comic book producing nations and its associations with youthful rebellion, anarchy, and, more recently, misrecognized privilege and bigotry. A sociological perspective on the cultural history and practice of comics publishing through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries adds important context to the Je Suis Charlie movement and its place in the public discourse—while also further problematizing it.