Unemployment Is The Law
The Representation Of Unemployment In The Judge Dredd Comics (1979-1985)
Keywords:
Judge Dredd, Comic Books, United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, NeoliberalismAbstract
Originally published in 1977 in the British comic magazine 2000 A.D., Judge Dredd is the most famous comic book character in the United Kingdom. Written by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, Dredd was conceived as a satire on the rhetoric of the British Conservative Party. The character represented in its pages the authors' criticisms against the security policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990). However, despite the critical and satirical tone with the harsh policies against the increase in crime in the United Kingdom, the result of a massive economic and political crisis that took over the country from the 1960s onwards, Dredd also served as a vehicle for the authors' criticism. against Thatcher's economic policies that had a huge social impact on the country. Between 1979 and 1986, unemployment in the country was massive and was a constant feature on the pages of newspapers. Therefore, this work aims to analyze the political representations against the economic reforms of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives in the pages of Judge Dredd's stories.
References
ALTHOUSE, Matthew T. Kevlar Armor, Heat-Seeking Bullets and Social Order: A Mythological Reading of Judge Dredd. In: MCALLISTER, Mattew P.; MILLER, Toby; SEWELL JR, Edward H.; GORDON, Ian (ed.). Comics & Ideology. Nova York: Peter Lang Inc., 2001. p. 195–219.
BECKETT, Andy. When the Lights went Out: What Really Happened to Britain in the Seventies. Reino Unido: Faber and Faber, 2009. 576 p.
BROWN, Wendy. Nas Ruínas do Neoliberalismo. São Paulo: Politeia, 2019.
CHARTIER, Roger. A história cultural: entre práticas e representações. Lisboa: DIFEL, Rio de Janeiro: Bertrand, 1990.
DAPIN, Mark. Living under the rule of the Iron Lady. In: The Sydney Morning Harold. Sydney, Austrália, 13 abr. 2013. Disponível em: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/living-under-the-rule-of-the-iron-lady-20130412-2hqut.html . Acesso em: 11 mar. 2022.
DENMAN, James; MCDONALD, Paul. Unemployment statistics from 1881 to the present day. Labour Market Trends, Reino Unido, ano 15-18, v. 104, p. 5-18, 1 jan. 1996. Disponível em: https://escoe-website.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/17145130/Denman-and-Macdonald-LMT-1996-Unemployment-Statistics-from-1881-to-the-present-day.pdf. Acesso em: 26 jan. 2022.
HARVEY, David. O Neoliberalismo: História e Implicações. 2. ed. São Paulo, Brasil: Edições Loyola, 2011.
HARRISON, Paul. Inside the Inner City: life under the cutting edge. Londres, Reino Unido: Penguin Books, 1983.
HOBSBAWM, Eric: A Era dos Extremos. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. 1995.
LEAKER, Debra. Employment and labour market: Unemployment. In: Unemployment rate: (aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted). [S. l.]: Office for National Statistics, 15 fev. 2022. Disponível em: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/timeseries/mgsx/lms. Acesso em: 10 mar. 2022.
LITTLE, Ben. 2000AD: Understanding the ‘British Invasion’ of American Comics.. In: BERNINGER, Mark; ECKE, Jochen; HARBERKORN, Gideon (ed.). Comics as a Nexus of Cultures: Essays on the Interplay of Media, Disciplines and International Perspectives. Jefferson, Carolina do Norte: McFarland & Company, 2010. p. 140–152. ISBN 978-0-7864-3987-4.
REINER, Robert. A Política da Polícia. São Paulo: Editora da Universidade de São Paulo, 2004
REITAN, Earl A. The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979-2001. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.
ROBERTS, Adam. Science Fiction. London and New York: Routledge, 2000.
ROHRER, Finlo. 30 years of the future. BBC News Magazine, Reino Unido, 26 fev. 2007. Disponível em: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6390731.stm. Acesso em: 10 mar. 2022.
TURNER, Alwyn W. Crisis? What Crisis?: Britain in the 70s. 2. ed. rev. Reino Unido: Aurum, 2013. E-book.
TURNER, Alwyn W. Rejoice, Rejoice!: Britain in the 1980s. 2. ed. Reino Unido: Aurum Press, 2010.
UNITED KINGDOM. Shadow Cabinet. Our Tone of Voice and Our Tasks. Keith Joseph. 7 December 1976. London. Disponível em: http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/8F453C2A251C48D09B4C1401F8A0BF46.pdf.
WAGNER, J. et al. Judge Dredd: the Daily Dredds 1981-1986. Oxford: Rebellion. Vol. 01, 2014.
WAGNER, J. et al. 2000AD. Reino Unido: IPC, 1978-1982. Quinzenal.
: UK unemployment tops three million. BBC News, 1982. Disponível em: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/26/newsid_2506000/2506335.stm. Acesso em: 10 mar. 2022.