Spiegelman's use of animal species to represent ethnic and national identities has been complimented by several reviewers as an imaginative method for emphasizing the racial prejudices prevalent during World War II. However, some scholars have argued that, by reducing racial groups to animal archetypes, Spiegelman perpetuates unpleasant cultural stereotypes. Critics have also favorably noted how Maus II addresses the role of mass media and commodity marketing in representations of the Holocaust. Michael Rothberg has asserted that, “the power and originality” of Maus is derived in part from its portrayal of the Holocaust through a visual medium “as one more commodity in the American culture industry.”