Our discussions in the class this week focused on the negativity in which was found in comic books. America thought the violence of these comic books were turning their children into delinquents, but what the society in the 50's was not taking responsibility for was the fact that their children were being left without adult supervision especially in homes in which both parents were working. It seems that although show like Leave it to Beaver represented the ideal, they did not represent reality. Then such sources as Dr. Fredric Wertham who is comparable to Senator McCarthy and his witch hunt, finding anyone to blame for rising of crime by young people. He believed that children learned to "fight, torture victims, and conceal firearms" from comic books and also learned to take narcotics. This is a serious proclaim especially since the Comic Book industry wasn't as established then as it is now.
Throughout the 60’s, comics were at the forefront of social transformation. Possibly the best example of this is through comics reflection of the public’s view of the Vietnam War. At the beginning of the war a majority of Americans fully supported the cause. The idea that communism, the most evil idea conceived, could spread first through South-East Asia and eventually to the US lead Americans to accept the need to occupy Vietnam. However as the war progressed it became more obvious that it was less to defend democracy and actually just a proxy war against Russia. As support for the war diminished, comics greatly altered their position on the war to question the causes of the war, and whether the US should actually be there. The comic Iron Man accurately represented this shift in support as he stopped dealing arms, and took a moral stand against their use. As well as Vietnam War culture, comics also accurately portrayed youth culture in the US throughout the 60’s. Comics suc...
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