The decade most of us remember growing up in is the 90s. When we were children we watched shows like All That and The Fresh Prince. Cartoons were something that attracted the attention the children and young adults at the time, but cartoons were not something that were among them. There was a small majority of students who were fans of comic books, but why are cartoons today making a comeback? Today it seems like the most popular tv shows are family guy, the simspsons and American Dad. Where do these shows come from? They are similiar to shows like Seinfeld and Two and a Half Men because they both are humorous shows with very distinct able characters. Growing up I was never a comic book kid. I was into sports and tv shows and never read much of anything. Coming into this class I had the predisposed view of comic books that many people have who are not avid readers. They seemed like a fun way to pass the time. After reading Understanding Comics, I realized that a great deal of thought and effort is put into the making of a comic book. Unlike a book, the comic book really gets the reader involved. You aren't just reading line after line. Your eyes are constantly jumping around the page looking at the different characters and conversations. To me, reading a novel can become very stagnant and often times puts me to sleep. Many comic books are about super heroes and Hollywood today is giving them a second look. So many movies have come out recently about superheroes and they all have been hits with the viewers. Americans historically have been obsessed with the idea of a superhero since the first comic about one was written. Are comic books as widely read today as in the past? No, but their influence on the movie industry is still felt today.
Why blame comics for societal failure? Society blamed comics for the societal failures because it was a fairly new industry, and as things seemed to go “wrong” they figured it must be comic books. When a child grew up during the war, his father was probably killing people and the military and his mother was probably making things in factories to help kill the opposition. The only things kids had to “babysit” them was comic books, and they read many different kinds. So when kids starting acting differently in this new generation the figured it must be the comic books. Society didn’t want to believe it may have been the internal and external scars war causes on the soldiers and their families. Also the fact that young unattended children are reading these comics may not be able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. When society fails it always needs a scapegoat then it was comic books next it was rock and roll. Society naturally resist change.
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