Burns comics burn

[Brazoo]

Was the period after WW2 on into the mid '50 a period of high juvinile deliquency? I havent came across any information on it yet...

I tried looking for stats a long time ago - but haven't ever seen anything really convincing pre or post-code.

There was the Baby Boom - so there were more children, I guess, but well researched per capita juvenile crime rates would be interesting to see for sure!

I think the popular generalization of post-war America was that there was move towards puritan values - traditional gender rolls - cleaner roll models. I guess more children meant more families and more "family values". The Red scare was an influence to some degree - I'd argue.

[Brazoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e6UPS1vAcU
well theres is some interesting news reels around.

That ruled!

[bondtoddbond]

Burning and banning are just extremist ways of interfering with free will. Don't like it, don't buy it, don't look at it, whatever. Think of the great comics that had nothing to do with pre-code horror and violence that got snatched up and burned because they were just comic books. I'm sure some nice Superman and Batman comics got torched in the mix. Sad!

[babycyclops]

I've been following this thread with interest, because I have some conflicting views about censorship and violent media.

The E.C. comics are beyond awesome, and I've been a fan of them since I first became aware of them as a teenager.
I also dig thrash metal and punk music, which were the focus of censorship in the 1980's.
Plus I have no qualms about violent video games, and will happily blaze away in a first-person shooter, and I like to see zombies eating people in movies.

A pattern of being afraid and wanting to limit the latest thing that kids are into seems pretty clear over the decades. The latest trends, if misunderstood, are blamed for all the ills of society.

But now I seem to turning into an old fuddy-duddy, 'cos I actually think some reality TV and user generated content can screw with teenagers' brains.
A few years ago, in the state where I live, some teenagers thought that it would be a good idea to pour petrol on a homeless person, and set him alight, after watching 'bum fights'. They wanted to put the film on the internet. The homeless guy died.

I think there IS some schism between what is reality and what is
entertainment, and it may be hard for some young people to work out the difference, thanks to ability to upload reality and turn it into entertainment on the interweb.

I realise that it may not be the medium that is to blame, but the individual kids and/ or their upbringing.

Anyway, I hope I haven't brought people down with my attack of seriousness.....
The comic burning photos were really interesting to see!

signed,
an aging gorehound

[Figuremod73]

I really think sometimes it can depend on the individual. The question really should be is there anything in heavy metal (Ozzie for example) that might lead to violent behavior. I think in very small (almost isolated) cases, yes, it can. It makes no sense to blame a whole genre for the actions of a few. Alice Cooper would even say it was just entertainment "shock metal". Its like the old saying: a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

[jwyblejr]

Man,look at the glee on those kids faces in the first pic. Bunch of pyros in the making there.

[Brazoo]

Yeah - I don't think it's even possible to safely censor things to anticipate what the dumbest, most gullible and troubled people are going to do. Kids or not.

"The Beatles White Album" and "Catcher in the Rye" influenced sociopaths to do horrible things too. I think people need to be responsible for their own behavior.


Personally, as a side note I think "bum fights" is beyond what freedom of speech laws should protect - not because of what it depicts, but because of what the people who make that thing coerce people to do. There probably should be some kind of law that protects that kind of abuse.

[Figuremod73]

I wonder how many kids went to these burnings to sneak off with free comic books.

[Nostalgiabuff]

you know I look at these photos and even modern pictures of people burning books and all I see is Nazi Germany. cencroship is wrong, plain and simple and the slow minded people who push it are not really any better than Nazis...IMHO
I remember growing up all the religeous zealots who were pushing to ban/burn books like Wrinkle in time....and as someone else posted they more recently were after the Harry Potter books....why??? because they condone witchcraft of course.....idiots

[jwyblejr]

Really what does burning anything solve? All these people are doing is bringing attention to the item in question. Everyone else not involved will want to know what is so "evil" about whatever has them worked up. In the long run,doesn't it kind of defeat their purpose?

[johnmiic]

Was the period after WW2 on into the mid '50 a period of high juvinile deliquency? I havent came across any information on it yet...

The musical West Side Story, tho fictional, was a romanticized reaction to the juvenile delinquency of the 1950's. Yes, they used Shakespere's Romeo & Juliet as a template but the gang violence was a mainstream topic of that period in America. Just because no one is making films anymore about gang violence in "Tha Hood" these days, does it mean it no longer exists in America? It does.

To me "The Code" seems like a mix of cowardice and greed. I think some of the publishers were on board to kill their competition at EC, (as William Gaines thought)...

Frank Miller gave a speech some time ago about comics and contended that Marvel and DC, (Timely and National at the time?), plus a whole lot of other smaller publishers conspired to put EC out of business. EC did what it did best and no other publisher could compete.

[ctc]

>I also think some were on board to eliminate EC because they thought EC was the most offensive to the public
>I also think the reality was that comics really were mostly for kids at that time.

That gets back to the biggest confounding variable. (For me, at least.) That being: exactly WHEN and HOW were comics relegated to strict juvenalia? It happened around that time, but it’s tough to figure out the exact tipping point. Having had a chance to read a lot of 40's and 50's comics, it’s obvious (mostly by the number of ads for baldness cures and lingerie) that pre-war comics weren’t considered just for kids. But something happened post-war. I kinda suspect it was the inquest, but even if that was the final straw there would have to be precursors that primed the public for such an idea. Something like....

>Was the period after WW2 on into the mid '50 a period of high juvinile deliquency?

Not really, but everybody THOUGHT it was. Maybe ‘cos of the Baby Boom there were more of them around, and it scared the older folks? Older folks seem to ALWAYS be afraid of kids.... and stuff kids like ‘cos it’s ALWAYS a sign of “how far we’ve fallen! Things are OUT OF CONTROL! I mean, listen to that music! LISTEN TO IT! Nuthin’ but profanities, sex, drugs probably.... and that hair! And those clothes!!!” Even the “rampant” JD-ism would need a source, although kids are always a popular target.... and the 50's were rife with fearmongering anti-juve propaganda. “It’s ‘cuz of COMICS!” is the sort of thing worried parents would WANT to hear ‘cos it presents a simple solution: get rid of your kids’ comics and they’ll be okay. Causing a problem so you can sell the solution.

>The latest trends, if misunderstood, are blamed for all the ills of society.
But now I seem to turning into an old fuddy-duddy, 'cos I actually think some reality TV and user generated content can screw with teenagers' brains.

Yup; you’re a fuddy-duddy. The disconnect occurs ‘cos reality tv is something you probably don’t like, so it becomes the “unfamiliar.” Metal didn’t scare you ‘cos you knew the complaints were a crock ‘cos you were in the middle of it; but when you’re on the outside it’s a LOT easier to see the “connection” between said item and the bad it causes; and a lot more difficult to see any sort of defense for said item.
....it’s a form of #2:
5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think | Cracked.com

>some teenagers thought that it would be a good idea to pour petrol on a homeless person, and set him alight, after watching 'bum fights'.

I don’t think you can ascribe that to “bum fights.” That’d be like running out and foreclosing on your neighbour’s home ‘cos you won a game of Monopoly. Some people are just stupid.

>All these people are doing is bringing attention to the item in question.

Yup. I was playing D&D a few years before we all found out it was evil back in the 80's, and was stunned by how many new fans there were once the announcement was made. Same for Mortal Combat; a game nobody cared about until we found out it would turn us all into killer ninjas. Or the advisory labels on records thanks to the PMRC, which not only ALLOWED musicians the opportunity to add swearing and the like, but provided clear indication that said music was GUARANTEED to cheese off your folks!

Good work, guys!

Don C.

[Figuremod73]

Yup. I was playing D&D a few years before we all found out it was evil back in the 80's, and was stunned by how many new fans there were once the announcement was made.

Yea, I had plenty of experiences in high school when toting D and D handbooks around in classes where kids or teachers would tell me that stuff was bad. I largely ignored it. If the math teacher had known how much adding/subtracting was involved she probably would have recommended it to a number of the students.

[babycyclops]

Yup; you’re a fuddy-duddy. The disconnect occurs ‘cos reality tv is something you probably don’t like, so it becomes the “unfamiliar.” Metal didn’t scare you ‘cos you knew the complaints were a crock ‘cos you were in the middle of it; but when you’re on the outside it’s a LOT easier to see the “connection” between said item and the bad it causes; and a lot more difficult to see any sort of defense for said item.

Good link!
And yes, the years have had effect on me. I've slowly morphed from this:

into this:

[samurainoir]

http://www.twomorrows.com/media/AlterEgo105Preview.pdf

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