924
Lectures Watched
Since January 1, 2014
Hundreds of free, self-paced university courses available:
my recommendations here
Peruse my collection of 275
influential people of the past.
View My Class Notes via:
Receive My Class Notes via E-Mail:

VIEW ARCHIVE


Contact Me via E-Mail:
edward [at] tanguay.info
Notes on video lecture:
Patriotic Superheroes
Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:
Japanese, detract, racial, culture, saboteurs, American, villains, shell, patriotic, successes, Japanazis, Fawcett, united, propaganda, Geneva, Simon, Polish, eye, Woman, mood, Hitler, Shuster, bonds, end, Navy, newspaper
Pearl Harbor changed the national         
war became the                of America
war              the population
super heroes mirrored this culture
fought the foe
endorsed readers to
support the Red Cross
buy war           
super heroes had to have super                 
villains changed after Pearl Harbor took place
Germans and                  were portrayed as sub-human, very negative
Look Magazine commissioned Siegel and               
creators of Superman
what if Superman got into World War II
within a few pages he not only picked up              but Stalin also
and brought them to justice in             , Switzerland
comic books and heroes in WWII
there were strong              stereotypes and racial prejudices incorporated into comic books
for better or worse reflecting the mood the public
many comic books were filled with wartime                     
and exaggerated, untrue, and unfair stereotyped perceptions of people
DC Comics: America At War
heroes that had adventures based in and around World War II
Joe            and Jack Kirby, creators of Captain America
Boy Commandos
boys that successfully fought the Nazis
1943: Special Invasion Issue
Blackhawk
a              resistance fighter
Hop Harrigan
premiered in All-American comics
superhero of the air
Superman story from daily                   
if Superman went into the army, he would simply mop up the Germans and take care of Imperial Japan in the wink of an eye
they didn't want to                from our real superheroes: the U.S. service men
but readers wanted to know why Superman was not on the front
Clark Kent can't wait to get into the U.S. Army
he goes to his physical and has to read the        chart
uses his x-ray vision and ends up reading the chart in the next room
he fails his eye exam and is out of the service, fated to spend the rest of the days of World War II as Clark Kent the reporter and as Superman fighting                    and fifth columnist spies who are imperiling America on its own shores
some covers showed that he was trying to be active in WWII
more in the position to cheer on the military than shown fighting
superman products
1942 hard back book
capturing in midair an artillery           
Batman parachuting into enemy territory
from                Comics
Spy Smasher
Minute Man
Bullet Man
Mr. Scarlett
getting ready to he
comic book companies were working in cooperation with the government
label: "be an                 "
putting on ads which encouraged citizens to buy war bonds
special editions for the U.S.         
congratulating service men
Superman, Robin, Batman shown selling bonds and stamps with a banner, "Sink the                    with Bonds and Stamps"
World's Finest Comics
showed superheros attacking Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini directly
More Fun Comics
"attack the Japs"
Pep comics
The Shield
the first                    super hero
March 1941
Captain America
months before Pearl Harbor
slugging Adolf Hitler
one of the biggest                    of all comic book war heroes
All-Star Comics Number 8
Wonder           
1945 VE Day and VJ Day marked the        of the war for America

Ideas and Concepts:

American superficiality in wartime, via tonight's Superheroes in American culture course:

"Pearl Harbor changed the national mood. War became the culture of America, it united the population, and super heroes mirrored this change in a symbiotic relationship, since to exist, super heroes need super villains.

We see how comic book villains changed after the Pearl Harbor attack took place. Germans and Japanese people were portrayed very negatively, often as sub-human.

Look Magazine commissioned Siegel and Shuster, the creators of Superman, to create an edition in which Superman gets into World War II. Within a few pages he not only picked up Hitler, but Stalin as well, and flew them both by the collars of their shirts to justice in Geneva, Switzerland."
Why Superman didn't fight in WWII, via tonight's Superheroes in American culture course:

"Originally, at the beginning of WWII, DC Comics faced the dilemma that if they portrayed Superman as entering WWII, because of his superpowers, he would simply mop up the Nazis and take care of Imperial Japan within a couple pages, and they didn't want to detract from our real superheroes, the U.S. service men, or make them look weak in comparison.

But readers nevertheless wanted to know why Superman was not on the WWII front in their comic books. So DC Comics created the story that Clark Kent couldn't wait to get into the U.S. Army, but when he went to take his physical and had to read the eye chart, he was so earnest in wanting to pass the test, that he inadvertently used his x-ray vision and ended up reading the chart in the next room.

He thus failed his eye exam and was out of the service, at least in DC Comics, was fated to spend the rest of the days in during World War II as Clark Kent the reporter, and as Superman fighting saboteurs and fifth columnist spies who are imperiling America on its own shores."
1930s: The Origin of the American Comic Book
1938: The Birth of Superman
The People Behind the Golden Age of Comic Books
Patriotic Superheroes
Comic Books after World War II
Comic Books in the McCarthy Era
1954: Fredric Wertham's Impact on the Comic Book Industry
1960s: The Silver Age of Comics
The Bronze Age of Comics and the Genre of Relevancy