Page 137 - Sociology and You

concerted
Chapter 3 Culture
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and horror comic books. No one could accuse “Howdy Doody” or “I Love Lucy” of inciting teen violence, although there were cop-and-gangster TV shows and scores of films that might have been blamed. . . . Comic books, on the other hand, particularly violent and horror comics, . . . became the focus of a effort to censor youth culture. The effort was led by liberal Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee and was founded on the psychological theories of Fredric Wertham, whose 1954 best-seller, Seduction of the Innocent, inspired a vast outcry against the comics. Wertham’s theory was based on asking teenage criminals if they read comic books—not much different from the logic behind today’s blaming of computer games or music. Kefauver and Wertham’s movement ultimately persuaded the publishing industry to impose self-censorship. Juvenile crime didn’t fall, but the comics changed; and some of the most violent ones disappeared altogether.
If the anti–comic-book agitation did nothing much to end juvenile crime . . . what explains this panic? Clearly, something was happening in the ’50s, just as it appears to be happening in our own time. The postwar era was a revolutionary time, the first generation in American history wherein children had substantial amounts of spending money. The result was the explosion of a youth culture designed to appeal specifically and exclusively to young people. The teenage market expanded rapidly, from clothing to auto- mobiles to movies and fast food. . . . Children were growing up faster; they acted more like adults or at least demanded adult privileges. All of this looked immensely threatening to parents and parenting experts in the ’50s. Parents and parenting experts in our age are also confronting a major new development. In this case, it’s the advent of the Internet—which has exponentially increased the amount and scope of influences to which American kids are exposed.
So what can we learn from the experience ofthe’50s...?First,weshouldbewaryofthe attempt to link behavior directly and precisely to culture. There is no clear evidence to sup- port this, and, besides, we can probably never develop a form of acceptable censorship any-
way. It is also impor-
tant to separate things
that we don’t like
(or understand) from
those social problems
that might, in fact,
cause teenage alien-
ation and criminal be-
havior. Banning Marilyn
Manson, hip-hop clothes,
and rap music will cer-
tainly have an effect,
but not the desired
one. And, finally, we
need to remind our-
selves that youth culture is something that modern society has invented and celebrated. By extending affluence to children, by giving them computers and spending money, by mak- ing them consumers and therefore members of the marketplace, we have given them access to an adult world and an adult culture. We will have to learn to live with the consequences of that.
Source: Excerpted from James Gilbert, “Juvenilia,” The New Republic (June 14, 1999), 54. Reprinted by permission of The New Republic, © 1999, The New Republic, Inc.
Read and React
1. What common assumption about juvenile crime is the author questioning?
2. Why does Gilbert think it is not possible to scientifically prove how culture affects a particular behavior?
3. What does Gilbert say about the power of advertising to affect teenage behavior?
4. What modern day invention does Gilbert compare to the influence of comic books in the 1950s?
5. In two or three sentences, state the main point that the author makes in this article. Do you agree or disagree with his assess- ment? Why or why not?
What Does it Mean
annihilation
total destruction
concerted
malevolent
vicious or harmful
scourge
organized; mutually arranged
a cause of widespread distress