Due to last night’s delay (all is well now thankfully) this one is going to go well over the 3000 word count in order to finish this chapter off. Luckily there’s no Friday Night Fight this week as voting continues on the Prize Fight.
Hey, we’re finally talking about TV shows in a chapter about the other new medium. Thus far we had the opening monologue about TV only to discuss movies, pocket books, radio, and toys. (Not mentioned of course was classic literature.) Doctor Wertham is trying to tackle the critics who accuse him of ignoring violence in other mediums, but even when he discusses them it’s because of crime comics. Crime comics are ruining everything. Why can’t everything be the same as when Wertham was growing up? Now you have these new media formats coming up, kids want to play action stories involving guns…it’s just so terrible!
Look, I do question some of the games Wertham has accused kids of playing, but I’m seeing more and more that Wertham operates from his own filter. It makes me wonder what he’s exaggerating and what he’s actually heard about. I keep bringing up the Blue Beetle thing because it shows he lacks perception of how a child explains things. And based on things he’s written before I also question his understanding of stories and how it is perceived by others, especially kids. There’s also this thought that every kid thinks and responds the same way, that “hivemind” I keep talking about. And this is the guy responsible for child therapy. It does make me concerned, and it’s worth bringing up because parent groups today still do it. And when it comes to television there is no better example. I’m all for not exposing five-year-olds to Game Of Thrones or Hellraiser but there are parents who would have a problem with He-Man for seven-year-olds. How is that a good thing? So what does Wertham say about TV?
Chapter By Chapter Special: Seduction Of The Innocent ch. 13 part 3
Fun fact: according to my stats I just hit 100 subscribers here at BW Media Spotlight with 93 willing to admit it. My YouTube is also four away from 100. I may do something special if that joins the site at 100 but I’d have to figure out what. Audience participation is something I’m still trying to figure out.
Meanwhile it’s time to return to participating in the suicide of my happiness. There’s only one more chapter after this and I plan to take it down next week. As for this chapter we’re up to the part where Wertham goes after toys. Yes, toys. I really think this chapter is Wertham trying to convince us that he isn’t just targeting crime comics…and yet he still blames everything on crime comics. I’d say it’s getting pathological at this point but I’m not the psychiatrist here so I might be using the word wrong. Of course he’d never claim he’s nuts.
For those of you who also read my Sunday postings over at The Clutter Reports, you already know that I have been a fan of toys since I was old enough to be allowed to like toys by society. Because of course adults aren’t supposed to like kids things. Kids things are fun and we’re supposed to be serious and angry at the world or some junk like that. Adults don’t go to Disneyland unless they have kids. Christmas is meant for kids, not grown-ups who don’t eat figgy pudding anymore. However, play is important for adults too; we just play differently than kids, but now I’m off topic.
Kids need play and kids like to play adventure stories of heroes and villains. And I get the impression that Dr. Wertham hates kids knowing anything about evil. Sorry, doc, that fruit was eaten centuries ago.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on October 4, 2017 in Movie Spotlight, radio/audio drama, Seduction Of The Innocent and tagged Atom Man vs. Superman, book review, Chapter By Chapter, commentary, Dr. Fredric Wertham, Kirk Alyn, Mental health, Seduction Of The Innocent.
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