| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
1 online resource (xi, 238 pages) |
|
text txt rdacontent |
|
computer c rdamedia |
|
online resource cr rdacarrier |
| Series |
ACLS Humanities E-Book.
|
| Note |
Based on the author's thesis, McGill University. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-223) and index. |
| Contents |
Chapter one. From Freud to social psychiatry -- Chapter two. Mass culture in the twentieth century -- Chapter three. American concerns about a mass society -- Chapter four. Wertham and the critique of comic books -- Chapter five. Television and media effects. |
| Summary |
This book is a re-examination of the critic whose Congressional testimony sparked the Comics Code. Bart Beaty traces the evolution of Wertham's attitudes toward popular culture and reassesses his place in the debate about pop culture's effects on youth and society. When The Seduction of the Innocent was published in 1954, Wertham (1895-1981) became instantly known as an authority on child psychology. Although he had published several books before Seduction, its sharp criticism of popular culture in general--and comic books in particular--made it a touchstone for debate about issues of censorship, child protection, and freedom of speech. This book reinterprets his intellectual legacy and challenges notions about his alleged cultural conservatism. Drawing upon Wertham's published works as well as his unpublished private papers, correspondence, and notes, Beaty reveals a man whose opinions, life, and career offer more subtlety of thought than previously assumed. In particular, the book examines Wertham's change of heart in the 1970s, when he began to claim that comics could be a positive influence in American society. |
| Reproduction |
Electronic text and image data. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University of Michigan, Michigan Publishing, 2022. EPUB file. ([ACLS Humanities E-Book]) |
| Note |
All rights reserved. |
| Subject |
Wertham, Fredric, 1895-1981.
|
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Mass media and culture.
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Mass media -- Influence.
|
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
| Added Author |
American Council of Learned Societies.
|
| Added Title |
ACLS Humanities E-Book. URL: http://www.humanitiesebook.org/ |
| ISBN |
157806810X (cloth ; alk. paper) |
|
9781578068104 (cloth ; alk. paper) |
|
1578068193 (pbk. ; alk. paper) |
|
9781578068197 paperback |
| Standard No. |
heb40096 hdl |
|
