Comics and their IMPACT on Society Today

[SuGarRush]

Hey y'all,
I have a speech outline due on monday. The topic is "Comics and their impact on Society today."

I need at least 4 sources (published, not just websites)

Here is my theory,
In the last 7 decades since the introduction of the super-hero comic, the medium has advanced and influenced Americans and the world as a whole in ways that the majority of people do not even realize.

I read somewhere that the number two most recognizable person on the planet is Jesus Christ, the number one? Superman

I figured on throwing stuff out there that people may not realize comes from comics, Like 300. Almost every college student I know has seen that movie, yet 95% of them have no idea it came from a comic book.

I guess what I'm asking for here is a little help from all of y'all at the Hype.

What else should I talk about?
How have comics impacted or influenced society?
Changed Pop-culture?
Any comic form really, it isn't limited to just super hero comics, they just seem the most prevalent.

 

[The Spawn]

Movies.

 

[SuGarRush]

well yeah man, they have completely changed movies today as we know them.
I was wondering if you had any specific examples? Anything that helped change the way people viewed movies, or the way movies were made? The influence that the movie had on society?

Or the characters from the books?
The stories about those characters? TV shows? Magazine articles?
Toys?

The comic book is really just a source for all kinds of great things, its been widely harvested from to make a lot of different products. I'm just looking for specific examples and thoughts.

Anything in particular anyone has just thought of while sitting at work one day? or daydreaming in class?

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Well, for one thing the word "super hero" comes directly from Superman, as does the word "super power" and the prefix super when referring to an enhanced ability (such as "super genius"). So that's fairly substantial as far as language and everyday usage goes.

Then of course comics functioned as a form of war propoganda during World War II.

The other major contribution comics have been known for, or rather became the bane of their existence, is Seduction of the Innocent which claimed that comics insighted young boys and girls into violent and criminal behavior. A belief that ended in the comics code, which delegated appropriate and inappropriate content for comic books for the better part of half a century. That's recently been lifted.

Another oft overlooked influential comic book peroid was the 1950s. Although it was a sales slump for superheroes, it paved the way for EC's brand of horror comics like Tales from the Crypt. A lot of those stories were incredibly gruesome and influenced a lot of today's modern horror movies.

 

[Mike_D202]

^^^ also that the EC comics (like "Tales" and "Creepshow") spawned the uprising of the "seduction of the innocent".

You could also throw in there the "real life superheroes" (like "Citizen Prime" and others), I'm sure comics had an influence on the way they live.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

^^^ also that the EC comics (like "Tales" and "Creepshow") spawned the uprising of the "seduction of the innocent".

That's very extremely true. In fact that's the reason I started thinking about EC in that post.t:

You could also throw in there the "real life superheroes" (like "Citizen Prime" and others), I'm sure comics had an influence on the way they live.

Or you know, maybe we could just forget about that subculture and move on.

 

[SuBe]

You could discuss how stories from Religon influenced stories in Comics:

Like Superman is similar to Moses. Batman is kinda like Achilies, etc.

Or, how comics influenced movies, like how movie directors use Storyboards to show action shots, etc.

Or, you can discuss the Advertisements in classic comics, everyone knows what X-Ray glasses are, because of comics.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Like Superman is similar to Moses. Batman is kinda like Achilies, etc.

Most superheroes are stories about "slaying a dragon". That's a term I learned from a professor of mine (actually that's not the term, I'm paraphrasing a similar term I can't remember) that simply means a story where the protagonist takes on a villain against odds that seem insurmountable. Most superheroes can date their origins back to stories like Achilies, Beowulf, Hercules and the Ilyiad. It's not so much that one figure is akin to another classic myth or story so much as how Greek and Roman society influences our views of greatness. Achievements that are very physical and show prowess as a warrior are held in very high regard in our society. This isn't just true of superheroes, even characters like John Wayne, Dirty Harry and Star Wars owe their existence to Greek and Roman myth.

 

[StrainedEyes]

And you can't do your own homework... why?

 

[muertevilla]

http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v2_2/reviews/fleming.shtml


this is what you need friend

 

[SuGarRush]

And you can't do your own homework... why?

I chose the topic, then I came to people I consider to be a part of MY COMMUNITY and ask them for their help. I want the rest of the world to share my love of comics, and see that it is an important medium. I thought that others here might share the same views as me.

It's not a matter of doing my own homework, I could have talked about advancements in artificial hearts or erythropoeisis if I just wanted to do a speech on something I could research quickly and easily. I wanted a speech I was passionate about. And I thought that the majority of y'all here would have input, maybe have thought about these things before.


To everyone who has contributed, I thank you, I had no idea about the horror comics, I didn't know that Tales of the Crypt was a comic, and ShadowBoxing, I had completely forgotten All that stuff about Superman (chalk it up to being exhausted, I've been studying for two days

Thank y'all and keep the ideas flowing.

 

[SuGarRush]

http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v2_2/reviews/fleming.shtml


this is what you need friend

I love you

 

[muertevilla]

it has a forward by stan lee...its awsome

 

[muertevilla]

its also a short read

 

[SuGarRush]

If only I could get my hands on that book before monday...
Guess I'm going to town tomorrow!

 

[The Guard]

They've affected our mythology in general. Our fictional heroes have become more like pulp heroes and vigilante superheroes as time passes.

 

[SuBe]

Most superheroes are stories about "slaying a dragon". That's a term I learned from a professor of mine (actually that's not the term, I'm paraphrasing a similar term I can't remember) that simply means a story where the protagonist takes on a villain against odds that seem insurmountable. Most superheroes can date their origins back to stories like Achilies, Beowulf, Hercules and the Ilyiad. It's not so much that one figure is akin to another classic myth or story so much as how Greek and Roman society influences our views of greatness. Achievements that are very physical and show prowess as a warrior are held in very high regard in our society. This isn't just true of superheroes, even characters like John Wayne, Dirty Harry and Star Wars owe their existence to Greek and Roman myth.

Yeah, that was kind of the point I was trying to make, but you made it so much more elequent.

I was trying to think of the oldest stories, supposedly Moses is like 3-4 thousand years old. He was send down the Nile, yada, yada, yada. It is almost like the Hercules story too, for Superman. All the Stories, from Ancient times, share a similar theme, a powerful father, a son sent from elsewhere, powers and all that.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

comics also effected pop culture and television...

buffy
angel
6 million dollar man
etc... might have never been on tv without comics... and people looking for heroes

 

[The Kid]

Yeah the superheros give people hope that not all people are evil. That's always nice.

 

[04nbod]

Comics are a reflection of each society like superman's 'slap a jap' propaganda during the war to their commemoration of 9/11 but comics have also led the way in women's rights and rights for black people. For example Black Panther created in 1966 when black people had only just been recognised as truly equal by law in 1968.

Superheroes are taken from ancient motif's as has been said earlier. We have always needed superheroes like Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Theseus and Perseus. You could explore why?

 

[Steve Rogers]

Here is my theory,
In the last 7 decades since the introduction of the super-hero comic, the medium has advanced and influenced Americans and the world as a whole in ways that the majority of people do not even realize.

This is a really stupid little story, but I'm going to tell you about it anyway. Feel free to include it in your speech.

I'm a very cynical dick most of the time. The other day I was at the store and there was this old lady in front of me. She moved like she was underwater. She payed with a check--a check that she did not begin to fill out until after she had been told the amount. She could have filled in everything else ahead of time, but didn't. People in line, especially me, were growing impatient.

Anyway, she finally pays, gets her stuff and leaves. So I get up to the register and I notice that the old lady has left one of her bags of groceries at the register. The clerk shrugs, says it happens all the time, and begins to scan my groceries.

Now, this old lady held up the line, and the only way she got through it before we all turned old, was because she forgot some of her stuff. Stuff she paid for. The thought of, oh well, her problem not mine, crossed my mind. But then I shook my head.

I picked up the bag of groceries and charged out into the parking lot. I tracked down the old lady and gave her her missing bag. She didn't even realize that she had left one. She was so pleased and so grateful. In the end, the reason I decided to help out some old lady, even if it wasn't high on my list of priorities was because it was what Captain America would have done.

Yes, comics have influenced me to somewhat embrace the hero roll.

 

[Mike_D202]

I think somebody once said that its not men who are evil, but rather that they believe that they are doing the right thing in they're minds.

 

[SuBe]

This is a really stupid little story, but I'm going to tell you about it anyway. Feel free to include it in your speech.

I'm a very cynical dick most of the time. The other day I was at the store and there was this old lady in front of me. She moved like she was underwater. She payed with a check--a check that she did not begin to fill out until after she had been told the amount. She could have filled in everything else ahead of time, but didn't. People in line, especially me, were growing impatient.

Anyway, she finally pays, gets her stuff and leaves. So I get up to the register and I notice that the old lady has left one of her bags of groceries at the register. The clerk shrugs, says it happens all the time, and begins to scan my groceries.

Now, this old lady held up the line, and the only way she got through it before we all turned old, was because she forgot some of her stuff. Stuff she paid for. The thought of, oh well, her problem not mine, crossed my mind. But then I shook my head.

I picked up the bag of groceries and charged out into the parking lot. I tracked down the old lady and gave her her missing bag. She didn't even realize that she had left one. She was so pleased and so grateful. In the end, the reason I decided to help out some old lady, even if it wasn't high on my list of priorities was because it was what Captain America would have done.

Yes, comics have influenced me to somewhat embrace the hero roll.

That is a great story. I've done similar things. I saw someone drop a $20 once, they didn't even notice. I picked it up and yelled to the guy. But, my reason was because that what Superman would do. Never lie, never cheat, never steal.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Hey y'all,
I have a speech outline due on monday. The topic is "Comics and their impact on Society today."

I need at least 4 sources (published, not just websites)

Here is my theory,
In the last 7 decades since the introduction of the super-hero comic, the medium has advanced and influenced Americans and the world as a whole in ways that the majority of people do not even realize.

I read somewhere that the number two most recognizable person on the planet is Jesus Christ, the number one? Superman

I figured on throwing stuff out there that people may not realize comes from comics, Like 300. Almost every college student I know has seen that movie, yet 95% of them have no idea it came from a comic book.

I guess what I'm asking for here is a little help from all of y'all at the Hype.

What else should I talk about?
How have comics impacted or influenced society?
Changed Pop-culture?
Any comic form really, it isn't limited to just super hero comics, they just seem the most prevalent.

You might want to talk about some of the more dramatic movies people probably didn't think were based on comics like Road to Perdition and Ghost World as well. The History Channel had a real good documentary about the History of Comics a couple years ago, you might want to go on their website and see if there's a place you can watch it online or order it, it'll give you all the information you need. I really agree with what a lot of people have said, talk about the WWII propaganda in comics, the horror comics and how those almost killed comics and resulted in the comics code, Stan Lee and his characters with real life problems, comics response to 9/11. That history channel doc goes into detail on all these subjects.