The major argument made in the Captain America text is that Captain America, as a comic book character geared specifically toward American boys, should represent the idealistic patriotism and masculine fearlessness that existed, though sometimes infrequently, throughout the Cold War . Physically speaking, Captain America’s image was that of a man who barbarically attacked America’s arch nemesis the Communists, all while emblematically donning the star-spangled banner and wielding an indestructible shiel d with an unmistakable American star on the front. The argument made here was that American boys, at the ripe, young age somewhere between peak imagination and adolescent stubbornness, could be easily influenced by this symbolic, distinctly American, role model. Chances are, many children did not fully grasp the profound threat, both physically and ideologically , that America faced at the time. Yet, it is also probably safe to say that they frequently hear d their parents anxiousl...
When Marvel turned Captain America into a TV show, their target audience was mostly young, teenage boys. Since many kids had not grown up and were still small, they made the main character, Steve Rogers, a scrawny patriot who was unable to enlist due to his size. This helped shape their audience because many of the kids probably also wanted to enlist but were too young or too small. By making Steve Rogers related to them, it allowed them to live vicariously through the show which made it more popular. Another way that the writers shaped their audience is by including patriotic colors throughout the show. The colors of Captain America’s uniform are red, white, and blue, just like the colors of the action words such as “BAM” and “KAPOW” are. Another way they designed the show to appeal to a certain audience is by having the show during the middle of the war. Since the show was made when there was high tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, many young men wanted to help the war cause by enlisting. By showing the US at war, it motivated, encouraged, and inspired young Americans to do their part. Another way that the writers shaped the show to appeal to a certain audience is by having Captain America bring down bad guys. Since humans are inherently good in my opinion, they want to see criminals be brought to justice and so by including that in the show, more people are likely to watch and continue to watch the show.
I am impressed by your analysis of the initial size of Steve Rogers to the typical scrawny teenage boy of the time. I also feel like Steve Rogers transformation (size wise) also gave an unrealistic hope to scrawny boys everywhere making the show more appealing. Like you said, the colors of Captain America's costume essential forced people to become fans of him. Patriotism was an all time high and people had to prove their patriotism at the time of war. His colors and name made him a visual representation of America therefore gaining a popular audience.
ReplyDeleteI like the comparison you drew between young Steve Rogers and the younger crowd of boys watching the show. I think it was an effective move to make the main character's story as plausible as possible enabling the viewers to believe that they could be like Steve Rogers. I was wondering whether there were any ways the show made an attempt to branch out their audience. Pre-teen and teenage boys seems to be a narrow audience compared to some of the other techniques used to inspire patriotism at the time.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you compared young, scrawny Captain America to the young, (probably scrawny too) little boys who were interested in the comic. He was a very relatable character who was able to motivate his audience of young readers to go to war and fight for their country. The comic influenced patriotism in the upcoming generation of America which grew up to instill these same ideals into their kids. Even more so, parents who bought the Captain America comic for their kids probably took a peek at a couple of the storylines and was able to relate to it as well.
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