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. An other 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
The success of the Captain America comic series and the rise in popularity of television during the 1950s, Marvel decided to turn the popular comic into a reoccurring television show. In the first episode of the show, Steve Rogers, a patriot who was too scrawny to enlist, drank a concoction that turned him into a super soldier that fights for the free world. His costume is composed of the colors red, white, and blue, which are also the colors of the American flag. This appeals to patriots because he is wearing the colors of their country. Marvel also tries to appeal to the average citizen when they introduce Captain America’s sidekick, Bucky. Bucky is a soldier who is stationed at the same base as Steve Rogers. One night, he walks in on Rogers changing from his Captain America outfit and so he joined Captain America in fighting crime. This appeals to the common citizen because it could have been anyone stationed at that base that became his sidekick. The music that Marvel chose for the show also appealed to people’s emotions. They chose a theme song that contains people chanting in unison, which suggests unity in a time when our country needed to come together. All of these things combined creates a strong appeal for American patriots and those who wanted to unite under one flag.
I agree with all of the appeals to pathos that you pointed out. One that I did not think of right away was the theme song chanting. Merely listening to the theme song, it does not seem to include a heavy amount of pathos however your analysis makes a great point that the unison appeals to patriotism. I also enjoy how you pointed out that the comic book appeals to the ordinary citizen, making the story more relatable which then therefore makes the reader more invested into the story.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you note the colors of the costume as an appeal to pathos. I think it's common to see this trend of red, white, and blue shades among the comic-book heroes, which is revealing of the overt intent to encourage patriotism in the child and young-adult audiences. The theme song is also a common appeal to pathos. Generally, music evokes joy, thus enabling the musical advertisement to access and affect the audience's subconscious.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job covering all of the aspects of pathos in this text! Music is so important to pathos, so I am really glad you mentioned the theme song. The theme song definitely represents unity, so this is essential in connecting to the emotions of the audience because it motivates and inspires in hard times.
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