Notes from Captain America:
-- young sidekick, Bucky, as a key for the spectator to feel or identify with someone like him, a way into the narrative -- considering that the audience is perceived as adolescent and male, this may make sense.
-- female characters not helpless (i.e., "damsels in distress") and made more relevant because of the mission in which they're involved (for example, the WAC agent)
-- scenes of WWII battles lay out the foundation of Captain America's mission, but also serve a reflective role since these comics are coming out in the early-mid 1960s, during Vietnam
-- Criminals in this comic are typically simian-looking, which is interesting in the context of a longer history of the late 19th century (1860s-1890s) illustrated press. Often, immigrants (esp. Irish) depicted in same ways.
-- the transformation of Steve Rogers -- strength and power come from courage, resolve, patriotism, not the other way around
-- focus on freedom as essentially American, but what does that mean
-- also consider the physical builds of certain characters -- Americans are almost always proportional, while Nazis and other criminals are misshapen, short, or disfigured in some way
-- theme of sabotage and how we decide who is a saboteur and who is not (seems the dividing line has to do with values -- humanity over technology, community over the individual, etc.)
-- similarities between the Red Skull's story and that of Steve Rogers
-- also notice: there is a lot of explication of what's going on; nothing is implied and left open to spectatorial interpretation
-- Americans in these narratives are merciful, fair, believe in trial vs. immediate punishment
-- stories alter according to reader request?
-- NATO as the heroes in the 1960s narratives!
-- Stan Lee as a character in his own creation -- self-reflexivity
-- Who is Irving Forbush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbush_Man)?
-- Issue 75 -- Steve Rogers as a lonely, melancholy figure -- loss of identity, disconnection from people -- does this prefigure some of the themes in Watchmen?
Areas for research:
At this point, what interests me most is the reader. Is it really an adolescent male audience and who are these boys? What is the subculture like? Where do they spend time? How do they exchange information? How might their own ideas of masculinity be reflected in these comics?
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