U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 of U.S. Code) Governs the Reproduction and Redistribution of Copyrighted Material
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
U.S. copyright law (title 17 of U.S. code) governs the reproduction and redistribution of copyrighted material. The copyright owner retains all rights to this work. HIS IS AN ORTG!::-iAL M~:-t~~cm:?f' TIT MAY NC7 EE CC?~ 18 i'H'l :;r-)\1': ~HE AUTiiOR'S PERMISSIOli THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF NEWSPAPER COMICS THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas in Partial Fulfill ment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Alma Dora McDonell, B. A. Austin, Texas August, 1938 THE LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUNT HET By ROBERT QUILLEN "Bill is a highbrow, with a lot o' college degrees, and I reckon he's smart in some ways, but his bein' te<> snooty to read the funny paper is j ust plain silly. How can he teach history like it was important if he feels above the history we're makin'? You can't tell how a garment's made without seein' the seamy side. • And folks that dig up our civilization are goin' to learn more about us from our funny papers than by lookin' at ruins." This panel appeared in The Austin American-Statesman, Sunday August 14, 1938, after the completion of this thesis . ( 45818 PREFACE This thesis is almost a gesture of futility, and if it has merit, it lies in the fact that it is a begin ning. Though the social significance of comics deseI'Ves more extensive and more serious thought, very little work has been done in this field of inquiry. I am indeed grateful for the cooperation given me by those interviewed and by those answering question naires and letters. I w~sh to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Harry E. Moore, who has directed this work with patience and understanding, and to Dr. Carl M. Rosenquist for suggestions. To Dr. Hugh C. Blodgett, whose signa ture will always remind me of my too brief connection with the Department of Psychology, goes recognition as the third member of my committee. My heartfelt thanks are due to Mr. Rex D. Hopper for the inspiration he has given, and for his splendid spirit o~-cooperation during the two years we worked together. To my mother goes much of the credit for this degree. She has made my college career possible, and has encouraged me ~n every possible manner. And last, I wo~ld like to express my appreciation to Mr. Hubert Foster for his kindly cooperation and good eheer. TABLE OF CONTENTS CH.APTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • l II. HISTORY •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 5 III. COMICS AS A MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL • • • • 35 IV. CURRENT OPINIONS OF COMICS . • • • • • • • • 60 v. CONCLUSIONS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY • • · • • • • • • · • · • • · • • • • 101 APPENDIX A • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 104 APPENDIX B •• • • • • • . 106 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. NUMBER WHO READ THE COMIC SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD •..• 64 II. CHOICE OF PAPERS DETERMINED BY cm.rrcs • • • 66 III. COMICS .RANKING FIRST AND LAST BY GROUPS . 67 IV. NUMBER WHO LAUGH AT COMICS, IDENTIFY FRIENDS WITH COMIC CHARACTERS, AND KNOW SOMEONE WITH A NICKNAME TAKEN FROM A COMIC CHARACTER • . • • • • • • • 90 V. NUMBER OBSERVING USE OF GESTURES OR EX- PRESSIONS TAKEN FROM COMIC STRIPS 91 VI. NUMBER INFLUENCED IN BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AS A RESULT OF READING COMIC STRIPS . • 92 THE LIBRARY THE U~IVERSI1Y OP TEXAS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Since the comics are a widely read section of the modern newspaper, we have become interested in the reasons for their great popularity, and in pointing out if possi ble the nature and extent of their social significance. It is our belief that many people creating, distributing, publishing, and reading the funnies are to a greater or less extent unaware of the social implications of the panel and the strip for individuals, the nation as a whole, and for foreign nations and nationals. Many sociologists and other social scientists must have sensed the rapidly growing popularity and hence the automatically increasing social influence of the comics, but we have been unable to find 1.n any Journal, text, or treatise in sociology and related sciences a comprehensive scientific treatment of the existence and possible scope of their appeal and therefore of their importance in the realms of social control and of education. Within the limitations of this work, the research attempted with regard to these two factors has hardly more than scratched the surface of what we believe could be done in this regard. 2 Educators, however, are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of visual aids in education. As evi denced by the following, the social problem cartoon has not wholly escaped consideration as a medium of visual education. "Cartoons, if anything, are vivid. They have at tention getting value because they differ from their con text, have definite form and frequently represent motion. A well drawn cartoon catches the eye, the first eye fixa tion being at a point of importance in relation to the meaning. From this point the design of the cartoon may lead the eye movements to other significant details, or interest may be aroused which leads to further explora tion. The mere fact that cartoons are different from the more usual reading materials is in their favor. In almost all learning, repetition is necessary. Repeti tion of the same problem through many different media, in words, in charts, in illustrations, in cartoons, is de sirable for two reasons. It prevents boredom and keeps interest alive, and it gives wider meaning and broader associations. In these two functions, then, as interest arousers, and as variants of more common materials, car toons have their fundamental values.nl 1 Laurance F. Shaffer, Children's Interpretations of Cartoons, pp. 60-1. s t-"'.... ' 3 Only a brief history of caricature, cartooning, and comic strips has been presented here as a background for a discussion of comics as a means of social control, and of current opinions. Because of our interest in the likes, dislikes, habits, and problems of people, and our unwillingness to accept and present merely a review of the literature, whether in books or periodicals, hitherto published on this subject, we have gathered as much additional data as time and circumstances would permit by means of personal le~ters, personal interviews, and questionnaires. The research necessary for the making of this study was begun by a study of the literature, and by· a careful survey of comics in week-day and Sunday newspapers in the files of the Newspaper Collection in The University of Texas Library. At the same time, a large variety of clip pings from current comics chosen by us and sent to us by friends were collected and filed. From this file a limited number have been selected and transferred to plates presented in the following chapters. Before being mimeographed and presented in their final form to those answering them, the questionnaires furnishing part of the data presented in the text and tables in Chapter IV were drafted and revised in accord ance with suggestions of the committee and then submitted TxU 4 to a few persons to test the clearness, conciseness, and validity of the questions asked. Personal letters were written to business and pro fessional men in several cities in seven states. The personal interviews reported were not had with residents of this community only. Citizens of varying occupational and educational levels were contacted in three Texas cities, Del Rio, San Antonio, and Austin. Beginning with the history of modern comics, the data secured in the ways ment~oned has been used as a basis for the following study. ... CHAPTER II HISTORY Certainly one of the most popular sections of the modern newspaper is the page, or pages, devoted to the antics and adventures of the "oomic" characters. Perhaps this form of journalism owes a considerable part of its popularity to the ages-old habit of humans of using pic tures to express their emotions and ideas and especially . their humorous thoughts in a more direct form than is possible in more formal writing. At any rate picture writing has made its appearance in all cultures and in all ages in many forms and with varying fortunes. The present day comic strip seems to be the direct descendant of the caricature and the political cartoon; forms of picture writing with an interesting and instructive his tory. The etymology of the word "caricature" is indica tive of its use. Our word seems to derive from the Italian caricatura, from caricare in the same .language, which means to load or to charge. In its noun form, the word is defined as a "ritratto ridiculo." That is, the picture so designated is loaded or charged with a quality of ridiculousness. This charge may be sensuous, imagina tive, intellectual, or moral; but it always has the quality of derision, raillery, or burlesque. Caricature ... 6 is a 0 general term for the art of applying the grotesque to the purposes of satire, and for pictorial and plastic ridicule and burlesque.n2 2 "Caricature," Encyclo~edia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. V, p. 331. A tendency to burlesque seems to be deeply im planted in human nature; even in the sombre and massive EgYPtian art we find the humorous. The Egyptians made drawings of men as animals whose particular qualities they possessed. The bold would be represented as a lion, and the faithful as a dog. One EgYPtian papyrus in the British Museum has a drawing representing a scene in which a game of draughts is played by two animals, a lion and a unicorn. The lion has evidently won and has an air of swaggering superiority, while the unicorn is surprised and, of course, disappointed.