CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE HOW MARVEL COMIC BOOKS FROM THE 1960s CAN BE USED BY PARENTS AND THERAPISTS AS POSITIVE ROLE MODELING FOR CHILDREN A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Science in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy By David Schwartz December 2012 The graduate project of David Schwartz is approved: ___________________________________ __________________ Rie Rogers Mitchell, Ph.D. Date ____________________________________ __________________ Cecile Generaux Schwedes, M.A. Date _____________________________________ __________________ Stan Charnofsky, Ed.D., Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis project is only possible because of the visionary creators of Marvel comic books during the 1960s. I’d like to begin my acknowledgments with Stan Lee, who co-created, co-plotted and dialogued most of the comic books examined in this paper. Stan showed young minds a world-view that emphasized the importance of morality, integrity and understanding. At a time when most comic books were seen as silly stories without any lasting substance, Stan Lee’s vision aimed much higher. As a result, his work has stood the test of time and the comic books and the characters he co- created have become iconic Superheroes known throughout our society. These characters include the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and many more. Jack Kirby was one of the most explosive artists to ever grace the pages of comic books. He was a powerful visionary who created some of the most lasting images ever put on paper. Responsible for co-creating Captain America (at the age of 24), as well as being the co-creator and artistic force behind the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Mighty Thor, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and so many more, Jack’s artwork contained a raw power and vision that still cannot be matched by all of the special effects in Hollywood. In addition, Jack Kirby and his wife Rosalind were personal friends of mine and two of the nicest, most caring people I have ever met. I would also like to acknowledge Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spider-Man. Spider-Man has been featured in numerous blockbuster movies and continues to grow in popularity due to Steve Ditko’s rock-solid designs and futuristic vision. He is a man of such integrity that he has forsaken many opportunities to make hundreds of thousands of dollars off of these characters in order to maintain his own moral and ethical beliefs. As iii the co-creator of Spider-Man Steve Ditko brought a vision and drawing style to the character that has never been surpassed. The characters he designed and the stories he plotted helped create a blue print that has been largely unchanged during the 45 years since he has stopped working on the character. Michael Thibodeaux is a talented artist who helped pave the way for my personal friendship with Jack and Rosalind Kirby. Mike is not only a professional comic book artist and comic book fan, he is also a good friend who has never lost his wide-eyed enthusiasm for these stories and characters. My brother Howard has shared with me a life-long passion for the stories told in the pages of the comic books discussed in this project. He also believes I never mention him in print when talking about this subject. This hopefully lets him know the importance of his partnership in the sharing of our love of comic books during our childhood and into adulthood! A recurring theme among comic book collectors that I have heard over and over again when discussing old comic books is how many times people’s mothers threw away their comic books without their knowledge. As a result, I want to acknowledge my mother who never threw away my comic books. Dr. Stan Charnofsky was the first person I talked to while exploring becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. He gave me advice about getting started and was also the person who interviewed me for the program. It is fitting that Dr. Charnofsky is the chair of this project and I am grateful for all of his help. iv Lastly, I want to acknowledge my partner Joan, who has encouraged me throughout this project and given me an abundant amount of love, support and commitment. I love and appreciate her more than I can say. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page…………………………………………………….……………ii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………….….iii Abstract…………………………………………………………...….……….viii CHAPTER I: Introduction Background of the problem………………………………….…………..1 Statement of the need……………………………………………………2 Purpose of the Project……………………………………………………3 Practical Examples……………………………………………………….4 CHAPTER II: Review of Literature Introduction……………….……………………………………………..7 Efficacy of Role Modeling……………………………………………….8 Developing Prosocial Skills………………………………………………8 Importance of Mentors……………………………………………………9 Importance of a Positive Self-Image…………………….……….…...…10 History of Moral Education………………………………..…………….11 Moral Education versus Citizenship Education……………….….……...12 vi Comic Books and Influence…………………….………………………14 Marvel Comics and the Reality of the Superhero…………………….....17 The Comic Books Themselves…………….…………………………….21 CHAPTER III: Project audience and Comic Book Choices Project Introduction…………….……………………………………….23 Role Modeling Lessons………………….………………………………23 Specific Issues……………………….…………………………………..24 CHAPTER IV: Summary and recommendations………….….……….………..40 REFERENCES……..……………................................................................……42 APPENDIX Workbook for parents and therapists to utilize Marvel Comic Books from the 1960s as positive role models for children………..…….48 vii ABSTRACT HOW MARVEL COMIC BOOKS FROM THE 1960s CAN BE USED BY PARENTS AND THERAPISTS AS POSITIVE ROLE MODELING FOR CHILDREN By David Schwartz Master of Science in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy Of the many influences available to the youth of America during the 1960s, none may have been more influential to a sub-section of the population that read comic books than the stories and characters being created at Marvel Comics. Today, Marvel is best known for their dramatic movie blockbusters featuring their comic book characters. The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil, The Black Widow, Hawkeye, The Mighty Thor, and the Invincible Iron Man, to name just a few. Yet before 1961 none of them existed. And by the end of 1964 every one of these characters as well as many more had been introduced into the popular culture by Marvel comics. These comic books captured the tone of the changing times of the 1960s. They were full of moral lessons and pathways to better understanding of the human condition. Through the examination and analysis of these comic books this project will set out to explore the sometimes complex role-modeling that was infused into them. This thesis project will examine issues that children face as they’re growing up, and help give parents and therapists a checklist of specific comic books they can share with children to help them understand some very important role modeling lessons of our society. These entertaining comic books can help children understand a variety of viii learning experiences in a constructive, clear way that can be readily understood. In so doing, this will give parents and therapists a new tool to help children have a guide toward forming their own views on ethics and morality. ix CHAPTER I Introduction Background of the problem During earlier times in our history, sources of authority were considerably more centralized than they are today. For example, before the 1990’s, the general public did not have internet access. Before the 1940s there were no television sets in people’s homes. And with each passing generation, as radio, then television, then the internet grew, sources of information that influenced our children became less centralized and more fragmented. As a result, the influences, role modeling and imparting of morals and integrity became more and more fragmented as our society developed new avenues of mass communication. This translates to children and adolescents having a less centralized perspective on the expectations of their society and their place within it. While earlier in our nation’s history, all children in a community might receive their lessons about society from a centralized source, whether it was the church or school, today there are literally thousands, if not millions of sources for that child to learn from. The question then becomes, “how can there be standardized expectations of a child when there is no standardized way to show that child what is expected of him or her in our society?” This is a pressing concern for our society for a variety of reasons, since the more diverse the instilling of morality becomes, the more extreme some of the influences can be. For example, what if a child’s morality is formed by the rap artist talking about extreme violence? What if it’s the lyrics of a rock musician strung out on 1 drugs? What if a child’s morality is formed by politicians manipulating the views of the public for their own ends? With all the diversification and conflicting imagery that children encounter, it seems that in today’s world unless a child is very lucky to have highly moral, ethical parents, that child is set adrift in a sea of conflicting viewpoints and differing value structures. Everywhere that child turns, there are images and information that either do not conform to the ethical values of the society, or in some cases are so diametrically opposed to the standards the society expects, that the behavior being espoused can have legal consequences for the child. Statement of need What has inspired this project is the clear need for a measurement, a yardstick if you will, that a child can use to form the ethical beliefs that are going to aid that child in being able to assimilate into the society in a positive way.