Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/58

46 groupsProtestant, Catholic, and Jewish. About one-third of the members of the coromitlee were men.

At the outset the committee adopted a policy of attempting fo cooperate with publishers and distributors to improve the qualily of comic magazines. It de- cided it would séek no censorship ordinances. If the publishers chose to iguore appeals to make better eomics, the eommitlee would then do its best to persuade the public to be more selective in buying them.

Another important decision of the committee was to draw up criteria for de- termining whether a comic book is good or bad. Jf a comic book is cansidered undesirable, why is it so rated? If another comic book is considered good, why is it so rated? An exeentive columittee worked for 8 months to find answers to these questions. The result was "a profile chart" or measuring device to be used by (he reviewers in recording their findings. After some months of experi- mentiution, the Cominittee felt that its findings were trustworthy.

A major problem was recruiting und training reviewers who would read all the comic books thoroughly and record on the profile charts their tinpressions, At every stage they were urged to exercise care in order to be fair to all persons and organizations concerned. Two other members of the commiitee were assigned the respousibility of studying the work of the reviewers and of majsing the overall evaluation of each comic book reviewed. Time and results have proved the wis- dom of this course.

Every story in each comié hook was evaluated in terms of its cultural, moral, nnd emotional toue and impact. Then the committee's reaction to it was listed as no objection, some objection, objectionable, aud very objectionable. If no feature in a comic book received anything lower than the first two ratings, the book was pronounced suitable for children and youth.

At first the Cincinoati conmillee decided to publish only the list which it con- sidered acceptuble. Ent public demand has led to the publication of the entire list.

Of the 555 comic magazines included in the most recent evaluation, 57.47 per- eent were judged suitable for children and youth. Only 12.42 percent rated "very objectionable." As a result, the committee fcels that wholesale condem- nation of comic books is unwarranted. It is also conyineed that the general public, the leeal distributors and muny conic book publishers want better comics. But the latter have no way of making their desires effective beyond their respective establishments. One of (he youngest industries in America, the business of publishing comic books now includes the publication of more than half of all uiagazines puldished in this country. During the past year or so {he distribulion of comic books has been varionsly estimated at 60 to 80 million.

In general the contents of comic books may be described as follows:

Adolescent characters such as bobby-soxers with datesproms and the likegenerally wholesome.

Animal characters with their appeal to smull children: and these are nearly always harmless.

Adveniure comics which include a good deal of wild-west excitement—gun- toting and the like.

Classic comics which brief well known stories with pictures and action. -

Crime comics which inelnde a large proportion of the comic books.

Jungle cotnics which play upon man's battle with beasts and reptiles, offen showing women as the principal actors.

True comics which are generally based on historical fact.

Wonder comics which deal with the mysterious or awe-inspiring.

Superman comics which portray the activities of characters that display super- human strength or wisdom.

A rather large number of comic magazines too varied to classify.

Those who cousider certain comic maguzines harmful give a variety of reasons for their judginent. The more importaut are:

The comic magazines glamorize unwholesonie phases of life and exert a power- ful adverse influence upen the uncrilical minds of children.

Many comics tend to overstimulate the neurotic or unstable child, and do him harm.

The crime und eruelty which are portrayed in many comle books tend to develop cruelty in children and to accustom them te violence and crime,

The brief treatment of events and the graphic picturization of stories tend to make young people impatient with good literature, thus threatening the literary culture of our society,