history

What Do You Mean They’re Making Heroes Register? Censorship and Comics

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.” -Steve Rogers/Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man #537

The comics industry is no stranger to censorship. The Golden Age of comics, from the late 1930s through the early 1950s, morphed into the cookie-cutter Silver Age due to government interference. The 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent claimed that comic books were an evil force that seduced children into delinquency. 

While in retrospect the concept of comics as a malevolent entity might sound as out-of-style as McCarthyism, the reality is that many adults still fear the persuasive power of reading. How else can we explain the need for Banned Books Week? While current comics, especially those outside the Big Two (Marvel and DC), are permitted tackle darker narratives, they face opposition in school libraries across the country. Groups such as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund fight to protect comic books’ place in schools.

In what ways does censorship affect how students interact with comics? Today’s four-day lesson plan introduces students to the concept of censorship through the lens of banned comic books.

banned books

{Image is of a CBLDF poster for Banned Books Week 2014. A group of comics characters, including Captain Underpants, cringe away from a group of protesters carrying signs that read “Ban This Filth!” A person clutching a book has their arms spread in front of the comic book characters. He says, “Defend banned books!” Image comes from http://cbldf.org/2014/09/free-posters-and-resources-for-banned-books-week/}

Students will engage in discussion, whole group instruction, independent activities, and a project.

 

Materials Needed:

 

Standards Met:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

 

  1. Begin class by mentioning that this week is Banned Books Week. Ask the students if they have heard of this and what it might mean. This should only take a few minutes.
  2. Ask the students to tell you what they know about why and how books are banned. This discussion should take five to ten minutes.
  3. Have the students read this Washington Post article about the recent increase in illustrated banned books and discuss it with a partner. After ten minutes, have the students present their ideas to the class. Be sure to encourage active listening—instead of asking the students what conclusions they drew from the article, ask them what their partners thought of the article.
  4. Explain that over the course of the next few class periods, the students will each choose a banned comic book to read independently. In a well-crafted MLA-style essay, they will analyze the book’s structure and the author’s intent. Then they will have to research and address why the book was banned and argue for or against its banning.
  5. Allow the students the remainder of the period to choose and begin reading their banned comic book.
  6. By the next class period, students should be mostly finished with their comic books. In class, have them research why the book was banned and what the outcome of that banning was. Was the book permanently barred from certain schools or libraries? Did the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund or another group come to the comic’s aid? Allow the students to work on their essay outlines independently.
  7. Outside of class between the second and third class periods of the unit, students should craft a first draft of their essays. Assign them a partner to peer edit their work. Some good peer editing questions:
    1. What was the intent of your essay?
    2. What do you think your thesis statement is?
    3. Could you clarify (a confusing section)?
    4. What do you think the book you read was trying to get across to its readers?
    5. Why was this book banned?
  8. Outside of class between the third and fourth (final) class period of the unit, have the students use their peer editing remarks and their own editing to craft a polished final draft of their essay. Some rubric ideas:
    1. Did the student summarize the plot of the comic book they read?
    2. Did the student address the reasons why the book was banned?
    3. Did the student address their own thoughts on the book?
    4. What conclusions did the student draw? Did they back up their ideas with evidence from the text and art?
    5. Is the student’s spelling and grammar correct and consistent?
    6. Did the student cite the book itself and any research using correct MLA-style citations?
  9. After the students turn in their essays, have them form groups and discuss their findings. Remind them to be active listeners: when the groups come together as a class, they will have to explain another group member’s essay to the class. Help the students to discern what they think about the stories they read and what they feel about censorship. If they have any questions or concerns about what they read, they may respectfully discuss them at this point.

 

Some suggested books:

drama

{Image is the cover of Drama by Raina Telgemeier. There are three illustrated characters walking across a stage in profile: two boys with a girl in the middle. The girl has a heart over her head.}

Drama is the story of a middle-school girl who participates in, you guessed it, theatre. She ends up falling for another theatre kid, but things get complicated, as junior high crushes often do. This comic has been banned due to LGBT themes.

maus

{Image is the cover of Art Spiegelman’s Maus. Two anthropomorphic mice stand with their arms around each other. Behind them is a swastika with a cat’s head superimposed on it.}

Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus has been banned because it addresses the violence of the Holocaust head-on.

persepolis

{Image is the cover of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. A girl wearing a hijab is at the very center of the otherwise bare red background.}

Persepolis, a graphic memoir by Marjane Satrapi, has been banned because it discusses Islam.

 

 

If you or your students are interested in reading more resources about banned comic books, check out these links:

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Banned Books Week page

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Banned Books Handbook

A list of banned comics

Using Graphic Novels in Education

 

What are your students’ thoughts about banned comic books? Which banned comic books did they enjoy the most? If you and your class are doing something super, please let me know in the comments!

 

Martin Luther King Jr. in Comics

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

In my school district, we have Martin Luther King Jr. Day off this year. Last year, we had to use it to make up a snow day, so we carted the eighth graders off to the movie theater to watch Selma while the younger one stayed back with me to watch Our Friend, Martin.

In lieu of a lesson plan today, I’m providing some links to comics about the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King.

March

{Image is the front cover of March: Book One. The book is by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. The cover’s background is yellow. The top third of the cover shows people’s legs and feet walking past. The middle third is devoted to the book’s title. The bottom third shows a young John Lewis and other protesters sitting at a diner’s counter. A sign on the counter reads, “Counter Closed.”}

March is a series of graphic novels about John Lewis, a black congressman who became a fundamental part of the Civil Rights Movement when he was still a young man. His connection with Dr. King began with a ten-cent comic book about him.

mlk jr

{Image is the cover of a comic book. The comic’s title is “Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story.” The comic cost ten cents. The focus of the cover is Martin Luther King Jr., wearing a reverend’s robe over his suit and tie. A stream of light is landing on him. Below him is an image of people walking away from a bus. The caption next to Dr. King’s face reads, “How 50,000 Negroes Found a New Way To End Racial Discrimination.”}

A few years later, Lewis was heading the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized protests such as sit-ins. He also spoke at the March on Washington. And now, full-circle from his introduction to Dr. King, Lewis is cowriting this series of comics about his experiences in the movement.

King

{Image is the cover of Ho Che Anderson’s “King.” The majority of the cover is devoted to images of various members of the Civil Rights Movement. The art is done in a blocky, angular style.}

King: A Comics Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. is what it says on the tin. Ho Che Anderson follows Dr. King from the start of his work until his assassination. Read a full review of it on A. V. Club.

I’ll be back with a full lesson plan next week.

Captain America and Propaganda: A Four-Day Unit

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“Captain America is among the truest of superheroes. He was born out of something very real and immediate. We were on the cusp of entering World War II and he stood as an answer to the fears of many American children.” –John Cassaday

All superheroes have been criticized for being one-dimensional, but Captain America gets the worst rap. His single-minded obsession with justice seems like an obvious choice for a guy prancing around draped in an American flag. In his most recent incarnations, Steve Rogers has felt more well-rounded: When he is asked in the film Captain America: The First Avenger if he wants to kill Nazis, he says, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”

(This is, for the record, my favorite superhero quote. I have it, along with Cap’s shield, tattooed on my shoulder.)

But Captain America began as nationalistic propaganda. Obviously he started out as a specifically anti-Nazi character. In more recent years, he’s been pro-American in different ways. The most blatant use of Cap as propaganda within the past fifteen years came just after 9/11.

{Image is a scan of a comic book cover. Captain America's shield takes up most of the page. Faces of various men and women are in the background. Gold script at the top of the page reads,

{Image is a scan of a comic book cover. Captain America’s shield takes up most of the page. Faces of various men and women are in the background. Gold script at the top of the page reads, “Captain America.” Gold print at the bottom of the page reads, “Honor Them.”

Today’s lesson plan is a four-day unit about Captain America and propaganda in the 1940s and early 2000s. The unit’s plan assumes that your classroom runs on block scheduling with 90-minute classes. If you have shorter class periods, you can definitely amend the unit to match your time constraints.

Captain America: The First Avenger (film), dir. Joe Johnston, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Captain America: Honor Them (#5), John Ney Rieber (writer) and John Cassaday (artist)

Students will engage in lecture, whole group instruction, discussion, and a project.

Materials Needed:

  • Copies of Captain America: Honor Them
  • DVD copy of Captain America: The First Avenger
  • DVD player and projector
  • Poster board
  • Computers for research
  • Markers, glue, and other art supplies

Standards Met:

  • “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.”
  • “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.”

DAY ONE

  1. Have the students define propaganda. This should take less than five minutes.
  2. Show the students propaganda from World War II. Compare this to Captain America propaganda of the same time period. Have the students point out similarities and differences. This should take ten to fifteen minutes.

captain america 1

{Image is of an old Captain America comic. It shows Captain America punching Hitler in the face.}

{Image is of an old Captain America comic. It shows Captain America punching Hitler in the face.}

{Image is a World War II propaganda poster. A Nazi soldier is in the foreground with a bayonet pointed at his neck. He is holding his hands up in surrender. A German WWI soldier is in the background, mirroring this position. The text reads,

{Image is a World War II propaganda poster. A Nazi soldier is in the foreground with a bayonet pointed at his neck. He is holding his hands up in surrender. A German WWI soldier is in the background, mirroring this position. The text reads, “We beat ’em before..we’ll beat ’em again!”

{Image is a World War II propaganda poster. A dead soldier lies across a barbed wire fence. The text reads,

{Image is a World War II propaganda poster. A dead soldier lies across a barbed wire fence. The text reads, “You talk of sacrifice…he knew the meaning of sacrifice!”}

{Image is of Rosie the Riveter in her traditional

{Image is of Rosie the Riveter in her traditional “We Can Do It!” pose.}

  1. Begin watching Captain America: The First Avenger. Have the students keep an eye out for any propaganda in the film. For example, how does Steve Rogers react to propaganda? How is he used as propaganda?

DAY TWO

  1. Continue watching Captain America: The First Avenger. (The film is 124 minutes long.)

DAY THREE

  1. Have the students recap Captain America: The First Avenger. What propaganda did they notice? How was that propaganda similar to what they saw of the original comics/the other 1940s propaganda? What did the students think of the film overall? This discussion should take 5-10 minutes.
  2. Remind the students of the events surrounding 9/11. Discuss America’s mood directly after 9/11. What do the students already know? What gaps need to be filled? This discussion should take 5-10 minutes.
  3. Show the students this image of Cap from the Ultimate Comics directly after 9/11, when some Americans were angry with the French for not supporting the War on Terror:
{Image is a scan of a comic. It is a close-up of Captain America's face. He is pointing at the A on his cowl and yelling,

{Image is a scan of a comic. It is a close-up of Captain America’s face. He is pointing at the A on his cowl and yelling, “You think this letter on my head stands for France?”}

  1. Divide the students into groups and give each group a copy of the comic to read. I advise this just because single issues of comics, especially older comics, can be so expensive. Captain America: Honor Them is available on Amazon for $2.97.
  2. Pass out poster boards to each student. Have the students design posters explaining Captain America’s role as propaganda. They can refer to the notes they took on The First Avenger as well as any notes they took on Honor Them. How is Steve affected by propaganda? How is he used as propaganda? How does the effectiveness of this propaganda change over time—is it effective now? Would it have been effective when it was first published? This project may be completed outside of class.

DAY FOUR

  1. Hang up the posters around the classroom. Give the students about ten minutes (can be more or less depending on how the class is acting) to study their classmates’ posters.
  2. Have the students discuss elements of each other’s posters. What seems to be the overall consensus about Captain America and propaganda? What do the students like about Captain America? Do they prefer him as propaganda? What do they think makes comics fun?

As usual, if you use this lesson plan or any of the other lesson plans from this blog, tell me about it in the comments!