Book · 1954 · Adolescent psychiatry
Seduction of the Innocent
- mentions
- 3
- people
- 3
- podcasts
- 3
- episodes
- 3
- recommendations
- 0
But I think the real shift started to happen in the 1950s and in the 1960s because the psychiatrist Frederick Wortham published um his bestselling book called seduction of the innocent in 1954.
The best things said about it
He wrote a book called seduction of the innocent and then he specifically called out some of the EC Comics and described you know the um what was going on in them.
Um, now Greyber even applies this guilty pleasure aspect into explaining the kind of um the the conservative backlash to superheroes in the 40s and 50s, particularly with the book Seduction of the Innocent, which kind of viewed superheroes as this weirdly fetishistic kind of naughty impulse.
Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
Why people recommend it
Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham is a 1954 polemical book by a psychiatrist that argued comic books corrupted youth and directly fueled juvenile delinquency, triggering a massive cultural panic and sweeping industry self-censorship. Hillary Chute discussed the volume on The Book Review, pointing to Wertham's bestselling text as a catalyst for the mid-century shifts in comic book regulation. Garrison Davis mentioned the work on Behind the Bastards while explaining the historical conservative backlash against superheroes during the 1940s and 1950s, noting how critics viewed the medium through a lens of fetishistic anxiety. Josh Clark likewise brought up the publication on Stuff You Should Know, describing how the psychiatrist specifically targeted EC Comics and detailed the sensationalized content within their pages. Across these discussions, podcasters utilized Wertham's notorious book to contextualize the historical anxieties surrounding popular media and the heavy-handed moral panics that repeatedly target emerging forms of youth entertainment.
Every mention
Garrison Davis Um, now Greyber even applies this guilty pleasure aspect into explaining the kind of um the the conservativ… 1
“Um, now Greyber even applies this guilty pleasure aspect into explaining the kind of um the the conservative backlash to superheroes in the 40s and 50s, particularly with the book Seduction of the Innocent, which kind of viewed superheroes as this weirdly fetishistic kind of naughty impulse”
Hillary Chute but I think the real shift started to happen in the 1950s and in the 1960s because the psychiatrist Frederi… 1
“but I think the real shift started to happen in the 1950s and in the 1960s because the psychiatrist Frederick Wortham published um his bestselling book called seduction of the innocent in 1954”
Josh Clark he wrote a book called seduction of the innocent and then he specifically called out some of the EC Comics… 1
“he wrote a book called seduction of the innocent and then he specifically called out some of the EC Comics and described you know the um what was going on in them”
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And Dr. Wertham, who was the one who wrote the book, Seduction of the Innocent. So look it up.”