Part 1: The Impact on Children
The world is a hard place. There is famine, war, disease, and all
manners of things to make even the happiest person extremely depressed. But what if there were individuals who could
do fantastical, impressive, and heroic things to make the world better. Well there is, and comic books are the place
you can find them.
Comic books are the homes to
some of the most recognized pop culture icons the world has seen. Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain
America, and probably the most popular, Superman. These are characters that many of us grew up
reading about or listening to or watching on television. The adventures these heroes had helped us expand
our imagination. They made us put red
towels around our necks and pretend we could fly around the room. But most importantly, they helped us
develop.
When a child picks up a comic
book, something amazing can occur. At an
age when development is at its forefront, comic books can provide a lot for a
child. For one, they can help with reading. Reading something that you’re interested in
can help your focus. This is especially true for children. There are so many
outside stimuli that can distract a child from reading, like television, video
games, etc. If you hand a child
something they want to read, they are
more likely to sit and read it for an extended period of time. There are a lot of children out there reading
at a lower grade level then they should be. If we can give children something to help
them, and in some sense, an advantage later on, then shouldn’t we?
Another advantage to children
reading comic books is safety. Comics
have long been a medium that pushed the limits of standards by tackling issues
of the times. In Green Lantern #85-#86,
September 1971, DC Comics tackled the risks and dangers of drug abuse when
Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy was caught injecting himself with heroin. This is
an award-winning story that showed what happens when someone takes steps toward
the wrong path. Several other characters
in comics over the years have had to deal with abuse, alcohol, drugs, or
otherwise. Comics do a great job of
showing them why you shouldn't do these things, and how you can avoid
them. They can also give safety in other
ways, like keeping them from going off and causing mischief or committing crime,
no matter how minor. Comics can help
keep children out of situations they shouldn't be a part of in the first place.
Children can also learn how
to properly tell or plan a story. While
this is not true of all comics, there are MANY that show how to greatly
characterize, plan, storyboard, and progress a story. Comics can be a great way
of developing writing skills, especially pacing and script writing. This can help them later in life, especially
when they could be looking to get in to the writing business, film school,
directing, etc.
Pretending to be a superhero
is a favorite childhood pastime. I
fondly remember donning a red beach towel around my neck, running around in my
underwear and blue t-shirt pretending to be Superman. I felt like I could do anything. That helped me develop confidence in myself,
and helped me realize that I ultimately want to dedicate all my time to
writing. Children feel that way every
time they act like the heroes they read about and watch on television. Superheroes are a great influence. Maybe you want to fly like Superman. While
humans can’t fly (yet), they can be pilots.
Maybe you want to solve crimes like Batman. You can’t go out in a bat suit (or you can),
but you could join the police force and try to help make the world a better
place. Superheroes, in some ways, can
help a child find their passion for something later on in life.
While it may be a cliché,
children really are our future. We owe
it to them to give them every chance to succeed in life. The world is a hard place. Comics and the superheroes within provide a
safe haven for children to learn real life lessons and the consequences from
the decisions they make. So next time
you see a child staring at a video game or watching television for hours on
end, pull them aside, and give them a comic book. And hopefully, you’ll see their eyes light up…
Check back soon for the next
entry into my new series, Why Super
Heroes and Comic Books Matter!
Until then, Peace!
No comments:
Post a Comment