This is a poster for 1950s children with Superman. Maybe we could all look at it now, though?

[riversedge]

We no longer use the unscientific word "race" but sure does fit.


Anthony Carboni ?@acarboni Nov 19

This is a poster for 1950s children. Maybe we could all look at it now, though? pic.twitter.com/Q82kEXyfq4

:large

[BlueCaliDem]

1. k&r! I LOVE Superman!

Nice find, riversedge. The artist's depiction of the ethnicity of the children on that 1950's poster is pretty spot-on and not at all condescending especially considering it was the pre-civil rights decade, too.

[riversedge]

2. Would be helpful for the Fed Gov to have a massive public health campaign

about the vile crap going on now. And the public's health is being affected (could be physical violence--but also mental health of the population).

[7962]

3. Its sad that a lot of people would still bitch about that LAST sentence!

When the whole point is that all those kids ARE American.
I remember my dad had several similar cartoons in his scrapbook. Unfortunately he also varnished them, so they arent worth a lot anymore! Except to me anyway

[mac56]

4. I guess that "S" on his chest stands for "Socialist."

[TalkingDog]

5. You are not far off the mark

At the beginning, Superman was very much a socialist superhero. He fought for the unemployed, the oppressed, he beat up wife-beaters. It's about a man driven by a burning sense of injustice -- there are no monsters or robots, he fights against corrupt council officials! He was conceived as a Depression-era superhero, who dealt with the problems of ordinary people.

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/helen-lewis-hasteley/2011/07/superheroes-superman-graphic

[Stuart G]

6. k and r..

[SalviaBlue]

7. K & R

[sheshe2]

8. K&R

[SunSeeker]

9. "Superman, fighting for truth, justice and the American Way."

[Hestia]

10. It's been said that massive public funding through the school systems paid for

posters, coloring books, posters in hallways, etc. to give to the school children. The last great public funding push ended in the late 1970s. Was it propaganda? Sure, rah-rah-sis-boom-bah. But it also taught us manners and public decency. It also taught us that though we were not unique, we were part of something special, being a US Citizen and all that that entails. It was our responsibility to be good citizens.

But it also shows the disconnect between the generations, i.e., all the anti-baby boomer tirades, that shows, that yes, the early BB did make all the money but also a lot of that money was plowed back into social programs and education. That doesn't come cheap or free.

This was all cut-off in the 1980s. For those of y'all, do you remember the stuff your kids brought home? All the detritus that kids just seem to collect? I remember it being pretty much advertisements via coloring books, etc. Instead of being brought to you by the US Gov't (insert program <here&gt , it was brought to you by Mattel or some other kids marketing company.

So when you see us, it's almost as if we come from another space-time continuum. In reading that report about the age group that is dying 45-64 in large numbers, it seems to be the one's who were taught that we are all in this together, we'll pull through together and were instead discard and thrown by the wayside when their usefulness was wrung from them. It went from US to ME, not wholly by the GenX generation either.

Sorry for the rant, the poster just got me thinking...

[niyad]

11. verbal message good--but then, six males and one female.

[petronius]

12. Two girls, I would say, judging by what looks like a flowered skirt in the background

But I note that three boys (and no girls) have sporting equipment, and the girl in the foreground has what I would judge to be the most obedient/least relaxed posture...

[niyad]

13. thank you for noting that as well.

[Helen Borg]

14. If Superman was still alive...

He'd show Trump who is American!