Canonical vs. Popular What are some distinctions between canonical culture and popular culture? You can start with literature. What are some genres of popular literature?

Canonical: Generalizations long-lasting complex innovative in form/style of interest to critics/scholars relatively small audience supported by institutions aesthetic purpose

Popular: Generalizations short-lasting simple repetitive in form and style (conventional) uninteresting to critics/scholars relatively large audience unsupported by institutions commercial/entertainment purpose

Superman Originally viewed in theaters Made between 1941 and 1943 Expensive and technically advanced for its time

General Information The original Superman cartoons consist of 17 episodes. Free download (all public domain): http://www.toonamiarsenal.com/features/superman/

Problem Categories protagonist, antagonist, villain motivation gender, race, class science, technology intellectuals institutions

“The Mad Scientist” (1941)

Science and Technology What attitudes are shown towards science, scientists, and technology? Are modern scientific developments depicted as positive, negative, or ambiguous?

Human and Machine What kinds of machines are shown in the cartoon? Are the machines examples of possible technology (for the time)? What is the human being’s relation to machines?

Plot and Character Motivation What motivates action in the plot? Is the plot believable? How, if at all, is the hostility of the villain explained? If it is not, are there any clues to help explain it?

Superman as Hero Why is Superman a popular hero? Contrast him with other heroes you have met in this course. How is his situation different from the situation of other hero-protagonists?

Gender What is the general status of women in relation to men? Who, if either, is in a position of power? How do men and women dress differently? Why does Superman wear his underwear on the outside of his clothes? How are occupations gendered? Are there any exceptions?

The Represented Body What physical characteristics does Superman have?—not just his race, but his dress and general appearance. Who is missing from the cartoons, particularly when we consider the action to be taking place in a big American (though fictional) city?

Institutions Which institutions are portrayed in the cartoon? Are the institutions shown as competent or incompetent? Are they weak or strong?

Activity Discuss reasons for the scientist’s behavior. Create a story to explain his actions—it can make him sympathetic or unsympathetic, but your story needs to explain why he acts the way he does and why he feels hostile towards society. Why is this story absent from the cartoon?

Assertions: Science Science, technology, and scientists are portrayed ambiguously. Superman’s origins are from a “technologically advanced” society, but they were unable to use that technology to save themselves. Machines are ubiquitous in this and other cartoons: they are both useful and destructive.

Assertions: Scientists/Villains The scientists is portrayed as an outsider, as eccentric, abnormal, and hostile to society. He lives in isolation from others. He has feelings of inferiority (letter to the editor about “those who laughed at me”, whatever this means).

Assertions: Machines Machines are magical in that they are not dependent upon complex engineering design. They are the product of single minds (genius, though a distorted genius), not teams of cooperating people as would necessarily be in the real world.

Assertions: Motivation/Identification Action, especially violence, is unmotivated; human life is not valued. We are asked to draw clear lines between hero and villain without explanation. Villains (here and elsewhere) are portrayed as ridiculous; men manipulate phallic machines which suggest sexual compensation. This raises the question of a link between sexuality and violence.

Assertions about Gender: Lois Lois is portrayed ambiguously. She is feminine in dress and stereotypically beautiful. She is active (assuming the “male” roles of aggressive newspaper reporter and pilot); Clark is told to help her, not the other way around. She is immediately neutralized by the scientist, who is anything but virile, and she relies, as usual, on Superman to save her.

Assertions about Gender: Clark Clark is ineffectual, and though very “masculine” in appearance, is at the same time dominated by the greater “masculinity” of Lois. Clark’s double or alter ego demands that we think through the audience—is he given to women as a desirable object or to men as a fantasy object? [remember audience in this context]

Assertions: Authority, Institutions Institutions include the press (newspaper and radio), the government, and the police/military. All seem ineffectual, even more so since the scientist is allowed to construct this deadly weapon and use it without any prior actions taken by these institutions (and the fact that they know about it).

Narrative Structure The narrative is familiar. What is its pattern? Why is the pattern effective? What ideology does this imply?

Overview of Sources The original Scooby Doo series (Scooby Doo, Where Are You?) which was made between 1969 and 1971 (two original seasons—many later seasons). A more recent Scooby Doo series (What’s New Scooby Doo?) made between 2002 and 2006—our examples come from 2002 and 2004.

Scooby Doo, Where Are You? First two seasons, 1969/70, 1970/71 Nine subsequent seasons—still in production

“Scooby’s Night with a Frozen Fright” (1971) Note the role of science, scientific institutions, and scientific inventions. Are scientists trustworthy in this episode? What motivates their work? segment: 19:15-20:20

Gender and Gender Roles Gender roles seem to be in transition in this period (assertiveness/passivity for both male/female characters). What range of male and female bodies is given us in the episodes? How do they differ from the other cartoons?

Authority and Institutions Despite some differences (young generation as heroes, more gender equality), established society (the world of police, officials, and scientists) is represented by white men. What evidence can you find for this claim? Are institutions depicted as more competent in these episodes than in the other cartoons? Is there evidence of corruption in institutions?

Scientific Institutions Note the role of science and scientific institutions. What kinds of machines or inventions can science provide? What attitude are we supposed to take towards these machines? What is opposed to the machine (or symbolically opposite in this episode)? Are scientists trustworthy in this episode?

Heroes (?) This cartoon is distinguished from others by making the heroes young adults; another distinction is that we have no clear heroes (a dog?). How does problem-solving happen in the episodes? How does the process differ from other cartoons?

The Collective Individual The characters are typically a mix of “positive” and “negative” traits. Try to characterize each positively and negatively with one descriptive term. Is the group actually a “group-individual,” that is, does the group represent different aspects of a single individual? If this is the case, what makes up the individual according to the makers of the cartoon? What is missing (and what does this indicate about audience)?