Title: Journalism and Realism: Rendering American Life
Abstract: Collins, Ross F. Children, War, and Propaganda. New York: Peter Lang, 2011. 298 pp. $89.95. Historians typically mention children in war as refugees, orphans, or casualties, lacking power and depending on others, which complicates tracking them. Ross Collins analyzes the two total wars of the twentieth century through the lens of media designed to influence children. He points out that World War I and World War II differed partly because of concern about repeating the extreme measures, including atrocity appeals, which marked the first conflict. Nevertheless, in both wars, to relieve children's fears and strengthen their loyalty, propagandists sought to put even five-year-olds to work on the home front, and he writes engagingly about the ways in which their daily lives were militarized. Collins draws striking parallels among the propaganda campaigns waged in the war to end all wars, the just war, and recent wars. His research included juvenile publications, such as American Girl, Boys' Life, The Crisis, Jack and Jill, and The Rally. He also examined popular and professional writing, including such titles as Child-Welfare, Education for Victory, Nation's Business, National Parent-Teacher/ PTA, and School and Society. He examined proceedings, minutes, and reports from the Boy Scouts of America, the National Education Association, and the Future Farmers of America, and his research also included a variety of other pamphlets, booklets, articles, and material produced by U.S. government offices. His book reveals the extent to which bellicose themes were woven into children's lives. For example, math textbooks contained story problems about the speed that bombs travel and the numbers of warships, and schools started groups to encourage children to participate in homefront drives. Children's magazines initially espoused seeking peace as the highest goal. However, once the United States declared war in April 1917 and after Pearl Harbor in December 1941 , the editors quickly shifted to pro-war stances. The book begins with an essay about how modern propaganda evolved. The bitter exaggerations in World War I left people leery of propaganda in the years before World War II, and the attack on Pearl Harbor incensed the public, making propaganda once more credible. Collins thoughtfully raises questions about the lasting impact and ultimate results of information campaigns. He contrasts the perspective that total war fosters building virtues with the concern that inculcating within children absolute obethence and respect for authority could impair their ability to function as citizens in a democracy or might cause them to choose violence as a method of problem solving over discussion, negotiation, or compromise. …
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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