24.08.16

Today I...

• Researched the Watergate Scandal
• Srtarted to research the Cold War
• Found and printed an article on Cap and Patriotism
• Printed an article on patriotism post-9/11

23.08.16

I was thinking maybe instead of researching Cap I should be mainly researching America because articles etc will be easier to find and then from there I can tie in and compare with Captain America.


Possible topics to explore
- Watergate Scandal
- WW2 and the effects on people
- Patriotism in America
- 1950s and communism

22.08.16

To do

• Look up timeline of key events in American History from 1940s onwards
• Look into each key event from each decade and make notes
• Check for relevant articles to print and put in folder
• Look in books to find Captain America related stuff relating to these events
• Make sure production log is up to date

22.08.16

Plan ideas

Make the artefact (timeline) and then choose points in time or key themes overtime or a general overview between Captain America and America looking at the mood of America and then examining whether Captain America reflects it or not and if not what are the reactions.

Another idea is to do it era by era. So I pick an era found out about America then look at Cap and reach a judgement of some kind and then move onto the next era.

10.08.16

Title Ideas

• Around theme of patriotism
• What can be learnt about patriotism in Post War America from Cap? (set a specific time frame)
• How is the theme of American Patriotism from .... to .... reflected in Marvel's Captain America

10.08.16

To research

• Work out the stages in Captain America
• - When was he popular?
• - When did he disappear?
• - Who and what was he fighting in each period?

What have I done?

• Started reading "X men as J men"
• Finished reading "Superhero History"
• Finished "Mutants, Metaphors, and Marginalism"
• Started "An Aristotle who punches bad guys"

Introduction

Comics have often been used (intentionally or not) as a form of personal propaganda. Political views and debates found themselves within the pages seen through the choice of the villain or what the hero stands for or even how different social groups are portrayed. Captain America is perfect for a study of the presence of politics (particularly American) in comics for a number of reasons. The first being that he embodies America and patriotism so in seeing his stance on the times can perhaps give an insight into the public response to the political climate. Secondly he has fairly regularly appeared in comics since he was created in 1941 giving many examples for an examination into Captain America.

The Captain America we are introduced to in 1941 was the ultimate Patriot. Obeying and serving his country in every way he could. Through the years we see a change in Captain America as he begins to break away from the Government in favour of his own ideals and questioning and changing in response to the times and what he feels is needed. By looking at how this beloved American icon reacted to major events in Americas past I wish to assess how he would react to the current American political climate before making my own comic to show my take on what I think Captain America would do.

06.02.17

To do to complete my EPQ!

• Print and get feedback on my comic
• Make any amendments
• Update my bibliography (focussing on the new additions from research for my comic)
• Write my essay (use my presentation and paragraphs from earlier in the project as a starting point)
• Check my production log is all filled in and ready
• Think about including these blog entries and work out how to print it

Friday deadline - What am I submitting?

• Production log
• Comic book front cover and first page
• Printed out blog entries
• Bibliography
• Prezi

What would Cap say?

Have we all forgotten what makes America great?

Our country was founded on a hope, a dream, the American dream. It was a promise that no matter your religion, ethnicity, social standing or belief YOU have a right to strive for prosperity and all be treated on equal grounds.

We need to step back for a moment from the politics, fear mongering and false promises and remember who we are, what we stand for and what our America needs from us. Because America needs US now more than ever.