“Archie” Comics

Description

A collection of “Archie” comics, commonly read by children ages 7 to 11 years old.

Sociological Interpretation

“Archie” comics have been around since 1941, and have played an important role in the socialization of young children throughout North America. Because of their relatively benign content, they are considered appropriate reading material for nearly all children, regardless of family religious background, political views, or cultural sensitivity. Reading “Archie” comics helps to strengthen a child's language skills, which is necessary to be successful in Western society. By reading for entertainment or enjoyment, children also build their vocabulary and make them more effective readers in school, thus preparing them for adult life.

Reading “Archie” comics is also a form of anticipatory socialization. Anticipatory socialization is defined as the “process of adapting to a new situation in advance and thereby making adjustment to that situation easier”. Most stories contained in “Archie” comics are about teenage life, yet the target audience primarily children not yet more than ten years old. Because of this, children who read “Archie” comics are in fact learning how they should behave when they become teenagers. Stories commonly found in “Archie” comics include how to behave at high school, how to communicate with members of the opposite sex and how to “date”, how to deal with disagreements with parents, and how to generally act in society as a teenager. This can be influential information, especially to first born or single children who do not have an older sibling to model their behaviour on.

“Archie” comics can also be interpreted though the Marxist and neo-Marxist view of the dissemination of a “dominant ideology”. Marx proposed that “ruling classes have a tendency to develop, or at least promote, views of the world that suit their interests and serve to justify their position” (Knuttila, 2008, p. 173). One of the central themes of “Archie” comics is the constant struggle between Betty and Veronica for the affection of Archie, the protagonist of the series. Because Western society has been dominated by the male gender throughout most of its history, it is easy to see how the importance of the male is promoted through Betty and Veronica's competition. The ruling class, in this case the male gender, reinforce the idea that it is up to the female to earn the affection of the male, not the other way around. It is also interesting to note that, according to Knuttila, when it comes to promoting dominant ideology, “it should not be implied that the ruling class always does this in a conscious and deliberate manner” (2008, p. 174) The writers of “Archie” comics likely do not think they are promoting male dominance when they write stories based around Betty and Veronica chasing after Archie, they are simply keeping with the traditional mold of the stories. Yet in doing so, they are informing every child that reads these stories that it is the responsibility of the female to compete for the affection of the male.