A sidekick is not a child.*Edit
I have actually been thinking of writing a fic in which Captain America is confronted in the present day about his romantic relationship with a teenaged Bucky with accusations of pedophilia and the corruption of youth. It made me start researching and this would involve clashing social paradigms. I think it is too much for a simple little fic like I planned.
The modern concept of childhood came into being post WWII. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, most children lived in an extended infancy until about the age of 7; after which, the child would be given adult responsibilities and labor for their parents on family farm or business for room and board until they were old enough marry and start a family of their own.
Industrialization and urbanization changed it Children began to labor for strangers in factories and mines for wages. Children became a source of income for their families. This actually lead to an increase on the average family size. The average number of children pre-industrialization was only three. That was enough children to ensure at least one child would survive into adulthood. Before modern medicine and immunizations, the chance of a child reaching age 10 was almost 50/50.
In the mid 1800's, as child labor became more prevalent, some state began passing laws to keep children in school until age 14. A lot of the state laws were largely ignored. That was threshold for adulthood at the time. The age of consent back then varied wildly by state between the ages 12 and 15.
The Keatings-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 was the first federal child labor law only really affected factories and mines. It was struck down the Supreme Court two years later. It took the Great Depression to actually end child labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set the work age to 16 and prohibited working during school hours. That combined with the growth of the middle class after WWII reducing family dependency for working children leaving children with little or no responsibility and giving rise to modern childhood and the concept of adolescence.
How do you convey something so complex to a reader without sounding like a text book or a college dissertation?
When Bucky Barnes first appeared he was most like about 13 or 14 years of age. Bucky's age was completely bypassed in the movie and it was retconned by Ed Brubaker to age 16 to help ease our guilt of enjoying the adventures of an American child solider. Is it really necessary? Do we have to gloss over history? Can we appreciate and understand the mindset of the past? I want to keep with Bucky's original age simply for the fact during the world wars boy soldiers weren't unheard of. A 16 or 17 years would lie about their age to join the service and the military would often turn a blind eye as long as the boy met the minimum height requirement. Going with the retconned age seems like a cop out.
*I think I may abandon this. Alan Moore did write an great story dealing with sidekicks and abuse in his series Top Ten.
The modern concept of childhood came into being post WWII. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, most children lived in an extended infancy until about the age of 7; after which, the child would be given adult responsibilities and labor for their parents on family farm or business for room and board until they were old enough marry and start a family of their own.
Industrialization and urbanization changed it Children began to labor for strangers in factories and mines for wages. Children became a source of income for their families. This actually lead to an increase on the average family size. The average number of children pre-industrialization was only three. That was enough children to ensure at least one child would survive into adulthood. Before modern medicine and immunizations, the chance of a child reaching age 10 was almost 50/50.
In the mid 1800's, as child labor became more prevalent, some state began passing laws to keep children in school until age 14. A lot of the state laws were largely ignored. That was threshold for adulthood at the time. The age of consent back then varied wildly by state between the ages 12 and 15.
The Keatings-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 was the first federal child labor law only really affected factories and mines. It was struck down the Supreme Court two years later. It took the Great Depression to actually end child labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set the work age to 16 and prohibited working during school hours. That combined with the growth of the middle class after WWII reducing family dependency for working children leaving children with little or no responsibility and giving rise to modern childhood and the concept of adolescence.
How do you convey something so complex to a reader without sounding like a text book or a college dissertation?
When Bucky Barnes first appeared he was most like about 13 or 14 years of age. Bucky's age was completely bypassed in the movie and it was retconned by Ed Brubaker to age 16 to help ease our guilt of enjoying the adventures of an American child solider. Is it really necessary? Do we have to gloss over history? Can we appreciate and understand the mindset of the past? I want to keep with Bucky's original age simply for the fact during the world wars boy soldiers weren't unheard of. A 16 or 17 years would lie about their age to join the service and the military would often turn a blind eye as long as the boy met the minimum height requirement. Going with the retconned age seems like a cop out.
*I think I may abandon this. Alan Moore did write an great story dealing with sidekicks and abuse in his series Top Ten.