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Gerard Jones

Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence Paperback – May 6, 2003

by Gerard Jones (Author), Lynn Ponton (Foreword)

75 ratings

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Children choose their heroes more carefully than we think. From Pokemon to the rapper Eminem, pop-culture icons are not simply commercial pied pipers who practice mass hypnosis on our youth. Indeed, argues the author of this lively and persuasive paean to the power of popular culture, even violent and trashy entertainment gives children something they need, something that can help both boys and girls develop in a healthy way. Drawing on a wealth of true stories, many gleaned from the fascinating workshops he conducts, and basing his claims on extensive research, including interviews with psychologists and educators, Gerard Jones explains why validating our children's fantasies teaches them to trust their own emotions, helps them build stronger selves, leaves them less at the mercy of the pop-culture industry, and strengthens parent-child bonds. Jones has written for the Spider-Man, Superman, and X-Men comic books and created the Haunted Man series for the Web. He has also explored the cultural meanings of comic books and sitcoms in two well-received books. In Killing Monsters he presents a fresh look at children's fantasies, the entertainment industry, and violence in the modern imagination. This reassuring book, as entertaining as it is provocative, offers all of us-parents, teachers, policymakers, media critics-new ways to understand the challenges and rewards of explosive material. News From Killing Monsters: Packing a toy gun can be good for your son-or daughter. Contrary to public opinion, research shows that make-believe violence actually helps kids cope with fears. Explosive entertainment should be a family affair. Scary TV shows can have a bad effect when children have no chance to discuss them openly with adults. It's crucial to trust kids' desires. What excites them is usually a sign of what they need emotionally. Violent fantasy is one of the best ways for kids to deal with the violence they see in real life.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publication date

May 6, 2003
Dimensions

6.14 x 0.62 x 9.21 inches
ISBN-10

0465036961
ISBN-13

978-0465036967
Lexile measure

1270L
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Emily Arrow
88
Hardcover
42 offers from $8.97

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Does for pop culture what Bruno Bettelheim did for violent fairy tales in The Uses of Enchantment." -- USA Today

"Jones thoughtfully explores the positive developmental aspects of fantasy.... Highly recommended." -- Library Journal

"Provocative and groundbreaking." -- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Gerard Jones is a writer whose credits include the New York Times, Harper's, Batman and Spider-Man comics, and Pokémon cartoons. Recently, he has developed the Art & Story Workshops for children and spoken on fantasy, aggression, and the media at institutions around the country. He is the author of Honey, I'm Home: Sitcoms Selling the American Dream and The Comic Book Heroes. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and son.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books (May 6, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465036961
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465036967
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1270L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.62 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,380,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #945 in Children's Studies Social Science (Books)
- #2,839 in Medical Child Psychology
- #3,141 in Popular Child Psychology

Customer Reviews:
75 ratings

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Gerard Jones
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Gerard Jones
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My latest book is "My Pal Splendid Man," humorous stories cowritten with Will Jacobs. I'm now finishing "Nation of Faith & Flesh: The Moral War That Shaped America," a great big history book for FSG. Next will come "Lost Hero," the story of the forgotten genius who launched the American comic book industry (cowritten with Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson) and "Million Dollar Ideas," a humorous novel about Golden Age Hollywood (with Will Jacobs again).
I started out in the early '80s writing humor books and articles (mostly for National Lampoon), which transitioned into writing comic books and screenplays, which transitioned into writing nonfiction about comics and other pop culture, which in turn has transitioned into writing about cultural history in general. It's been a long, winding, astonishing journey.
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Customer reviews

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3 star		9%
2 star		5%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Flounder

How Do We Separate the Book from the Man?

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2020

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I suppose one should judge a book on the merits of the book alone... such a great topic with gads of cool information... But how do we separate the writer's biography from the actual book's content? The writer pleaded guilty to child porn and did 6 years of prison time...Sucks for all parties involved... But what part of that influences our approach to reading and appreciating this book? That's a hard fact to set aside or ignore ... Perhaps you can... ??

8 people found this helpful

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Brian

Great Book, Undermined By Author's Behavior

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2017

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Awesome book, but the author's subsequent arrest on child pornography charges taints the book's premise and arguments.

26 people found this helpful

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Michael Palmer

Debunks Bad Assumptions

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2022

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Who knew that playing violent video games has a cathartic effect for most children? I didn't. Killing Monsters is a solid, easily readable explanation based on scientific studies of the value of fantasies and make-believe violence for children. If, like many, you are inclined to assume such games and stories promote violence, you might want to read this book and share it with others.

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2011

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I am using the book as part of my own research for a class on the subject of violence with youth and video games. Let me tell you something, this book is the answer! It is a very well explained response to the media frenzy that revolves around violent game play. It's truly a need in every persons development! We all can agree that bottling up our emotions is a bad thing, because you don't let them out in a healthy manner they become something inside of you that eats at you until you reach an exploding point!! But letting it out by battling an monster in a video game is a GREAT alternative then keeping it locked up inside of oneself. I also completely agree with this book on how it talks about as a adult we place our own fears onto our children, we see them play a video game then race around the house chasing an imaginary villain with a play sward. SO WHAT THEY ARE KIDS! But because the parent sees this as a result of the game, that the game is making them behave like such and they fear that their child is now going to want to fight when faced with a conflict. That is simply not true, the kid is just exploring who they are, and also getting the change to explore they are not and their own limits. Instead of blaming a video game for violence in your child, why dont you find out what is really making them act out. Because at the end of the day, it was still the child that CHOSE to play the game, that wants to fight a villain and win, who is the villain in real life they are too afraid to confront? So get off your hang ups people, children are children and I would bet you played violent games as a child too; such as cowboys and Indianans or power rangers. Did you turn out so bad? Yeah, chew on that one...

One person found this helpful

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Joshua

Important and Illuminating for a Heavily-Mediated Society

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2013

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Drawing from his first-hand experiences and work with kids in schools, as well as interviews with psychiatrists, family therapists, pediatricians, and other professionals; the author dishes up a compelling argument for why fantasy and entertainment violence is critical to the wellbeing of our youth - and it packs an unexpectedly persuasive punch.

Killing Monsters opened my eyes. As a former video game addict and ongoing media critic, this book gave me the much-needed perspective to not only understand and reconcile my past habits in a meaningful way, but to now approach my media critiques holistically. I’ve been able to breathe life into my critical analyses as a result of the sensitivity, care, and compassion this book has cultivated within me.

One of the key takeaways came in the distinction between fantasy and reality that adults so often blur. We project our own insecurities, fears, and worries on children’s play and entertainment, not pausing to question that their inner experience may be world’s apart from our own. “Our national debate about children and the media features so much time and energy wasted fighting over generalizations and so little effort given to communicating with the children themselves.”

Among many other examples throughout the book; guns, swords, and magic wands can give children a sense of power and control in an otherwise unpredictable and scary world, even though they are keenly aware––so long as we encourage it––that it’s all make-believe, and that such weapons can cause significant physical harm and pain in reality.

We often default to censorship and maligning when we let our adult fears reign and we ignore––mostly unintentionally––the experience of our children. But the suppression of such media tends to cause it to come back more aggressively than ever, as we made evident in the 1970s (and is spelled out in detail in the book).

Our challenge is to integrate all pervasive forms of media, whether violent or sexual, and learn how to use it constructively. It’s easier said than done, but this book proposes a great starting point.

Although I didn’t agree with all of the conclusions Gerard came to, I found very few of his arguments to be flawed or incomplete, and his objective and optimistic pace kept me open to all of the new ideas presented throughout.

By my estimation, this is a book that all parents would greatly benefit from, along with anyone who is even remotely critical of the violent and sexualized media our culture is exposed to on a daily basis.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

DON'T BUY!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

Author currently serving a 6 year sentence for possession of child pornography.
Only found this out after buying, will be returning it first thing.

2 people found this helpful

Vincent Williams

Loved this book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

A very sensible approach to a child's need to have fun and also to process life in a child's way (not an adults).....superb job!!

2 people found this helpful

Carlos Díaz

Very good book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2013

Verified Purchase

It is an excellent book about misconceptions and misinterpretations of research in violence and media and its influence on real violence. It is a divulgative text, so is pretty anecdotal. After some time it turns a bit repetitive as it makes emphasis over the same point all the time, just in different contexts.

4 people found this helpful

n3r3a

Exactly as described

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

Very happy overall

A.B.M.B.I

Great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2019

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