I: CHILDREN'S MEDIA CULTURE IN THE POSTWAR ERA: Kings of the Wild Backyard: Davy Crockett and Children's Space.

The chapter examines the power relation between children and society at large, particularly as it relates to contentions over what physical space a child is allowed to inhabit. With the onset of the baby boom, there was an even larger perceived need to regulate children's space. The child's place in suburbia figured strongly almost from the outset, especially in the discourse of the open space promised by the advertisements. The Blackboard Jungle film, which hit first-run theaters in April 1955 at the height of Davy Crockett's popularity, also heralded the newest facets of teenage culture--rock and roll music and the sexually aggressive dancing that accompanied it. Though seemingly found only in the teenage population, delinquency was also thought to threaten younger children, whose infection seemed imminent. As the suburbs grew in population, various groups were organized to supervise children's leisure time. Another potential tool for keeping children safely with the survey of parents was the latest addition to the suburban home--the television set. By 1955, Walt Disney had become the upholder of traditional American family, valued for his creation of films that helped preserve a child's innocence. Disney entered the medium of television in 1954 with the aptly titled Disneyland, stressing family entertainment. The first episode on Frontierland began a three-part chronicle of the legend of Crockett. Davy's reputation in culture as a free-roaming, fun-loving upstart reaches farther back than these television episodes. Thus, reenacting the legend of Crockett was quickly regarded as a lesson in American history and folklore.