American pulp fiction is iconic; it influenced the development of American culture for decades and maintains a lasting influence to this day in the form of comic books, movies, and current literature. Pulp fiction was printed on cheap pulp paper during the 1930s and 1940s, though they were first created in 1896, and was hugely successful because of the rising literacy rates of the American population and the cheapness and proliferation of the products themselves. Pulp fiction eventually lost its popularity during World War II when paper rationing affected the population and movies, television, comic books, and normal paperbacks (VL). Pulp fiction would eventually die out and be replaced by these mediums in as the average income of Americans increased However, pulp fiction influenced all of these mediums for years, and helped shape American culture through its long lasting influence for many decades to come; indeed, the effects of pulp fiction are still see to this day through comic books and related movies, the genres of books that were directly created by pulp fiction, and the storylines of some of the most iconic characters, like John Carter and Tarzan.
The original pulp magazines attracted readers without any form of advertisement, other than their cheap nature. Because pulps were sold for between five to ten cents apiece, they attracted many readers through their sales at newsstands. The earliest pulp fiction publishers were able to corner the market; Frank Munsey’s The Argosy was the first pulp fiction magazine, and its main competitor was Street & Smith’s The Popular Magazine (Ashley). Both magazines specifically targeted a boy audience, as they featured fictional adventure magazines designed for a young male audience. This factor would later contribute to the greater influence of the pulp magazine, as this trend was prevalent in its later years and would also be repeated through the various mediums that pulp fiction helped influence, such as comic books.
American culture owes a great debt to pulp fiction, and therefore to Frank Munsey. As Munsey was the first to print fiction using all pulp, he was essentially the pioneer of the trade. Munsey made several key business innovations, notably selling directly to newsstands (Pulp Magazine). The American News Company stood in the way of Munsey, and refused to distribute his magazines because Munsey’s price cutting would affect their profits. Therefore, Munsey’s circumvention was to sell directly to the newsstands, and the cheapness of pulp fiction soon attracted a huge gathering. It was not long before other companies moved in to compete with Munsey’s outstanding success.
Pulp fiction grew in scale as businessmen recognized the potential of the market. Thus, during World War I, the market was flooded with cheap pulp magazines and a new form of fictional expression was born. The pulps would go on to change the entire genre by providing an outlet of expression for hundreds of short story writers to make their debut and for several big names magazines to form out of the golden age, such as Sports Illustrated. There is a lose connection between pulp fiction and Mad Magazine as well, as Mad Magazine features similar themes though it is often considered more humorous.
Pulp fiction influenced the world of writing heavily because it was where numerous now famous authors received their start. The magazines of Frank Munsey employed several key authors that created some of the most iconic stories, not just of pulp fiction, but also of future cinema and television. For example, All-Story ran the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who provided the world with Tarzan of the Apes and the Martian thriller John Carter (Ashley). These works alone would spawn movies and other books that would influence the formation of American culture until the modern day, and likely long after our generation.
Munsey’s magazines also provided other key figures, such as Zorro in The Curse of Capistrano, by John McCulley. In addition, Munsey gave the world Horatio Hornblower of the Hornblower series; these additions to literature alone demonstrate the lasting influence of the pulp magazine of only one man. Couple with the scores of pulp magazines being created and sold during the time period, it is difficult to ignore the fact that pulp magazines gave the world some of the most iconic and beloved fiction characters of all time. Pulp magazines also provided other great writers with their start, such as Ray Cummings and Victor Rousseau.
The biggest three pulp fiction genres were westerns, romances, and mystery/detective stories (Ashley). It was arguably the western genre which would have the most significant impact on the immediate proceeding Western culture, as the decades after the golden age of pulp fiction ended were filled with western movies, a genre which was also the most popular movie genre of the time. The popularity of western movies was a reoccurring theme directly because pulp fiction developed the genre into what it would become, and it demonstrated the strong interests of the American consumer. The most influential western pulp was Western Story Magazine, which ran various different stories, including some about Buffalo Bill.
Western-pulps were actually extremely important to the development of American culture in the long run. This is not only because they worked in conjunction with the radio to develop the theme, but also because they had such a long lasting influence. Western-pulps were consistent with the origin of the magazines because they were targeted specifically at a male audience and expressed independence and autonomy as important virtues. Furthermore, they led to the reciprocal western movie genre which would launch the careers of iconic figures such as Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. This media outlet led to the establishment of the idealistic man type, meaning men were expected to be independent and strong. This worked in conjunction with other famous actor characters like James Dean, who combined in that day and age to influence what a man’s image of himself should be and how they should act. This had long term consequences in the form of cultural development because it created a culture reaction as young boys looked up to these figures and sought to emulate them in their actions.
This is not to say that the other genres were not important as well. The interwar years between the First World War and the Second saw a significant development of crime related pulp fiction. Some have argued that this was because of the increasing realism of society, leftovers from the disillusionment of the Great War, and even a simple competitive nature between the great crime-fiction writers of the British school and their American counterparts (Guest Post). Whatever the cause, the American school caught up and developed the “hard-boiled” genre, mixing it with the noir style and forming fictional stories which were both vivid in their descriptions and far beyond the appropriateness of earlier writings. Writings in this genre traditionally focused on detectives who have grown a certain cynicism of the policing system and must fight against mob bosses on the streets, corrupt cops, or an entire crime system alone. This sounds a lot like many of the film blockbusters of the modern day, such as Robo-Cop. Thus, using Hollywood as a gauge on influence, it is clear that crime-related pulp fiction writers developed a genre that would still be represented well into the modern day because of consumer interest, which would in turn help shape America’s portrayal of crime related fictional works and movies. Some of the biggest and best authors of this pulp fiction genre were Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and their names live on in pulp fiction circles to this day.
This genre of pulp fiction was often considered to be the most relatable to the American working class, and was viewed as the staging ground for rhetoric directed at New Deal Liberalism (McCann). This is not to say that crime-pulps were used for political motivations and political expression, but the prevailing sense of moral decay that was prevalent in these writings revealed a lot of stress that coincided with New Deal policies attempting to help build a utopian society. Furthermore, New Deal utopianism clashed with the growing crime of the time that was a natural result of the Great Depression, and this hard-boiled noir genre helped demonstrate the growing societal problems while connecting with the common people. Therefore, crime-pulps as a form of artistic expression helped provide an insight to the current issues of the day. In addition, crime-pulps would later lead to the formation of several other genres that would influence culture for decades to come in the forms of novels and movies.
One of these genres is dystopia, and this refers to a theme that explores social and political themes in a nightmare like world. Just as crime-pulps explore these themes inadvertently through the actions of the main characters, dystopian literature is sometimes post-apocalyptic in nature and can be attributed to the development of other political influences, such as nuclear technology and the progression of the Cold War. Crime-pulps helped develop this genre because it provided a strong basis for the genre and helped demonstrate the potential market for it. This is because during the early years of crime-pulps, the average citizen would likely have considered crime-pulps to be dystopian as they were the first to develop such a dark theme. Dystopian literature shares this sense of noir, and the argument that the boldness of dystopian noir comes directly from crime-pulps. Dystopian literature would provide the world with some of the most iconic and thought-provoking novels, such as 1984 and A Clockwork Orange. These important novels heavily influenced cultural aspects of the 1970s and 1980s, and directly owe their creation to the crime-pulps of the 1930s and 1940s.
Crime related detective pulps also led to a spinoff genre that became an icon of American culture: the hero genre. The first major work in this field was The Shadow, which debuted in 1931 in Street & Smith and eventually ended in 1941. The Shadow was a spinoff of a popular radio series, and was followed by Doc Savage later on. These stories, along with most hero-pulps, tied closely to the world of science fiction and were the precursor of the modern day comic books. The hero-pulps featured heroes that were typically crime-fighting vigilantes, much like their comic book cousins. This genre, therefore, still has a lasting influence on the culture of American today because of the resurgence of comic books and the large popularity of superhero movies today.
Pulp fiction left a huge lasting influence to this day in the form of comic books. Comic strips were actually created in their earliest form in 1895, but the modern comic book did not develop until the 1930’s. The correlation between pulp fiction and comic books is not as strong as it is with other forms of media and genre creation; however, a correlation is there because hero-pulps created the genre that comic books would later appeal to. Essentially, comic books would use picture strips to express the hero genre that hero-pulps developed, as comic books also borrowed the close ties to science fiction. Comic books would later be represented in many movies, and the huge popularity of the movies today mark the fascination our culture has with the hero figure. Comic books and hero-pulps helped instill moral values in their readers, as they provided a sense of justice for people to strive to emulate. Our current fascination with them is a result of this and our strong identification with individual heroes for various reasons; this has made comic books a huge factor in the development of American culture, and their influence is a direct result of the innovation and free writing that pulps provided.
Additionally, pulp fiction had a lasting influence on the romance genre as well. Romantic pulp fiction was meant to appeal to the women who were otherwise left out due to the selective male targeting of most pulp fiction magazines (Earle). However, some pulps did target the female audience, and specifically helped influence the feminist movement of the time. Most of the female membership of pulp fiction did dedicate their hard earned dimes towards purchasing romantic-pulps; however, true confession pulps had a much larger audience. The magazine True Confessions held a membership of about 544,000 people, whereas some of the most popular male oriented pulps had significantly less. Unfortunately, it is difficult to calculate the true membership because so many of these pulps were sold at newsstands. Female targeted pulps were divided between two main groups: those that featured females in the traditional roles and those that broke barriers and placed women in the office, factory, or general workforce. The romance-pulps of the day traditionally placed women in traditional stereotypical roles and did the same with men, while the feministic pulps attempted to break free of that in order to initiate a change in society.
Some famous magazines had feminist undertones, while also challenging the role of women in that day and age, along with Prohibition (Earle). This is consistent with the “flapper girl” image of the 1920s, and the works of fiction by novel authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some of the most popular feministic magazines were Home Brew and Flapper’s Experience; these two magazines directly challenged the gender roles of the day and age. Snappy Stories and Telling Tales were two additional magazines that promoted the flapper experience and promulgated the changing culture of women in America. These magazines helped shift the meaning of what it meant to be a woman in America during the time, and coincided with a major change in the music, popular writing, and prevailing attitude of women during this era. Thus, pulp fiction helped expand the boundaries of gender interplay during the era, and helped better women’s rights as well. Female targeted pulp magazines went a step further and even featured women as mafia bosses, reporters, and detectives. These careers were not traditionally belonging to the idealistic view of a woman’s role in that day and age and helped push the boundaries in favor of women.
The influence of pulp fiction is often seen as comparable with that to the radio; indeed, the prevalence of both forms of media expression led to a dual development of American culture in different outlets; one helped expand America’s literary development and cultural development through written means, while the other provided a media outlet and also was a precursor to modern Hollywood through the reading of different radio shows. Thus, the radio provided a new medium of verbal communication, but the pulps enabled the average worker the opportunity to engage in cheap entertainment, which helped spread the pulps across the country.
Currently, pulp fiction is making a comeback, albeit in a roundabout way. Amazon Singles partnered with renowned author James Patterson to begin selling cheap novellas between twenty and one hundred and fifty pages each (Richards). These are also not designed to be written on just a digital format; they are supposed to be in paperback form as well. The goal for this is to tap into a market almost exclusively ignored by big name publishers due to the large overhead costs of publishing short stories. While not completely a result of the influence of pulp fiction, this rebirth of the genre in an effort to appeal to a new audience directly reflects the same type of initiative that the original pulps showed.
Pulp fiction directly led to the current cultural development processes that shape the world today. Without pulp fiction, America would lack many of the fictional genres it has today, and the popular media outlets we know and love would not exist in nearly the same format or context. Pulp fiction achieved this development through the creation of hero genres and by creating the foundation that dystopian literature would later occupy. In the context of the time period, pulp fiction developed the concept of “westerns” that would occupy the hearts and minds of Americans; these westerns also eventually gave the world iconic actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, whose rugged attitude and outlook on life would provide the stereotypical western male outlook. In addition, hero-pulps led to the formation of one of the most popular genres of all time, comic books and super hero fiction.
Thus, the biggest reason pulp fiction influenced American culture is because their cheap nature allowed for a widespread distribution of readers across the United States, while also allowing for their writers to use free form and rely extensively on creative writing to provide innovation in writing form. The creative writing these authors used developed new genres that would provide lasting influence even to the modern day, while also expanding upon older genres and increasing the readership in that aspect. Today pulp fiction is being somewhat revitalized by James Patterson, which is a reflection of the glory that used to be the original pulp fiction. However, nothing could ever be an effective replacement for the creative writing that was pulp fiction, as the sheer cheapness yet high demand led to hundreds of writers trying to make it big. This increase in writing helped lead the world to the development of unique genres and new ideas, which are seen in American culture to this day.
Works Cited:
VL. "What Is Pulp Fiction." What Is Pulp Fiction? And We Don't Mean the Movie! Vintage Library, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2016.
Ashley, Mike. "History of Pulps." History of Pulps. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2016.
Pulp Magazine. “So what is pulp?” The Pulp Magazine Project. n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
Guest Post. "GUEST POST: BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PULP FICTION – PART 1 (1930’S AND 1940’S)." Knowledge Lost. Knowledge Lost, n.d. Web.
McCann, Sean. Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fall of New Deal Liberalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000. Print.
Robinson, Frank M., and Lawrence Davidson. Pulp Culture: Art of Fiction Magazines. Portland, OR: Collectors Press,U.S., 1999. Print.
Earle, James. “PULP MAGAZINES AND THE POPULAR PRESS.” First Proof (2011): n.pag. Print.
Richards, Parker. “The pulp fiction dime novel is making a comeback.” Observer. Observer, 23 Mar. 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
