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Robert A. Emmons, Jr.
Robert A. Emmons Jr. is a documentary filmmaker focusing on American popular culture and history. His films include Enthusiast: The 9th Art, Wolf at the Door, Yardsale!, Goodwill: The Flight of Emilio Carranza, and De Luxe: The Tale of Blue Comet. His Goodwill was screened as part of the Smithsonian exhibition "Our Journeys / Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement," won Best Homegrown Documentary Feature at the 2008 Garden State Film Festival, and led to him receiving Mexico's Lindbergh-Carranza International Goodwill Award as a "Messenger of Peace." From February to August 2010, Emmons created two short documentaries a week; the 52 short documentaries formed the weekly internet series MINICONCEPTDOCS. His print work focusing on electronic media, documentary film, and comic books include Who's Responsible Here? Media, Audience, and Ethics (Cognella, 2009), The Encyclopedia of Documentary Film (Routletdge, 2005), Small Tech: The Culture of Digital Tools (University of Minnesota 2007), and The Encyclopedia of Latino and Latina History (Facts on File, 2010). He teaches film, new media, and comics history at Rutgers University-Camden, where he is also the Associate Director of the Honors College. For more information, visit robertemmons.com.
BOOKS AND MOVIES BY ROBERT A. EMMONS, JR.
 Diagram for Delinquents (director, producer, executive producer) |
MAGAZINE CONTENT BY ROBERT A. EMMONS, JR. (5 TOTAL)
Toney Tapia on DIY Publishing and Jam Packed Productions
Continuing with our in-depth look at the DIY publishing movement, Sequart’s Robert A. Emmons, Jr. sat down with the excitable and enthusiastic President and Editor-in-Chief of Jam Packed Productions and writer of the new series The… [more]
Encyclomania: A Look at Some Comics Encyclopedias
Looking at the etymology of the word encyclopedia one reads “[Med. Lat. encyclopaedia, general education course <Gk.enkuklopaideia< enkuklios paideia, general education.]” I know, sounds boring, and far too ambiguous to be of great value.
Comics in Other Media
Superheroes have been in our language for years. Nearly every American, somewhere along the line, has been exposed to superheroes or comic books either directly or peripherally. In the least, we all certainly could name… [more]
Did the Dark Knight Strike Again? Frank Miller’s New Digital Reality
The longevity of comics depends on the effort to give them relevance and context in history. The medium’s survival relies on its connection with its contemporaries.
Modernism and the Birth of the American Super-Hero
The idea of the modern American super-hero is an abstract and nebulous concept.
NEWS CONTENT BY ROBERT A. EMMONS, JR. (30 TOTAL)
Diagram for Deliquents Update #31: End Game
It’s been a long, at times difficult, but always enlightening journey, and I am happy to say that we are in the homestretch. We are in the final stages of editing, assembling b-roll, music, sound-mixing,… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #29: I Want You to Suffer More and More and More and More
Hello supporters and interested parties. It’s been two months since I’ve posted an update, but let me assure you, there isn’t a week that goes by that I’m not working on the film in some… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #28: The Not So Garden (of Eden) State
I am a New Jersey guy. Ever since I began making documentaries I have investigated the obscure, forgotten, unexplored, but intriguing histories of the Garden State. With my last two feature length films I profiled… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #27: I’m Interested in Some Comics
I apologize that I didn’t make the Sunday update. I was away at a conference in Boston and didn’t arrive home until about 6PM on Sunday and just couldn’t bring it all together in time.… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #26: We Just Don’t Know
As previously mentioned, one particular source will be a sort of “star” in our documentary. That source is the transcript and recording of the Hearings Before The Subcommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency Of The Committee… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #25: The Wild Spree of the Laughing Sadist
There is, has been, and will always be one driving debate within media studies: How does media affect society? The question of does media affect society is certainly answered: Yes. How, is another story. The… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #24: To Fear, or Not to Fear, That is the Question
In celebration of Halloween, this blog focuses on fear. In the ’40s and ’50s, fear was abound. We had just come out of a devastating economic and social crisis, then we entered another world war,… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #23: We are Now Broadcasting Live from…
The San Diego Comic Con begins in three days. The comic con of comic cons. I so wish we could be there to bask in all the splendor of this most magnificent festival of comics,… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #22: KAPPPPPPOOOOOOM!
In the past few days there has been an EXPLOSION of updates for Diagram for Delinquents. Most of which is the acquisition of new interview subjects for the film. Our next interview trip will include… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #21: Parents Just Don’t Understand
Hello Diagram for Delinquents supporters! It’s been sometime since we’ve had a blog update regarding the film. I’ve been busy working at the University, teaching, creating theater installations, and the like (A lot of which… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #20: The Countenance is the Portrait of the Soul
Yes, yes, yes. It has been a while since the last update. So here’s an explanation: For the last month I have been working on a play and I will be for the next two… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #19: For Good
One question looming over our documentary, and it’s certainly a controversial one (especially for longtime comics readers like myself) is: was Wertham right? A simple question indeed, but one that has many more questions packed… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #18: Grimmness
In April 1963, two men sat down to discuss the controversial topic of violence in the media. One man had dedicated his life to the study and eradication of it. The other manipulated it to… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #17: Testimony
1) This week’s Diagram for Delinquents promo card is greatly inspired. I like its eeriness, and I plan to use the handwritten font in at least one more promo. 2) I’m no different than anyone who… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #16: All Factors
I apologize for my anemic entries of late. Filming on the picture has been in full swing, and with the Fall semester is starting very soon, I have been busy preparing for that. (I’m teaching… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #15: Collective Nightmare to Collector’s Dream
1) Here is a strange but intriguing Diagram for Delinquents promo inspired by and ripped from a classic ad you may have seen in those old comic books. Dangerous stuff, kiddies! Dangerous! Twelve years dungeon! 2)… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #14: Amounting to No(Some)thing
1. I have another entry to present this week for the Diagram for Delinquents promo card contest. This entry harkens back to an earlier blog update wherein I discussed the use of psychiatric tests by Wertham… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #13: What?
This week’s update is coming from our hotel room in sunny Los Angeles! Because of the slow internet connection and our busy shooting schedule, it’s going to be a short entry. As a little wrap-up:… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #12: Undercovers
Once again, we begin with another Diagram for Delinquents promotional card. Top prize to the reader that collects them all! This week’s is another minimalist promo, but it has a starkness and color I appreciate. I… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #11: Community
Let me first open with another new promo card I made. I kind of like this one. It has more color than the previous promos and I like the presence of the hand in the… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #10: America’s Pastime
I have some great news to announce this week. First, the crew and I are traveling to visit Broadcast Thought in Los Angeles. This group of three physicians will play an important part in the… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #9: A Test of the Emergency Broadcast System
We have returned from our fruitful trip to interview Stephen O’Day. Stephen was kind enough to answer all our questions as well as open his collection to us. Needless to say, it is remarkable. From… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #8: You’ve Been Seduced
I created another promo for Diagram for Delinquents, our upcoming documentary film on Fredric Wertham and comic books. As I become inspired by things I encounter during the filmmaking process I will use those to… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #7: The Reboot
Dear Backers, Believers, and the Curious (Soon to be Recruited to the Cause): Let me begin by again thanking the Kickstarter funders for your support and belief in our documentary film, Diagram for Delinquents. This film… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #6: Kafka for the Kiddies
One of the foundational discussions of our film is violence and its effects on children. This is what set Dr. Wertham in motion, it’s one of the major discussions led in the Senate Subcommittee on… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #5: Drag Me to Hell, Baby
For today’s post, let’s examine the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Diagram for Delinquents Update #4: Fredric Wertham, Shape Shifter?
While in the archives we photographed a micro-portion of the amount of newspaper clippings that Wertham had collected on comics, crime, juvenile delinquency, and violence. I wish we had the time to capture all of… [more]
Diagram for Delinquents Update #3: Fredric Wertham, Daredevil (Yipee Ki-Yay!)
I am re-reading Seduction of the Innocent cover to cover. In the past, I’ve read it piecemeal. It’s quite fun, especially after reading Beaty’s Fredric Wertham and the Critique of Mass Culture.
Diagram for Delinquents Update #2: Fredric Wertham Loves Kittens
In this update, we complicate the picture of Wertham as comics boogeyman and offer you some more rarely seen documents about the rest of Wertham’s career.
Diagram for Delinquents Update #1
Let me begin with huge thanks to those who have pledged already to help make Diagram for Delinquents a reality! I cannot express the excitement, joy, and encouragement this gives the filmmakers. I’m going to… [more]