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Sensationalist Novels As the media moral panics of the early Twentieth Century started to gather momentum in response to the deaths of the Yeoland Sisters, Billie Carleton and the nightclub dance Freda Kempton, writers and filmakers came to the realisation that the theme of drug use was a big seller. Movies such as 'Human Wreckage' played heavily on the tragedy of the heroine who sucumbs to the temptation of drug use. In turn, novels were churned out, penned swiftly by authors who were keen to capitalise on the growing market for sensationalism and expose. The slideshow exhibition below details some of the best examples from the drug sensationalist genre. |
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In line with the media moral panics illustrated throughout the newspaper reports of the Twentieth Century, the genre of sensationalist novels captured the zeitgeist throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Popular titles linked issues such as jazz music, sexuality, counter culture, including the beatniks and hippie movements, and communism to the perils of drug use. The warning to America and the world at large was clear, drug use would lead to an irreversable corrosion of all that decent, law abiding society held dear. |
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The Imbiber brings you up to date with the latest work undertaken by the Museum. Click on the image to the left. |
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