Coney Island and American Popular Culture at the Turn of the Century

The Victorian era of America brought fear to the public. Anthony Comstock, who brought anti-obscenity laws to America at the turn of the century, punished anyway who strayed from his strict standards with jail time. The American public, starving for some new form of excitement, took to Coney Island. Coney gave the notion of staying within Comstock’s boundaries—preaching morals—which alleviated the public’s fear of enjoyment. These people had been castigated against for any kind of self-expression deemed obscene, and Coney Island was the first step of getting away from the taboo of the seemingly obscene. Both Kasson and Gorky where right in stating the paradoxical nature of Coney Island, but forget to mention how strict the Victorian era was to the public, and how much they needed some form of release, however superficial it may be.