'When Jealous Men Go Kill Crazy'

 

There really was a battle at Wolmi-Do - it was an island commanding the approaches to Inchon during the Korean War.  For the US landings in Inchon to take place, the North Koren heavy artillery on Wolmi-Do had to be silenced.  This was done via combination of off shore naval bombardment and an assault by US Marines landed on the other side of the island.  They met some stiff resistance from some of the defenders, none of whom, as far as history records it anyway, were semi-naked young women.  But hey, this is war history according to a fifties men's magazine, (the December 1959 issue of Man's Life, to be precise).  In their unique mythology, every military action seemed to involve contributions from scantily clad, gun toting, girls.  Though these particular girls seem to opposing the US invaders, none of them look remotely Korean, leading me to suspect that the story might also include the 'brain washing' of captured US personnel, (a popular theme in Korean War related fiction, most famously in Richard Condon's novel and subsequent film The Manchurian Candidate).

Elsewhere in the magazine, it is business as usual, judging by the other story titles teased on the cover.  Which, obviously, means the great American obsession with sex and particularly its effect, (or the effect of the lack of it), on the sort of American men who read these magazines.  'When Jealous Men go Kill Crazy' and 'Why Women Despise The American Male - Because They Ask For It!' are clearly cautionary tales of how those crazy and deceitful women can't be trusted - not only do they give it away to all and sundry, but they hate all men as well.  Judging by men's magazine covers of the fifties and sixties, there seemed to be a strong undercurrent of self-loathing amongst American males, manifested in such misogynistic story titles: all women are evil temptresses who will humiliate you, but hey, it doesn't matter because you are too inadequate to satisfy them anyway.  Your only hope of 'getting some', apparently, was to go to 'Smog City: Where Starlets and Career Girls Run Wild' or to flag down 'Belle Santee and Her Unique Bordello on Wheels'.  The overriding message seems to be that strong, empowered women are the greatest threat facing American manhood - if they aren't trying to kill you on the beaches of Korea, then they are humiliating you on the home front.  Isn't it great that we've moved on from such attitudes....?