--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the generations of Americans raised…" description: "\"“To the generations of Americans raised since World War 2, the identities of criminals such as Charles \"Pretty Boy\" Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, \"Ma\" Barke..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/bryan-burrough-23197_fbi_to-the-generations-of-americans-raised-s_693009.jpg" --- # To the generations of Americans raised since World War 2… ![“To the generations of Americans raised since World War 2, the identities of criminals such as Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, "Ma" Barker, John Dillenger, and Clyde Barrow are no more real than are Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones. After decades spent in the washing machine of…” quote by Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/bryan-burrough-23197_fbi_to-the-generations-of-americans-raised-s_693009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/bryan-burrough-23197_fbi_to-the-generations-of-americans-raised-s_693009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/bryan-burrough-23197_fbi_to-the-generations-of-americans-raised-s_693009.jpg) > ““To the generations of Americans raised since World War 2, the identities of criminals such as Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, "Ma" Barker, John Dillenger, and Clyde Barrow are no more real than are Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones. After decades spent in the washing machine of popular culture, their stories have been bled of all reality, to an extent that few Americans today know who these people actually were, much less that they all rose to national prominence at the same time. They were real.”” [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Popular media mythologizes criminals, erasing their real histories and turning them into fictional heroes. **In simple terms:** Famous criminals become fictionalized legends. Key Takeaway Seek factual histories over myths. Themes history media mythmaking Mood reflective inquisitive Type historical educational When to use this quote - education - media literacy - historical research Key Concepts cultural memory hero worship Questions to Reflect On - Why do we romanticize outlaws? - How does myth affect public perception? A Different Perspective Stories can distort truth, leading to misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Popular culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-culture/) [Public enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-enemies/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ## Related quotes > [“When one looks back across a chasm of seventy years, through a prism of pulp fiction and bad gangster movies, there is a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/when-one-looks-back-across-a-chasm-of-seventy-years-through-a-prism/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [Like most North Americans, I'd been raised on the notion that milk is the first food, and everybody must like it because it's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/like-most-north-americans-i-d-been-raised-on-the-notion-that-milk-is/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [Americans are raised to believe that anything is possible in America if you are pure of heart and willing to work hard, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/americans-are-raised-to-believe-that-anything-is-possible-in-america/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [It is misleading to discuss recent changes in family life without emphasizing the fact that for generations some Americans have had to raise children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/it-is-misleading-to-discuss-recent-changes-in-family-life-without/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Entire generations of Americans have come of age since the ancient time when the president's power was constrained by a duty of candor to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/entire-generations-of-americans-have-come-of-age-since-the-ancient/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [Sometimes, reading a blog, which I do infrequently, I see that generations of Americans have been wilfully crippled, and can no longer spell or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/sometimes-reading-a-blog-which-i-do-infrequently-i-see-that/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“We are not native. We have no generations of Americans behind us. We have roots elsewhere. We are looking in from the outside. 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Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [“Earlier generations of Americans had to strive to provide food, clothing, and shelter for themselves and their children. This task could prove laborious, unending,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/earlier-generations-of-americans-had-to-strive-to-provide-food/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) ## More by Bryan Burrough > [American writers, at least those of us who are fortunate enough to support ourselves in the field, are by and large a lucky lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/american-writers-at-least-those-of-us-who-are-fortunate-enough-to/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [“History is written by the victors, they say, and there was no one alive who would come forward to dispute Hoover’s fabricated story. Never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/history-is-written-by-the-victors-they-say-and-there-was-no-one-alive/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [“When one looks back across a chasm of seventy years, through a prism of pulp fiction and bad gangster movies, there is a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/when-one-looks-back-across-a-chasm-of-seventy-years-through-a-prism/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [The underground is not a place but a way of life. You can be underground most anywhere, from the Upper West Side of Manhattan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/the-underground-is-not-a-place-but-a-way-of-life-you-can-be/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [There's always a slight tension when you sell a book to Hollywood, especially a nonfiction book. 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But it's by far the closest thing to fact Hollywood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/i-ve-read-the-public-enemies-script-and-no-it-s-not-100-percent/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) [Explore all 26 Bryan Burrough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) ## More Criminals quotes > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [There are over 500,000 registered sex offenders across the country, and statistics have shown that the recidivism rate for those criminals is high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/there-are-over-500-000-registered-sex-offenders-across-the-country/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. 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There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/there-s-some-criminals-that-wear-badges-guess-what-there-s-some/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) > [Nobody can really compare a relationship in which the victim is 15 years old to one where she's 6. While both criminal, they're very different circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/nobody-can-really-compare-a-relationship-in-which-the-victim-is-15/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. 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