We are thankful here at J. Cart. Overanal.: thankful that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Take, exempli gratia, this still from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973 C.E.):
Two immediate items of note:
Linus Van Pelt, acting in his customary role as spiritual leader, is sitting at the head of the table.
Franklin, the sole African-American member of the Peanuts ensemble, is sitting all by himself on one side of the table.
Here is a passable video of the sequence, including anightmarish Guaraldi-seasoned tête-à-tête between Snoopy and a beach chair:
The scene in question is, in fact, somewhat questionable itself: the numbers of chairs and servings fluctuate throughout, giving the meal a disorientating Kubrickian quality. This produces in the scene a sense of unease and tension which reflects the viewers’ discomfort at the casual racism on display. Indeed, Franklin is seated in the malicious beach chair, which humiliatingly places him at an eye level below that of the others.
Though this segregation is not limited to racial issues only: Marcie, though eccentric and possessing of an ambiguous sexuality, is caucasian enough to be allowed to remain close to the rest, but is still seated at the end towards the left side of the table. Linus chooses to seat Marcie as far away from himself as possible, separated from the larger group by the dog. Indeed, the beagle is deemed a more fit companion than any heterodox humans. (Though, perhaps Snoopy is allowed to sit with the elite in due respect for his cooking prowess. It is also noted that Snoopy, in an act of defiant compassion, serves Marcie and Franklin first.) Furthermore, to extrapolate, the only characters exempted which could reasonably join the table next are the obsessive-compulsive Schroeder, the filthy Pig Pen, or the unloved and sadistic Lucy, who, if arriving late, would be forced to sit in one of the chairs next to Franklin and Marcie. Thus, the entire left side of the table would be relegated to odd, unhygienic misfits and belligerent, racial outcasts.
The characters are not evil: Peppermint Patty shows genuine remorse for embarrassing and bullying Charlie Brown, and Linus is often a beacon of compassion and temperance. But the point is made: the virus of casual discrimination is insidious and unaware, and can manifest itself at an early age.
Nota bene: this troubling issue uncovered via Super Punch >Catena Ex Situ
Has anyone else noticed how the main villains in both Aladdin and The Lion King look like Jonathan Harris, the actor who portrayed Doctor Smith on the TV show Lost in Space?
-Contributed by Ora S.
Popeye seems to be a curious meld of Zen and absurdist philosophies. The Zen nature of Popeye is obvious: “I am what I am and that’s all that I am.” Popeye sees himself as existing neither in contrast nor comparison to any other entity, he simply is. His relationship with Olive Oyl can be read as absurdist. In many episodes, Olive willingly leaves Popeye for Bluto (or Brutus). Popeye goes to great lengths to “rescue” her when the relationship goes bad. The memory of these rescues never impresses Olive because we know she will leave Popeye again and again need to be rescued. (“Who are we waiting for? We are waiting for Godot.” Repeat ad infinitum.)
-Contributed by Chris B.
In Muppet Babies, I feel there are two main reasons why Nanny was only shown from the knees down. These are: 1. to make a running gag 2. to make the show seem to be even more from a child’s point of view.
-Contributed by The Editor
Of course this is pointless, but I used to notice frequently on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids that if they were chasing a member of their group, the ensuing crowd of pursuers would also include the one who was being chased. For instance, if Rudy had committed some offense and Fat Albert and the gang chased him across that junk yard, Rudy would also be in the crowd that was chasing him! C’mon guys, spend a half-hour and ink a new cel.
-Contributed by Ken G.
What is the concept of Pokemon? People capture these wild animals, and use them to battle other people who engage in this activity with a hope to have the strongest creatures and the title of “Pokemon Master.” Now let’s pretend this is real. You would go out and capture wild creatures and force them to fight each other. Now aren’t cockfights and dogfights illegal? And if animals were smart enough to do what they were told, I think most people wouldn’t want to do such a horrible things to them! When you think about it, the whole concept of Pokemon is wrong and evil. So I think. -Contributed by Xwonka
Michael Barrier has posted an unpublished appreciation of Carl Barks and his creation, Uncle Scrooge McDuck. For those of you playing at home who are unfamiliar with Carl Barks, his Uncle Scrooge comics were eventual the basis/inspiration for the animated TV show DuckTales. Mr. Barrier goes into some detail about the creation, motivation, and evolution of this now-classic character.
Snippet:
As Barks put it in a 1974 interview, “He had lots of money, but he wasn’t a criminal about it.”Of course, a real billionaire who had made himself rich from Montana copper wouldn’t have plunged into the gold fields alone 16 years later. There may be echoes of Andrew Carnegie in Scrooge’s Scottish surname, but the real Carnegie, unlike the fictional duck, hired other people to do such work for him as soon as he could. What Barks was doing, with his young audience in mind and with remarkable thoroughness and ingenuity, was making the reasons for Scrooge’s attachment to his wealth as concrete as possible. If Scrooge carried gold out of the Klondike himself, then of course he’d care about it.
Many DuckTales episodes were almost verbatim from Barks’ comics, so most of the Uncle Scrooge insights apply to the show, too. That should make those J. Cart. Overanal. purists in the readership rest easier.
Cold on the heels of our last article, another one claiming Bugs Bunny for the Jews. The ancient and semi-Yiddish Forward newspaper printed a column last year discussing the concern:
Can we find the rabbi in the rabbit? As far as I can tell, Bugs never uses a word of Yiddish, but he does have a yidisher kop. He has the gift of gab as well as a fine command of Acme products. Poor Elmer — was there ever a Jew named Elmer? — never stands a chance. Of course, it is well known that Bugs comes from a long line of tricksters. He is an Eastern Anansi, an American Hershele Ostropoler. He’s even distantly related to Isaac Babel’s Odessa gangster, Benya Krik.
Posted by The Editor 
