I cant Harddly weight till neckst Smester!!! We are goingto “studdy” Litterairy Classicks!!!! It is parrt “of” my Souper Hero Studdies!!!!
And that it “is a” Goood Thing becose It Is awl Comick Boocks!!!!!! How grate is that?? Ownly Racists and Haters reed themb boocks “with” no pixtures And harrd cuvvers!!!! Sumb day thare woont “be” no moar boock boocks but ownly Comick Boocks!!! Awl full Of Souper Heroes! who are Trans “and Noun-Bynary and Gay!! This heer it “is Reel Litterture!!!!!!
And Best of Awl,, at “the” end of the Coarse we whil awl “get to” Be Our Own Souper Heroes “whith” cosstombs and awl!!!!!! and we whil has Paowers!!! No one ennymoar whil Dair! miss-ginder ennyboddy,, we Are goingto “Cleen Up The Kampis!!!!!!! Fromb naow on yiu beter be Dyversse Oar Elsse!!!!!
Hay,, I beter stort Thincking abuout watt kyned Of Souper Hero I whil be “and” watt kyned Of Cosstomb I whil “wair” and watt kyned Of spatial paower I whil has!!!!!!!! Awl themb ordrinary dum peeple thay “have” beter whach Out!!!!
Collige Joe, the literary scholar – you have some competition there, Lee 🙂 When I began sub teaching in the public school system, I couldn’t believe the popularity of graphic novels. I’ve tried to read them but find them annoying. Give me a page without pictures so my imagination can get have all the fun.
Graphic novels–no truth at all in that advertising!
When I was a kid, I read comic books, eventually moving up to Mad magazine, which at the time, was drenched in witty satire. About the time I started living as an adult, I lost all interest in even Mad, the other comics having long since been forgotten.
Today’s comics strike me as very dark. Even The Far Side, in retrospect dwelt mainly in evolutionary thinking and death. Superheroes have become a substitute for Christ in many comics. I saw a couple for superhero movies, just going along for social reasons, and there wasn’t much to see, except a fantastic, fantastic as in unbelievable, storyline and overacted, stilted characters, who were crafted to make the superhero appear to be troubled and brooding. I was there for the sake of a friend, but I would rather that the movie had been a documentary on the history of some boring technical subject that I didn’t care about, because at least that wouldn’t pretend to be a great work of cinematography.
I don’t see comics as having much worth when they deal in darker material. I remember comics I read as a kid where the plots involved solving real problems, using creative thought and cooperation between characters. The bad guys were fallible and the heroes were average people. They brought at least some good to the table. I don’t see that as being likely in today’s comics or the endless parade of exaggerated superhero movies.
We both lost interest in Mad, and I think for the same reason–it went all left-wing on us. And a lot of the art work began to look like it might be drug-inspired.
It was a real shame. I actually learned a lot from Mad, back when it was worth reading. I, and my friends would talk about the latest edition, and we felt like we knew the writers. Mad Magazine had a degree of Jewish cultural influence and some Yiddish terms were tossed in, but this was back in the day when many American Jews had lost family members to the Holocaust and Yiddish humor was more than a laughing matter; it was a potent tool for emotional survival. I learned to laugh at myself, in great part, because of Mad.
Sadly, we can’t go back. I’ve bought DVDs of great old TV shows, like McHale’s Navy and Get Smart, but they usually don’t hold my interest. I guess that with the passage of time, they lose some of their punch. Maybe it’s because our perspective has changed.
To wit; the very first scene in Get Smart, season 1, episode 1, was Don Adams in a movie theater, when his shoe-phone starts ringing and disturbs everyone around him. In the mid ‘60s, that was fantastical and hilarious, but for anyone that has gone to a movie in the last 25 years, it’s wearisome, and true to life.
In McHale’s Navy, the US were the good guys, and the spirit of independence was front and center. Sadly, even tragically, that has since changed.
A central theme in “McHale’s Navy” was coping with incompetent, frivolous, asinine Authority (represented by Capt. Binghamton and Lt. Carpenter). If there was ever a timeless theme, that’d be it.
Seeing the first episode of McHale’s Navy, once I finally saw it, added a lot of perspective. Binghamton had been commodore of the Long Island Yacht Club, and was made a captain, while McHale had sailed to waters of the South Pacific, and knew every nook and cranny of the islands. McHale was highly competent, but not impressed with military discipline, while Binghamton lacked applicable experience, threw his weight around, and sought to patronize the Brass.
Both characters were portrayed broadly, by skilled actors, and it worked.
Of course, the budding comedic genius of Tim Conway was the icing on the cake. The series was created during the glory days of Kennedy’s presidency, and undoubtedly the public’s fascination with PT 109 played a role in its popularity. I remember is fondly, as a bit of my growing up years, but I didn’t even begin to understand it at the time, lacking the historic perspective to truly understand the significance of what was portrayed, and lacking the life experience to catch onto the cultural references. For example, a Japanese POW saying “oy vey” didn’t mean much to me at the time, but it’s much funnier now.
That character was played by Yoshio Yoda–but I can’t recall the name of the character. Was it “Fuji”?
Yes indeed, Fuji. It added a very human touch. In the early ‘60s, you didn’t have to dig very deep before you would find someone who hated the Japanese people. While I understand why someone from that era would feel that way, it’s not at all true that all of the Japanese people supported what was going on in Japan at that time. The character Fuji didn’t want any trouble, and wanted no part in the fanatical element of the Japanese military. He knew a good thing when he saw it, and McHale was compassionate and allowed him to live with the crew of the 73.
It’s a good lesson. While Iran is aggressively pursuing nuclear arms, most citizens there just want to live. Sadly, the people in charge there don’t feel the same way, and I suspect that there will be no little amount of suffering by innocent people, before this is resolved. Years ago, I had a job where we had several customers who had fled Iran, and lived successful lives in the US. They loved to play golf, and were very friendly and welcoming towards me.
So Fuji was a great character, and brought a sense of humanity to the situation. In later episodes, the crew of the 73 was transferred to Italy, and a Fuji came along with, where he eventually met a second cousin Japanese American who was serving in the heroic 442nd, which was compromised entirely of Japanese Americans and I believe was the most highly decorated unit in the War. I applaud the sensibilities of the producers and writers of the series, for showing both sides of the coin.
I have to admit I really enjoyed Joe Flynn’s portrayal of Capt. Binghamton.
lol