| Writing Non-Fiction posted October 2, 2023 | Chapters: |
3 4 -5- 6... 
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How Comic Strips Collide With Society
A chapter in the book Funny Pages
Cancel The Culture
by Brett Matthew West
(NOTE: The chapters in this book intentionally kept short. Enjoy!)
Without becoming too political, which I try to avoid as much as possible in my writings, there have been occasions when comic strips and sociatal views clash head-on. The results of these crashes have usually affected comic strips much more.
Take for instance the outrage caused by cartoonist Scott Adams' "Dilbert" in early 2023. This strip was a satirical office humor piece about a white-collar engineer and his micromanaged office. Several newspapers, particularly those in the USA Today network, as well as "Dilbert's" own distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, cut ties with Adams.
Why? A political fiasco ensued after Scott Adams made remarks on his online video program in which he referred to Black people as part of what he called a "hate group". Adams also advised White people should, in his own words, "get away" from them. Sparks flew. "Dilbert" went bye-bye. Not to be outdone, Scott Adams relaunched the strip as a webcomic on Locals under the new name of "Daily Dilbert Reborn."
"Dilbert" is not the only comic to run afoul of the political side of society. "Doonesbury" is another example of this classic phenomenon. One shining example of headbutting between "Doonesbury" and the norms of society occurred in 1973. (Oh, but, far and away this event was not "Doonesbury's" single such brouhaha.)
In its more than fifty years of existence, "Doonesbury" has been booted out of newspapers on multiple occasions. In 1973, Watergate was one prime occurrence. When cartoonist Garry Trudeau declared the conspirators to be "guilty, guilty, guilty," he ticked off several newspapers that yanked "Doonesbury" out of their publications. Among them were the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Soon thereafter, "Doonesbury" would be relegated to the Editorial section of newspapers that would carry the strip. This action isolated "Doonesbury" and disconnected the strip from the host newspapers.
Next Time: "Doonesbury" Revisited (You will see why "Doonesbury" needs its own chapter.)
(NOTE: The chapters in this book intentionally kept short. Enjoy!)
Without becoming too political, which I try to avoid as much as possible in my writings, there have been occasions when comic strips and sociatal views clash head-on. The results of these crashes have usually affected comic strips much more.
Take for instance the outrage caused by cartoonist Scott Adams' "Dilbert" in early 2023. This strip was a satirical office humor piece about a white-collar engineer and his micromanaged office. Several newspapers, particularly those in the USA Today network, as well as "Dilbert's" own distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, cut ties with Adams.
Why? A political fiasco ensued after Scott Adams made remarks on his online video program in which he referred to Black people as part of what he called a "hate group". Adams also advised White people should, in his own words, "get away" from them. Sparks flew. "Dilbert" went bye-bye. Not to be outdone, Scott Adams relaunched the strip as a webcomic on Locals under the new name of "Daily Dilbert Reborn."
"Dilbert" is not the only comic to run afoul of the political side of society. "Doonesbury" is another example of this classic phenomenon. One shining example of headbutting between "Doonesbury" and the norms of society occurred in 1973. (Oh, but, far and away this event was not "Doonesbury's" single such brouhaha.)
In its more than fifty years of existence, "Doonesbury" has been booted out of newspapers on multiple occasions. In 1973, Watergate was one prime occurrence. When cartoonist Garry Trudeau declared the conspirators to be "guilty, guilty, guilty," he ticked off several newspapers that yanked "Doonesbury" out of their publications. Among them were the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Soon thereafter, "Doonesbury" would be relegated to the Editorial section of newspapers that would carry the strip. This action isolated "Doonesbury" and disconnected the strip from the host newspapers.
Next Time: "Doonesbury" Revisited (You will see why "Doonesbury" needs its own chapter.)
Without becoming too political, which I try to avoid as much as possible in my writings, there have been occasions when comic strips and sociatal views clash head-on. The results of these crashes have usually affected comic strips much more.
Take for instance the outrage caused by cartoonist Scott Adams' "Dilbert" in early 2023. This strip was a satirical office humor piece about a white-collar engineer and his micromanaged office. Several newspapers, particularly those in the USA Today network, as well as "Dilbert's" own distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, cut ties with Adams.
Why? A political fiasco ensued after Scott Adams made remarks on his online video program in which he referred to Black people as part of what he called a "hate group". Adams also advised White people should, in his own words, "get away" from them. Sparks flew. "Dilbert" went bye-bye. Not to be outdone, Scott Adams relaunched the strip as a webcomic on Locals under the new name of "Daily Dilbert Reborn."
"Dilbert" is not the only comic to run afoul of the political side of society. "Doonesbury" is another example of this classic phenomenon. One shining example of headbutting between "Doonesbury" and the norms of society occurred in 1973. (Oh, but, far and away this event was not "Doonesbury's" single such brouhaha.)
In its more than fifty years of existence, "Doonesbury" has been booted out of newspapers on multiple occasions. In 1973, Watergate was one prime occurrence. When cartoonist Garry Trudeau declared the conspirators to be "guilty, guilty, guilty," he ticked off several newspapers that yanked "Doonesbury" out of their publications. Among them were the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Soon thereafter, "Doonesbury" would be relegated to the Editorial section of newspapers that would carry the strip. This action isolated "Doonesbury" and disconnected the strip from the host newspapers.
Next Time: "Doonesbury" Revisited (You will see why "Doonesbury" needs its own chapter.)
dire warnings!, by Renate-Bertodi, selected to complement my posting.
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