(To see these cartoons bigger, click them. To find this McDonalds cartoon on fine merch, click here.)
Bizarro is brought to you today by Childhood Dreams.
Today we have two cartoons about clowns. One from now and one from 1997.
I'm one of those people who think that clowns are creepy as hell. I've never found graphic representations or photos of clowns creepy, just the live version, the person dressed like a psycho getting in your face and trying to make you laugh. Even as a child I instinctively did not trust people in costumes. Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, clowns, you name it. I couldn't help but think that if they meant me no harm they would not be concealing their identity. It's as simple as that.
Ronald McDonald is perhaps the most malevolent clown of all. The fact that the sort of worldwide cruelty and destruction that the McDonald's corporation is responsible for is represented by a clown is like something from a horror movie. They guy owns thousands of things called slaughter houses, for one thing. "Slaughter" isn't a funny word. I wont' go into a lot of detail, but the animal cruelty, environmental destruction and international health crises that are wrought by cheap hamburgers and chicken parts is a holocaust. I know it's the way the world works and it will not likely ever change, I'm just saying it sends chills down my spine.
I drew the McDonalds cartoon shortly after CHNW and I spent the night in an emergency room when she was hit by a NYC cab. Hospital ERs are not fun to draw because they are either incredibly spare and dull, like the doorway I've drawn here, or incredibly complex, like the rest of the rooms full of gadgets and equipment. It's a no-win for an artist.
"Fopah the Clown" is a weird little story about politically correct language. I don't remember why I wrote it or what I was thinking, but I've never been a fan of PC language in general. After seeing it evolve over the past 30+ years, I think it is a great way to act like we're doing something to end discrimination without really doing anything. Seems to be little more than lip service.
I could be wrong and probably am. I'm just one man spitting into the wind on a blog, as usual. Please come back and watch me spit some more next week.
Hope the rest of your weekend is like this.
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15 comments:
Dan, if you're going to again use the word "Holocaust" to describe the killing of animals for food, try saying it to a group of Auschwitz survivors. See if you get out of there without any broken bones.
@James...I understand your point but there is a difference between "a" holocaust and The Holocaust. The dictionary defines "holocaust" as "destruction or slaughter on a mass scale." I don't happen to think humans are the only ones who can suffer.
Dan, surprisingly, your association of clowns and horror movies did not result in you mentioning the classic standard by which all comedy thrillers should be judged, namely, "Killer Klowns from Outer Space". In case you haven't yet, please watch the DVD ASAP. For me, Ronny, it was very entertaining, but when my secret love, Rosalie, watched it too, and then said that it was "awesome", I was as close to Heaven as I'll ever get.
I absolutely love the McDonald's cartoon. That Easter Bunny out-link, on the other hand, will be haunting my dreams.
@Piraro... Okay, I see where you're coming from, and I apologize for flying off the handle. To me, though, using that term seems like you're delegitamizing the mass deaths carried out by the Nazis.
My boyfriend is terrified of clowns... I am sad that I can't share this post with him...
The problem with a lot of PC language is that it defeats itself. When a word is 'banned' for having bad connotations and replaced by a new word, that new word seems to invariably take on the same bad connotations.
I totally agree that it doesn't change attitudes, it only makes us sound nicer.
The irony of discussing the PC-ness of the world "holocaust" in a post which refers to the author's dissatisfaction with political correctness is great.
Anyhow, I agree with Piraro.
Now, if we could just be able to pronounce the small "h" when we say it...
The link to the 2006 comic of RM in a chicken house (or whatever it is called) reminded me of this painting we saw in Minneapolis a few years ago. This painting is 12' x 18' -- that's a lot of chickens!
http://dougargue.com/pages/single_image_pages/082_combo.html
on a lighter note, Ronald even has a Grimace on his face...
@James...Thanks for understanding. The thing is that when I compare what happens to non-human animals with The Holocaust I am not under appreciating the human suffering involved, but raising the suffering of non-human animals to our level. It's a matter of philosophy and it is, understandably, often misinterpreted to mean that the humans are being degraded.
Haven't seen "Killer Clowns from Outer Space" but will.
@patrick marr...Holy chicken shit, that is a big painting! It makes my brain hurt just to imagine executing it. I suppose the artist's suffering and tedium was meant to mirror the misery of the birds. I am reminded of people who crucify themselves at Easter to experience what Jesus did.
I agree with Sean about the irony here.
I don't think you can say the word 'holocaust' can exclusively be reserved for describing Nazi genocide.
In the study of religion the word 'holocaust' is used to describe a 'burnt offering' i.e. an animal sacrificed on an altar to a deity. That's a technical use of the term and why should it not be used just because someone has unilaterally decided it can now from this moment onwards only mean one thing?
Now, if Dan had used the word 'Shoah', then that would be insensitive.
My sentiments exactly, Biz. Clowns amd Santa, and E. Bunny, indeed. The ONLY one I would trust taht wears a mask would be Kemo Sabe.
There is a song by Jerry Jeff Walker, "pissing in the wind...and it's blowin' on all my friends, we're gonna laugh and drink and tell our grandchildren". You can get pissed on, and still find a reason to laugh, in spite of all the clowns. (apologies to J.J. if the words are not totally correct)
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