Friday, January 10, 2014

Popeye’s Understanding of “Being”.

This week's topic comes via the Old Fossil.  It's not surprising since he and Lafawnda danced the Popeye dance at her wedding. Max Fleischer would have been proud.

Popeye was a simple guy.   Honest, hard working, dedicated and loyal. He's the epitome of the good man in the 30s  His girl Olive Oyl was way ahead of the slim craze so prevalent among models - she's the original string bean. And the epitome of fickle.

At his core is "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam" A man who knows himself and is comfortable in his own skin.  That's about as good as you can be so in that respect Popeye is a great example of getting by in life. The fact that his girlfriend constantly throws him over for Bluto which always ends in battle of some kind is a testament to Popeye's persistence  and the benefits of the occasional can of spinach.  The cycle seems to be repeated in every cartoon.  Personally I'd consider dumping Olive but that's not Popeye's style.

So here we have a man who is  honest, hard-working, dedicated, loyal and persistent, I'd say his understanding of being and chances for a successful, happy life are pretty good if he could just escape that cartoon world he inhabits.  Traits any parent would  like to instill in their child. The constant brawling? Maybe not so much. But the generation that begat Popeye didn't have Playstations and Xboxs.  If they did would their heroes be as honorable as Popeye?

All of this poses a question though.  What do your favorite cartoon characters say about you? In coming up with this little ditty I was constantly reminded of Fos - who lacks the oversized forearms and pipe but certainly embodies the essence of Popeye's being.


5 comments:

  1. I don't know what lovin' the Popeye cartoon says about me Shackman and don't care. I'm always gonna love him.

    You know, I got last week's topic right but not this Friday.
    blessings ~ maxi

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  2. A post with no music??? Pick me up Popeye, It is almost as bad as a pub with no beer!

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  3. When I was young I was also very thin. As a missionary, many Taiwanese called me "Olive Oyl". But unlike her, I wasn't wispy washy with boy friends. :)

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  4. My favourite cartoon character was an Indian, He simply stood around observing what life had to offer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Common_Man He is still a very powerful figure for people of my generation.
    You are right in that we did not have diversions that the modern kids have and we fended for ourselves through very different value systems that are quaint to say the least in the eyes of modern youth. A recently divorced young man of thirty asked me just two days ago as to how people of my generation had such long and satisfactory marriages. He could not get anywhere near understanding what I meant by adjusting!

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  5. After the retirement of Gary Larson I was lost. Without "Farside" printed humor seemed to cease to exist. But then about a year or so back, I stumbled across Eno and Fang who are featured in a cartoon titled "The Duplex" and once again I am 'cartoon contented'. As to your question, I think I may see just a bit of me reflected in the character of Eno but that's okay. It puts a smile on my face. :)

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