MAD’s Al Jaffe on More than 50 Years of Cartooning

Posted on March 16, 2017 at 3:39 pm

Vanity Fair pays tribute to MAD’s Al Jaffe, creator of the iconic “fold-in” and the snarky “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” noting that he is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest-running cartoonist. I was happy to see that he told one of my favorite stories, about one of the legendary trips the MAD artists used to take together every year.

The first trip we ever took was to Haiti. All the Mad artists and writers, we went over to Haiti.

That’s a weird place to take a company retreat.

It was, sure. It was ostensibly about bonding as a group, everybody getting to know each other a little better. But the second day we’re there, Bill rents a bunch of Jeeps, and he tells us “We’re going to visit someone.”

That’s all he tells you?

We have no clue what’s happening. So we all get in these jeeps, and we drive out to some neighborhood in Haiti, and pull up in front of a house. Bill knocks on the door, a guy answers, and Bill says to him, “We’ve all come here to find out why you canceled your subscription to Mad.”

No he didn’t!

He really did. This guy was Mad’s only Haitian reader, and Bill didn’t want to lose him. So he brought the entire staff to his doorstep. We all just started begging, “What can we do? Come back to us!” He eventually said yes. And the guy next door, his neighbor, he became a subscriber too. So we left Haiti with two new Mad readers.

What Movie Did International Fans Select as the All-Time Best?

Posted on March 16, 2017 at 3:16 pm

Far from scientific, but still fun to read about: A survey, conducted just after the Oscars, collected responses to a single, fill-in-the-blank question from more than 10,500 movie watchers spanning five different languages in the UK, Europe, Japan, and the U.S., which were then machine translated and analyzed in minutes by OdinText, a text analytics software platform. The movie they picked: “Titanic.” Number 2: “Star Wars” (all of them).

Related Tags:

Understanding Media and Pop Culture

The Mindy Project: Imagine Mindy as a White Male

Posted on March 15, 2017 at 3:42 pm

Mindy Kaling’s “The Mindy Project” has a sharp season ender as Mindy, applying for a job, gets to see how her life would be different if she were white and male. The white male version of Mindy is played by “Veronica Mars” bro Ryan Hansen, and as the white male version of herself, Mindy learns (as Eddie Murphy did in his famous SNL sketch) that in a job interview, no one asks a man about balancing work and home responsibilities. New York Magazine’s Vulture column notes:

When you’re privileged, “Your life is so carefree, you start wondering why other people don’t just help themselves. Because you think life is just as easy for everyone else.” But Mindy misses being interesting and different, so she wishes to go back to being an Indian woman. Plus, she gets to bond with Dr. Lee over fettuccine at the hospital. A perfect little lesson in privilege and allyship, wrapped in a sweet, sitcom form.

The Outsiders Turns 50

Posted on March 15, 2017 at 8:00 am

It has been 50 years since S.E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders when she was just 16 years old. The book has become a classic for generations of teenagers ever since. Its gritty depiction of the world of the Greasers and the Socs inspired a new authenticity in the the genre of YA literature and some controversy as well — it is still banned in some places for its depiction of teen smoking, drinking, and violence.

The 1983 movie version directed by Francis Ford Coppola featured a cast of future superstars, including C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Leif Garrett, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane.

The New York Times noted the book’s half-century with an article on its origins and influence.

For Ms. Hinton, the book is something of a time capsule of her own emotionally driven teenage angst. “I think that’s why it still resonates with teens, because they feel like that,” she said. “Your feelings are over the top. You’re feeling and seeing injustice, and you’re standing up against it.”

Related Tags:

Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Parents Should Not Worry About the Gay Character in “Beauty and the Beast”

Posted on March 13, 2017 at 3:08 pm

This week’s live action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” features a character who is gay, leading to some complaints, some controversy, and one theater refusing to show the film. I applaud Disney for the way they have created the character and think the film is entirely suitable for family viewing.

In what way is the character gay? The character is LeFou, played by Josh Gad (Olaf from “Frozen”). He is a sort of sidekick/henchman to the film’s villain Gaston. Making him gay just means he has something of a gently suggested crush on Gaston, which makes his character more sympathetic and his loyalty more understandable.

At the end of the film, we see him dancing with a female character and then briefly with another male character. That male character seems happy when magically put in a dress — for just a second or two.

That’s it. There is nothing explicit or sexual about the portrayal.

Why is it important to have gay characters in movies for families? Families should see characters who reflect the diversity of the world around us. Children need to see the people they know portrayed in the media. Most kids will not even notice whether LeFou is gay or not, but kids who have gay friends or family members or whose classmates may have gay parents or siblings or who may think they may be gay themselves may find it reassuring to see a gay character appreciated and happy.

What should I say if my child asks about the character or the controversy? “Some boys like girls and some boys like boys.” “Some people are uncomfortable about others being gay because they don’t understand it, but fortunately, stories like this help us see how gay people are cherished members of our community in movies like they are in the world.” “There are other gay characters in stories, too, like Dumbledore.” And “I’m always happy to hear your thoughts and try to answer your questions.”