Media and our psyche (Art, Music, Literature and Video)

[Elias2k]

Has anyone been watching the Cartoon Garfield lately?

For the last two months, this Fat cat has been literally making fun of his caregiver Jon at times and even physically assaulting him and others in the strip. Take today for instance May 01, 2005 Jon’s on the roof fixing the warped leaky shingles and all of the sudden Whump! He is on his back flat with the Fat cat saying, “I strongly suspect the shingles were loose” with Jon crying “Mommy”. I guess Garfield can operate the can opener by himself since he certainly is not concerned with Jon and therefore in part his own welfare.

You have really missed Jon’s demoralization if you have not been reading Garfield over the last few months. I have read this cartoon for years and have never seen Jon treated by Garfield in such a fashion for such a long a time. I guess even Garfield (the fat cat) these days is feeling the pressures of modern life in America.

I wonder what Jon might do to Garfield (Fat Cat) after he gets too dirty as fat overfed cat’s can occasionally get after playing? Jon just might give him a nice flea bath with lots of soap and water.

You simply must watch Jon and Garfield in the future since Garfield is certainly no hero with upright virtues and these days seem to be getting more intolerant of Jon at times.  By watching Garfield many years, I think Garfield is a reflection of the social order of things and our reaction to them. I can definitely associate with Jon at times and at other times with Garfield. It seems these days I find myself becoming more familiar in association with Jon than Garfield. Either way Jon seems to be getting sleeper while Garfield (the Fat Cat) gets fatter and more intolerant as fat house cats become in due time. One can see great semblances between American Left wing and Right wing differences reflected here as well as some social groups and their behaviors. I have always been very good at noticing and interpreting graphic and auditory symbolisms. If you are paying attention, you too may find subconscious messages in art, music, literature, and video. This is our own psyche and those of others trying to communicate with us thru our subconscious (even being angelic or divine in nature). We have the science of the human mind to prove this possible today.

Is Jon as asleep and stupid as he seems to be at times in Garfield’s wake since March 2005?

Maybe Garfield needs to remember the old saying “Never bite the hand that feeds you.” I would love others to share their opinion on this and how it might relate to our social condition at times as well as the issues and problems we all face and their influences on our psyche. If you watch and read carefully, you just might notice something here. There were some semblances around the Schiavo case on March 16th-20th, 22nd, 24th and 31st 2005.

Jim Davis Garfield’s creator has great genius and artistic talents as I have spent half a lifetime reading this cartoon and associating it to our current social condition and issues. His psyche seems to be aware of where we are going socially more than others are at times as I have found great symbolism is his artwork.

What do you think about this symbolism in the media and is God or his angels trying to tell us something thru our media? Are we like Jon and partially asleep at times where issues and even our salvation are concerned? It seems to me Jon is befalling allot of misfortune lately in the wake of Garfield whom seems to always be in control while quietly scorning and even abusing other characters.

If you watch, listen and read in the future I think, you will notice this phenomenon!

Garfield Cartoon Archives:
http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/05/01/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/30/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/29/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/28/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/27/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/26/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/25/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/24/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/22/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/20/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/19/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/15/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/12/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/09/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/06/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/02/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/04/01/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/03/31/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/03/30/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/03/29/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/03/28/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/01/29/Entertainment/cartoons.html
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/01/28/Entertainment/cartoons.html

http://www.slangdesign.com/garfield (Old)

Schiavo Case History
http://www.christianliferesources.com/cgi-bin/home.pl?SchiavoHistory

[Sapphire W34P0N]

I think Jim Davis needed to stop drawing the Garfield comic strip about eight years ago.

[Tibby]

You think Garfeild has changed? No way! I hate to be the second person to Parrot Maddox's views on the subject, the Davis hasn't tried something new in years! He just recycles the old comedy again and again. Someone gets hurt, some else find it entertaining, end script. It never changes.

[JudgeNot]

Okay - I can't help it - speaking of comics; do you make this cartoon funny or sacrilegious?  



Personally - I laughed out loud when I read it today.  But - I guess depending on my mood (or whatever crap I've read about rhe ACLU during the day) it could offend me.  

Bottom line - I don't think we can judge a cartoon strip unless we know what the author is thinking.  I certainly take offense to strips like 'Doonsbury' (which I quit reading years ago) - and another racist strip with African American children with chips on their shoulders - - 'Boondocks'

There are a lot of strips out there with political agendas - from animal welfare to the environment to veganism.  To me, as Tibby pointed out - Garfield is no different that the Roadrunner - always mangling the poor coyote - gathering a laugh based on violence.  It's been around since way before Shakespeare.

[Soldier4Christ]

With the Roadrunner and Coyote I always took it that the Coyote was the one initiating the violence and it always backfired on him. The roadrunner simply avoided the traps. Actually a good morality lesson. (Be careful what you do because it will come back on you.)

I do agree that there is to much violence in cartoons these days without any kind of morality lesson of any sort in them.

[Elias2k]

What I learned from this besides having a good laugh is husbands really do pay attention to their wife’s eventual eccentric and non-Martian behavior. Obviously, the cartoonist or some other male person clearly spilled something on the carpet while reading or possibly even watching TV prior to drawing this cartoon. You can rest assured that grandma or even the Road Runner is the last thing ones mind when this happens. For when this happens to some men, the sight of grandma or the Coyote in hot pursuit would be a more pleasant thought especially if the carpet just happened to have been new. Obviously, some people have had much better luck with such things than I have. I know respectfully ask how long have you been married to grandma?  

I say this in humor and with every respect for working tired women being wives with children at home watching cartoons.

Thank God, I now have wood and tile floors with Brawny the upright man at my side!

Signed,
   Trained to the newspaper

[Sapphire W34P0N]

One has to wonder at the kind of people who take the time to seriously analyze the comics, besides the artists themselves.

[Elias2k]

My opinions of some cartoons are not an Analysis per say but rather an observation. Children learn things quicker thru graphics than words at first. I am a father of three wonderful children and do preview and at times censor the content of some media.
Why?  Because of the subliminal induction of violent or abusive content. I have been in around children most of my life and can see the differences in behaviors where parents have paid attention to details. “If you don’t like it turn it off” does apply here.


I was simply wondering if others were noticing how some media over others affect children’s psyche and their behaviors.

[JudgeNot]

Today's B.C. - read by millions, is refreshing.
There are people here in liberal-land who want the strip banned from the local paper because it "doesn't reflect modern diversity".  The paper tried to drop the strip a year or two ago, but the outcry at the bannishment squashed the opposition's Godless whimper.

[cris]

Today's B.C. - read by millions, is refreshing.
There are people here in liberal-land who want the strip banned from the local paper because it "doesn't reflect modern diversity".  The paper tried to drop the strip a year or two ago, but the outcry at the bannishment squashed the opposition's Godless whimper.

I see it, I see it, I see it!  

Now, for my interpretation.  If you don't go by the way of the Cross, the EXIT sign should point DOWN.

Grace and peace,
cris

[Elias2k]

A more grounded and down to earth approach to the Christian religion. I have become more and more acquainted with BC daily since one can see there was simply no symbolic meaning to the cross Before Christ. I personally prefer the symbolic meaning behind the Star of David since it describes the truest human condition on this earth.  


References:
http://www.comics.com/creators/bc/archive/bc-20050529.html