# Did "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" contain an anti-Bush jab? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533 "2005-07-28T04:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/1 "2005-07-28T04:42:04Z")
This isn’t a Great Debate because I’m not interested in either bashing or defending Bush. But I could not help but notice that during one scene in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” where Willy Wonka is asked questions that he does not have good answers for, he takes out index cards and begins insincerely reciting canned answers from them. The back of the cards are marked with a large red “W.” Coincidence? Perhaps. But perhaps not. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/2 "2005-07-28T04:48:57Z")
The character is named Willy Wonka, so there are an awful lot of Ws in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/3 "2005-07-28T04:50:34Z")
Hmm… Why would Willy Wonka work with W cards? Yep, must be a political thing. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/4 "2005-07-28T04:56:53Z")
Alright, alright, take it easy. It was just a theory… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/5 "2005-07-28T05:12:18Z")
A rather wonky theory, at that. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/6 "2005-07-28T06:13:10Z")
I just saw the movie today, and I thought this thread would be about the possible anti-Bush jab _I_ picked up on: As Mike Teevee is being beamed across the room, Willy says something very close to “Be very careful – we want no part of him left behind.” Subtle NCLB jab? Well, I thought so! ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/7 "2005-07-28T07:12:24Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > I just saw the movie today, and I thought this thread would be about the possible anti-Bush jab _I_ picked up on: > > As Mike Teevee is being beamed across the room, Willy says something very close to “Be very careful – we want no part of him left behind.” > > Subtle NCLB jab? Well, I thought so! Don’t the Army Rangers believe in “never leaving a man behind”? I’d probably think of that instead. Kind of like John Goodman’s Character in “Raising Arizona” when he notices the baby is no longer on the roof of the car. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/8 "2005-07-28T12:19:21Z")
Can’t a line be a joke based on a common saying, whether the saying is political or military, without being a “jab”? ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/9 "2005-07-28T13:11:14Z")
Well, I believe Bush deserves all sorts of jabs, but even so, I don’t think the ever-present Ws in the movie had anything to do with the president. I often notice references to the Bush administration in movies and TV these days, and they’re often disparaging. However, I noticed the same thing about Clinton when he was in office, so I don’t think it’s a big deal. I suspect these sorts of references are usually conscious jabs at the president, following the fine American tradition of taking shots at the president, whoever he is. Sometimes I suspect some of those jabs might have been unconscious, but I bet they’re usually intentional. And long live this tradition! Sure, Bush and the 41 other guys who have sat in the Oval Office might not share that sentiment, but hell, that’s the price of taking the kind of job that will cause generations of schoolchildren yet unborn to be required to memorize your name and write it down while taking pointless memorization tests. Oo… I just thought of something! **O** ompa- **L** oompa, **O** sama bin **L** aden… coïncidence? I dunno… ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/10 "2005-07-28T13:35:11Z")
where’s the tin-foil hat smilie when you need it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/11 "2005-07-28T14:16:24Z")
It’s all true. Any future use of a capital W is a clear and unmistakable reference to the current U.S. President. I think it was mandated by congress. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/12 "2005-07-28T14:22:02Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Can’t a line be a joke based on a common saying, whether the saying is political or military, without being a “jab”? NEVER! NEVER! (well, hardly ever.) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/13 "2005-07-28T14:31:26Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > NEVER! NEVER! > > (well, hardly ever.) Insert parody of [The Major General’s Song](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_General's_Song) here. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/14 "2005-07-28T16:06:35Z")
It was not the W on the card - It was Wonka’s delivery and his stumbling and fumbling and reading of a canned, unsure, automated answer to questions that he didn’t have good retorts for…plus the W on the card. Bush’s lack of public speaking skills is probably the number one thing that people mock him for. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/15 "2005-07-28T16:24:24Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Insert parody of [The Major General’s Song](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_General's_Song) here. Well, okay… I am the very model of a modern chocolate genius, I churn out choc’late candy bars in versions most polygenous, I know all types of cocao beans and ev’ry dairy offering, From Pasteur’s notes on mountain goats to ev’ry milk cow’s proffering. I’m very well acquainted, too, with running empires corporate, I understand supply, demand, and how the market’s inchoate About new products I can sell—ideas, I’ve a lot of 'em, With sweets I know will be big hits, although I’ve not yet thought of 'em. I don’t know if I’ll write more of it. I think that’s enough to get the joke across. I apologize for a couple of dodgy rhymes there, but you get what you pay for… ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/16 "2005-07-28T17:02:04Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > It was not the W on the card - It was Wonka’s delivery and his stumbling and fumbling and reading of a canned, unsure, automated answer to questions that he didn’t have good retorts for…plus the W on the card. > > Bush’s lack of public speaking skills is probably the number one thing that people mock him for. I think it was more to illustrate Willy Wonka’s lack of people skills than anything else. It’s well within his character. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/17 "2005-07-28T17:03:51Z")
Not the Major General, the line is from that [Infernal nonsense, Pinafore](http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/pinafore/web_opera/pin04.html) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/18 "2005-07-28T17:04:51Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Not the Major General, the line is from that [Infernal nonsense, Pinafore](http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/pinafore/web_opera/pin04.html) :smack: D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/19 "2005-07-28T19:10:47Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Not the Major General, the line is from that [Infernal nonsense, Pinafore](http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/pinafore/web_opera/pin04.html) But still G&S ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533/20 "2005-07-28T19:52:37Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Can’t a line be a joke based on a common saying, whether the saying is political or military, without being a “jab”? On the flip side, can we have a story about a wholesome family without folks interpreting it as a “sign” of “Republican values”? (I’m thinking about _The Incredibles_ especially). Sometimes a film is just a film. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-contain-an-anti-bush-jab/314533.md?page=2)