There was a Far Side cartoon in which a very, very wealthy man sits in front of a grand piano under a grand chandelier and his wife says, “Why don’t you play some blues?”.
I view this strip as a 5 panel expansion of that single panel joke by Gary Larson.
Alessan:
All of which, interestingly, also emphasize generic feel-good-ness or generic winter pleasures rather than the guy who was supposedly born on December 25.
[QUOTE=lavenderviolet]
The impression I get from the other strip linked here is that he isn’t Jewish, but probably feels that it is hypocritical for people to think that joking around about race/religion is only okay if you’re part of that group. Maybe someone can write him and ask for a clarification.
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Hi, I’m to blame for the strip in the OP. I saw a slew of hits coming from the Straight Dope in my site stats, and I thought I’d check things out.
Lavenderviolet has it straight: I’m not Jewish (or of any religion), but I do think – to a point – some racial/religious/cultural joking is okay and even funny in certain contexts. Context is the key: I hope that an overtly left-leaning humor comic strip with a fairly diverse cast and drawn by a racially mixed cartoonist has a little room to bump into people’s sensibilities a bit, in both good and bad ways.
I think the strip in the original post is so absurd (when you think about its literal inaccuracy, as WhyNot pointed out) that it crosses over from just being offensive into funny. Some people have disagreed, though, and I can understand where they’re coming from.
But I mean no genuine offense to anyone from any of the strips in Multiplex. Except for stupid people, Republicans, and bad filmmakers.
[QUOTE=Gordon McAlpin]
But I mean no genuine offense to anyone from any of the strips in Multiplex. Except for stupid people, Republicans, and bad filmmakers.
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As at least two of those things, I say welcome, and I’ll keep reading your strip.
Hey, thanks for popping in! Hope we don’t crash your site, 'cause I started back at the beginning and I’m loving it! (And “Angie” looks exactly like my friend Angie. I wonder if we know the same people. That’d be…odd.)
But do stick around if you have some time to waste (or even if you don’t). Judging from your strip, you’re funny, articulate and intelligent and just the sort of poster we need more of around here!
You mean, like “Adeste Fideles”, and “Stille Nacht”, and “Angels we Have Heard on High”, and “What Child is This”?
And yes, I noticed all of the Jewish names, too… Even the cat was Jewish (dreidle). It’s probably fair to say that Jewish moviemakers would miss the religious significance of Christmas, but to say they’d miss out on anything connected to the human condition is rather offensive.
[QUOTE=John Corrado]
As at least two of those things, I say welcome, and I’ll keep reading your strip.
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John, I thought your last movie was pretty decent…oh.
Hey, I keed. I keed.
[QUOTE=Zakalwe]
John, I thought your last movie was pretty decent…oh.
Hey, I keed. I keed.
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Heh. No, it sucked. It was fun to be part of, but it sucked.
Yes, it’s a bit racial. I’d say more controversial than racist.
Why are many of the replies here in spoiler tags? 
Welcome to the SDMB Gordon McAlpin. It seems like you have “been there done that” at a theatre, or am I wrong?
[QUOTE=John Corrado]
As at least two of those things, I say welcome, and I’ll keep reading your strip.
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[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Welcome to the SDMB Gordon McAlpin. It seems like you have “been there done that” at a theatre, or am I wrong?
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Thanks. And, actually, no. I’ve never worked at a theater. But my friend Kurt (the basis for the character Kurt) did for several years, as a staff worker and later as a manager, and I would routinely hang out at his job pretty often, and I rack his brain once in a while to keep things accurate. He’s kind of a “creative consultant,” I guess.
But I’m mostly drawing from my experiences working at bars and restaurants when I do the customer service stuff in the strip, or just from the fact that I’m a smart-assed movie nerd.
[QUOTE=Gordon McAlpin]
But I mean no genuine offense to anyone from any of the strips in Multiplex. Except for stupid people, Republicans, and bad filmmakers.
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Then you oughta fit in 'round here just fine. We have some from each group here, too, but the rest of us think of them as targets.
And I thought the cartoon was funny because it is, to an extent, true. I remember being taken aback when I saw that Norman Lear, Bernie Orenstein, Aaron Ruben, Saul Turteltaub, and Bud Yorkin were the producers of “Sanford and Son” but it showed that you don’t need to be black to help create a series accepted by black people. However, it helped they hired prominent black writers like Gary Shandling.
[QUOTE=jjimm]
Everyone who made the movie has a stereotypically Jewish name (except for one Khan). Hence the loss of Jesus from Christmas. And the increase in commercialism..? Not sure. Was it drawn by Mel Gibson?
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Khan=Cohen
OuryL:
Actually, it’s Kahn that would = Cohen. Khan is Asian royalty (as in Genghis and Kublai). But the two are easily confused, and no doubt that was the nature of the error in the strip.
I must have missed the other Jewish-sounding names because I was laughing at the part of “troublemaker” being played by Leopold Loeb.
Speaking as an observant Catholic who hates vapid holiday movies…
The strip is anti-semitic and utterly wrong-headed.
Look, Christianity was never treated so well on screen as it was during the Golden Age of Hollywood, when Jews really DID run all the major studios! Louis B. Mayer, Sam Goldwyn, Harry Cohn and the Warners gave the Catholic Church the best possible image.
I mean, where did we Catholic kids get our idealized images of saintly priests (a la Spencer Tracy and Pat O’Brien and Bing Crosby) if not from movie studios run by Jews?
[QUOTE=jjimm]
(except for one Khan)
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“Khan” could very well be a variation of “Kahn” or “Cohn.”
[QUOTE=cmkeller]
All of which, interestingly, also emphasize generic feel-good-ness or generic winter pleasures rather than the guy who was supposedly born on December 25.
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Yep. I call it the White Christmas Effect.
[QUOTE=Peter Morris]
I must have missed the other Jewish-sounding names because I was laughing at the part of “troublemaker” being played by Leopold Loeb.
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I’m glad I wasn’t the only person to notice that. Cracked me up.
And hey, I now have a new comic to read when I get bored at work! Hooray!
[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Why are many of the replies here in spoiler tags? 
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Because we were trying to avoid influencing other peoples’ interpretations, just like the OP was by not giving his.