What's your interpretation of this comic strip?

[Bosstone]

@DrDeth

Hammers, or rocks, not hair.

You dare deny Weird Al?!

Actually the line he uses is “box of hair” but nevermind that…

[What_Exit]

@Gordon McAlpin

The fact that some people here (and many more people elsewhere) have stated that they think it’s at least pretty funny makes it not a misfire. Nobody laughs at misfires.

You might not want to argue too much with lissener. He is a very nice guy but he never backs down. Just know he believes what he says to be true and you will not persuade him against this belief.

I did not find the particular comic to be funny or offensive. I found many of your other strips funny and a few had me chuckling enough for my wife to ask what was so funny.

Jim

[JohnT]

I’ve gotta tell ya…

I read it as a commentary about how movies are made by committee. Note that there are 6 producers and 18 people with story credits.

I noticed the “Jewish” names as well… names like Bono, Mitsuki Honda, Kevin Costner (he’s Jewish?), Vincent Trancredi (Italian, right), the two “O’Brien’s”, Paul Haggis (he’s Jewish too? The things you don’t know about people! ).

Sure there are “Jewish” names, but I see some Irish, some Italian, some Scottish, some Japanese names. Who cries for them?

[JohnT]

Hell… my words above were about a different strip (the November 26, 2006 strip) than the OP (December 19, 2005).

Sorry 'bout that.

[The_Hamster_King]

@Wee Bairn

Why does one have to be Chrsitian to be able to produce an “authentic” Christmas movie?

Exactly. Willi Wyler, the director of Ben Hur, one of the most Christian blockbusters ever made, was a Jew. Part of being a good artist is being able to create characters and stories very different from your own life.

No, there aren’t many overtly Christian Christmas movies because the fundamentalists are a niche market and major studio motion pictures are never targeted at niche markets.

I was kind of skeeved by the strip the first time I read it. It’s nice to know that it wasn’t intentionally antisemitic, but it certainly rubbed me the wrong way.

[mr.jp]

@Gordon McAlpin

The strip doesn’t say that at all. The line of dialogue reads: “[Almost every single Christmas movie makes] not even the slightest attempt to say something substantial about… real life.”

The line is about Christmas movies, not Jews.

It’s not just possible – it’s intended that readers make some connections between the two ideas (shitty Christmas movies and Jews) that aren’t in the strip. They have to in order to make sense of it. I’ve already acknowledged that the strip can be interpreted any number of ways, some of which are pretty ugly (anti-semitic, if you must). That was the idea.

But the strip itself raises none of the anti-semitic “messages” that anybody here has raised – not explicitly, anyway. There is no “explicit” anti-semitic message, as you said before. Look up the word “explicit,” lissener, because you used it incorrectly.

The strip inarguably implies that the Jews in Hollywood make shitty Christmas movies. But it says nothing of why.

There are NO words in this comic strip commenting about Christmas or Jews of any kind, however, and nothing is stated about those two things. There are absolutely no words establishing any relationship between Jews and the secularization of Christmas. The characters do not even acknowledge any connection between the host of Jewish names in the credits and their musing about the sad state of Christmas movies. They don’t see it: “I wonder why that is?” is not a statement; it’s a prompt for the reader to start wondering that themselves, and to see the answer that eludes the characters right in front of their eyes. But any connection that the reader establishes between the names and the shitty Christmas movies (based on their juxtaposition) is entirely imagined by the reader.

In making any connections, or in expanding the scope of the strip beyond the subject of Christmas movies (which is kind of retarded, since it’s a movie-themed comic strip), readers have to realize that all the contextual stuff they’re bringing to the table is just that: the reader bringing it to the table, and not something that was already on the table to begin with.

Anyway, this is pointless. I don’t want to debate basic literary theory here. It’s a humor comic strip, not Shakespeare.

Well written post.

I like how you got in here to explain. It reminds me of the scene in Annie Hall a man discusses the work of a director, and that director actually appears on screen and says “you know nothing of my work”.

I think you are applying the clever-stupid defence. You are writing a lot of fancy talk, around the statement that you don’t see how the strip is saying anything. To thwart that defence, Ill have to go through this in detail.

Ok, to the strip. The joke is that these two characters are wondering about something, and the answer to what they are wondering about is right in the front of their eyes. You agree with this, right? If this is not the case, and what you prominently display in front of them is just unrelated, then the strip sucks. This also means that everything they wonder about should be answered by the display they do not notice. Ok, the first thing they wonder about, as I understand it, is why christmas movies aren’t about christmas and christianity. They don’t see the obvious answer in front of them which is that the movie is made by Jews. And Jews don’t care about christmas. And this is funny. But then one of the characters wonders why movies don’t have anything substantial to say about real life. Now, in order for the strip to work, this too should be answered by the display. Which means that jews don’t care about real life. It’s either this, or your strip is constructed badly. Take your pick.

[John_Corrado]

Watch out, Gordon - if you don’t shape up, lissner may blog about your insolence.

[Ogre]

@lissener

Gordon, I read the strip again. You keep saying that there are any number of possible interpretations. But the one that goes “Jews use Christmas to steal money from Christians” is kind of the elephant in the room that makes it pretty hard to see the other interpretations.

I like a lot of your stuff, but it’s time for you to admit that this one is a misfire.

No it wasn’t. I did not interpret the strip in that way at all. Just because you and a few other people did does NOT make it a “misfire.” Stop being such a freaking critic for once in your life and just accept that other people have valid perspectives too, huh?

[Acsenray]

@mr. jp

It reminds me of the scene in Annie Hall a man discusses the work of a director, and that director actually appears on screen and says “you know nothing of my work”.

Not a director, but communication theorist and world-famous bullshitter Marshall McLuhan.

[Gordon_McAlpin]

@mr. jp

But then one of the characters wonders why movies don’t have anything substantial to say about real life. Now, in order for the strip to work, this too should be answered by the display. Which means that jews don’t care about real life.

That’s a complete non sequitur. Christmas movies ARE – by and large – vapid, inauthentic drivel that have nothing at all to do with real life. That’s a fact. To “reason” that it’s because the people who make them (and we all know it’s not Jews) “don’t care about real life” does not follow at all.

Maybe the people who make these movies could care less about saying anything substantial about real life in these movies? Why should they bother? Christians lap this shit up anyway, year after year.

So to repeat the very same message you quoted from: the line is about Christmas movies, not Jews.

[mr.jp]

@Gordon McAlpin

That’s a complete non sequitur. Christmas movies ARE – by and large – vapid, inauthentic drivel that have nothing at all to do with real life. That’s a fact. To “reason” that it’s because the people who make them (and we all know it’s not Jews) “don’t care about real life” does not follow at all.

Maybe the people who make these movies could care less about saying anything substantial about real life in these movies? Why should they bother? Christians lap this shit up anyway, year after year.

So to repeat the very same message you quoted from: the line is about Christmas movies, not Jews.

I agree that christmas movies are vapid, and have nothing to do with real life.

I know we disagree about that conclusion. But can you please tell me where in my detailed description that I’m losing you? I’ll make a numbered list to make it easier.

1. The joke is that these two characters are wondering about something, and the answer to what they are wondering about is right in the front of their eyes.

2. If they, in addition to that, also wonder about something that can not be explained by the display right in front of them, then that is just confusing, and bad writing.

3. The first thing they wonder about, is why christmas movies aren’t about christmas and christianity. They don’t see the obvious answer in front of them which is that the movie is made by Jews. And Jews don’t care about christmas. And this is funny.

4. Then one of the characters wonders why movies don’t have anything substantial to say about real life. According to (2) this should either be explained by the display right in front of them, or we have a case of bad writing.

5. If the wondering mentioned in (4) is to be explained by the display in front of the characters, then there should be a good reason that Jews don’t have anything to say about real life.

[mr.jp]

6. According to (4) and (5), either the strip is badly written, or there is a reason that Jews don’t have anything to say about real life.

[Gordon_McAlpin]

Twice now, the very answer you were looking for was in the same message that you were replying to.

I’m done repeating myself.

[mr.jp]

So why is the strip funny? It’s not funny just to say “christmas movies suck”.

[mr.jp]

Also, if Gordon is not answering, can someone else who thinks this is a well constructed comic strip, tell me at which point in my argument that you disagree?

[What_Exit]

@mr. jp

Also, if Gordon is not answering, can someone else who thinks this is a well constructed comic strip, tell me at which point in my argument that you disagree?

It is a comic strip. You read it quick and it is either funny or not. Your point is fairly valid from the look of it, but you are also over analyzing the strip.

If that was the first and only strip of Gordon’s someone reads, it would be easy to take offense. I did not take offense, I just did not think it was funny.

Jim

[The_Hamster_King]

@Gordon McAlpin

But any connection that the reader establishes between the names and the shitty Christmas movies (based on their juxtaposition) is entirely imagined by the reader.

But you, as the author of the strip, constructed that juxtaposition. Why fill the credits with Jewish names if you didn’t want your readers to make that connection?

[Lemur866]

I thought the strip was funny.

It’s funny because the characters are wondering why Christmas movies have nothing to do with Christ. And the answer, revealed in the credits, is that the people creating Christmas movies don’t give a rat’s ass about Christ. In the strip it’s because they’re all jewish, in reality it’s for a multitude of reasons, but mainly because Hollywood people are fame/money-grubbing a-souls.

Pretty simple really.

[Gordon_McAlpin]

@BayleDomon

I’m Jewish, though admittedly not very strongly, and I find it hilarious. It’s just too over-the-top to discern any real hate in it - I mean, Joseph and Mary Christian played by Seth Goldberg and Nicole Levy? Friskers the Cat played by Dreidel? It’s too absurd to be anti-Semitic.

That’s why the strip is funny, jp. Or at least why I think it is.

I’ll grant, it’s not my best strip ever. This is. Or maybe not.

[DrDeth]

Damn you to hell, dude!

I just got done reading every single Multiplex strip, and now you have to link us to another. Yes, that’s very funny. But edgy.

Overall, I find Multiplex very funny, but hwaaaaay too edgy to ever get syndicated into the daily papers. Not racist in my opinion, but certainly a fairly reasonable dude could read it and see racism.