tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post115016441925763052..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: The Influence of DoonesburyAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-5960839918567903612015-01-07T11:10:45.919-05:002015-01-07T11:10:45.919-05:00A humorist can get away with bitterness, maybe a l...A humorist can get away with bitterness, maybe a little didacticism, but not both.<br /><br />The Trudeau riffs that still are catchwords with my husband and me a largely apolitical, like Honey's review of the party supplies she's ordered, followed by a guest list, and Uncle Duke's outraged: "Guests? You invited guests?"Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-80875092848704274012014-10-17T13:24:07.280-04:002014-10-17T13:24:07.280-04:00George H.W. flew the TBMAvenger, a torpedo bomber,...George H.W. flew the TBMAvenger, a torpedo bomber, not a fighter.Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-55859207430931201852009-09-04T17:54:50.213-04:002009-09-04T17:54:50.213-04:00Eneils - nah, read Roger Kimball and Mark Steyn. ...Eneils - nah, read Roger Kimball and Mark Steyn. You'll get enough overview of popular elite culture - plus insight - without having to wade through it yourself.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-35055351645392636542009-09-04T17:39:18.076-04:002009-09-04T17:39:18.076-04:00I guess I am one of those poor, uninformed, less f...I guess I am one of those poor, uninformed, less fortunate individuals who never read Doonesbury, never watched a single episode of "Seinfeld," "American Idol," "Survivor,"...etc...etc...<br />I saw those Doonesbury strips on office doors and bulletin boards and heard my co-workers talk about Seinfeld episodes and reality shows. <br />Since I just retired at 60, do you think my life will be enriched if I go back and read and watch all this crap?<br />If you recommend a complete review, where do you think I went wrong? Don't want to do something like this again.Eneils Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759385951034052061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-40247766985668947062008-01-19T22:51:00.000-05:002008-01-19T22:51:00.000-05:00Zonker's Uncle Duke was based on Hunter ThompsonZonker's Uncle Duke was based on Hunter ThompsonAssistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-50152423713270987202008-01-19T21:58:00.000-05:002008-01-19T21:58:00.000-05:00Is he the one based on HSThompson?Is he the one based on HSThompson?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-68582987432105770042007-07-28T07:21:00.000-04:002007-07-28T07:21:00.000-04:00AVI:Good analysis. I, too, was a Doonesbury addic...AVI:<BR/><BR/>Good analysis. I, too, was a Doonesbury addict, at least until I finished law school in the early '80s. And some 1970-83 or so strips still makes me chuckle--Zonker's bust "Wow--one, two, three seeds!"/"You know what that means!"/"A dealer!"' Woodrow saying "by God, I love the law;" Joanie's first night at Rick's, "I'm pretty good at breakfast too! (as the girl goes for broke);" and Phred discovering that the UN General Assembly is seated by GDP (one of Trudeau’s few genuinely conservative thoughts, even if satire; of course his other was Lacy Davenport; I was a campaign volunteer for the real-life Davenport, a NJ congresswoman named Millicent Fenwick). <BR/><BR/>He also remains the master of the five-panel-in-four comic, where the last line of the last panel normally is only tangentially related to the other panels and way outside the box. Only Zippy the Pinhead came close.<BR/><BR/>But he never had a handle on Reagan, and certainly not on Bush 43. And it was also sometime in the latter 1970s that conservatives started turning smart, cool and funny, failing to dislodge the left only for folk songs. So not only did Trudeau age and run short of new ideas, but he couldn't (or didn't want to) adapt to an environment where liberals might be slightly pathetic and conservatives were very much aware of the fact. <BR/><BR/>Still, I have all the old large-size paperbacks on a living room shelf. I read them occassionally. And they retain the aroma from their practical use, even without Zonker's seeds.@nooil4pacifistshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688417615117569825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-84173219002378437392007-03-10T22:52:00.000-05:002007-03-10T22:52:00.000-05:00Ben, the 25 Years of Doonesbury is yours, given to...Ben, the 25 Years of Doonesbury is yours, given to you by my brother for Christmas a few years ago. I think he was secretly worried you'd go through your life only hearing the conservative point of view and wanted to correct that.<BR/><BR/>Which would annoy me from anyone else but him.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-53252362273885678652007-03-10T12:35:00.000-05:002007-03-10T12:35:00.000-05:00I read all those little paperback Doonesburys when...I read all those little paperback Doonesburys when I was younger, and became fond enough of them that I took them with me to Houston. And I think I was the only person who read every single one of the Doonesburys on the "25 Years of Doonesbury" CD-ROM that you got. In fact, Doonesbury was my primary introduction to virtually every political issue that happened in the 70's and 80's - I never got to see the movement, just the lampoonment. <BR/><BR/>It got sadder and sadder to see the comic as it went... first you saw it as it lost its touch, getting less on target and less funny. And then the bitterness kept getting more transparent, and the comic became a lot less funny, but Trudeau didn't seem to care anymore, that wasn't his main concern. He wanted people to <I>understand</I>. He wanted people to get <I>angry</I>.<BR/><BR/><I>Doonesbury</I> presents a fascinating medium because you can actually go back and watch, day by day, everything Trudeau built fall apart. With an author or a filmmaker or a musician, we see it in jumps - the newest novel suddenly presents a new worldview, the latest album is bitterer and darker. <I>Doonesbury</I>'s slow decline into darkness could be tracked daily over your morning coffee.Ben Wymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491745981357751416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-1150224327313581002006-06-13T14:45:00.000-04:002006-06-13T14:45:00.000-04:00AVI, this is absolutely the BEST critique of Doone...AVI, this is absolutely the <B>BEST</B> critique of Doonesbury I have ever read. Perhaps, it took a former liberal to do it properly. Well done Sir, well done!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com