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'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

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Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#61

Post by debo_ »

RhysU wrote: post #28
WillAdams wrote: post #2

I can still remember choosing between the morning or evening paper based on which included _Calvin and Hobbes_, so it certainly worked to sell papers. The boxed collection is wonderful, and one of my favourites. For folks who want a bit more, there have been a couple of homages: "Hobbes and Bacon": https://imgur.com/gallery/all-hobbes-bacon-by-pants-are-over... --- a bit too on-the-nose for my taste, which doesn't re…

Much, but not all, of 'Phoebe and Her Unicorn' has just-enough echoes of C&H while doing its own thing. https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn

This is so cute!

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#62

Post by virgil_disgr4ce »

complianceowl wrote: post #32
NiloCK wrote: post #26

That is just two years after I burst onto the page. Calvin and Hobbes was a major part of my childhood - I loved it. For something casually consumed on the daily at the breakfast table, it was so earnestly, so obviously, smarter than the median cultural offering. Smarter also then the local nightly news broadcasts. Smarter also than the median educational intervention I experienced through elementary and middle schoo…

You know, your comment reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about. We have been starting to let our child have a little more screen time and choose what he wants to watch (within the parameters we set). Some shows and movies seem harmless, initially, but then we noticed in so many kids movies (e.g., Zootopia, Sing), they're always yelling at each other, expressing anger, frustration, and hostility towar…

> Some shows and movies seem harmless, initially, but then we noticed in so many kids movies (e.g., Zootopia, Sing), they're always yelling at each other, expressing anger, frustration, and hostility towards one another.

Although there are definitely a ton of kids shows that I find 100% garbage and would never let my kids watch under any circumstances, none of the 'name-brand' kids movies I've seen in the past 10 years struck me as unacceptably negative in the way you describe.

On the contrary, I get the impression that at least some of these movies are attempting to depict feelings and situations that some kids are feeling in a way that helps them understand 1) they're not alone and 2) their feelings or situations aren't wrong or abnormal.

Like, I took my kids to see Elio when it came out. BAM, right off the bat, dead parents. Anger. Frustration. Fear. Power struggles with parental figures.

This is all intentional—to the point that it's formulaic. A 2021 study found that slightly over 61% of the 155 animated kids features of the last ~80 years had no mention of the child protagonist's biological parents. There are a lot of reasons for this. The simplest are that it's way easier to come up with challenges and conflict for the protag(s) when their parents aren't around.

A more charitable reason is that there are all too many kids who, well, do have absent or fucked up parents. But it doesn't have to be that specific case either—any kid eventually has feelings of anger, fear and frustration, and seeing depictions of this in stories is important (for everyone, of any age, at any time).

I overall doubt that watching those stories causes kids to act angry and frustrated even when they're not angry and frustrated. I'm well aware of how profoundly mimetic human children are (and why that's important), but it doesn't happen with everything 100% of the time.

But this is also age-dependent in various ways. An 8-year-old can absorb a movie depiction of a fight between child and parent in a way that a 3-year-old can't. Are some toddlers going to act out because they watched that? Maybe? Probably?

Anyway, it's tricky to have these discussions because every child is different, even though there are broad anthropological patterns to humanity. But I've been more impressed than annoyed with lots of animated kids movies that I expected to loathe.

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#63

Post by dcchambers »

I was born in 92 and thus didn't start reading them until after the original run of Calvin and Hobbes, but I discovered these comics via book collections at the library and became OBSESSED.

I am so incredibly happy that Watterson never "sold out" and gave away film/animation rights to his characters. They are perfect the way they are.

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#64

Post by takinola »

C&H was the first time that I realized how authenticity resonates with people. I think people love C&H because they recognize Calvin, Hobbes, Suzie, Biff, the parents (or even Rosalyn) in themselves. Calvin often said the things that we thought only ourselves were thinking (remember the strip where Calvin is selling swift kicks in the pants for 10c because the world clearly needs it?).

Now, I see this technique work so well for business and political leaders, comics, social commentators, etc. It is a very effective technique to capture the hearts of your audience.

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#65

Post by bombcar »

virgil_disgr4ce wrote: post #62
complianceowl wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know, your comment reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about. We have been starting to let our child have a little more screen time and choose what he wants to watch (within the parameters we set). Some shows and movies seem harmless, initially, but then we noticed in so many kids movies (e.g., Zootopia, Sing), they're always yelling at each other, expressing anger, frustration, and hostility towar…

> Some shows and movies seem harmless, initially, but then we noticed in so many kids movies (e.g., Zootopia, Sing), they're always yelling at each other, expressing anger, frustration, and hostility towards one another. Although there are definitely a ton of kids shows that I find 100% garbage and would never let my kids watch under any circumstances, none of the 'name-brand' kids movies I've seen in the past 10 yea…

Once you realize the "dead parent trick" you see it everywhere (with variations of single parent, etc).

It makes things like Bluey stand out - wow, a show that is entertaining and fun where you don't have to kill one or more parents to make it work!

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#66

Post by briandrum »

dhosek wrote: post #21
fruitplants wrote: post #18

Calvin's dad was quite a character, wasn't he?

My role model as a parent. I had the why are old pictures in black and white conversation with my kids almost word for word. It wasn’t until they were in fourth grade that they learned that the world didn’t used to be black and white. I think they still believe what I told them about how they determine weight limits for bridges though.

We just finished rebuilding the bridge in the center of Mr. Watterson’s hometown, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reference that one!

https://councilmandrum.net/notes/bridge-closure/

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#67

Post by bryanrasmussen »

chanakya wrote: post #54
NiloCK wrote: post #26

That is just two years after I burst onto the page. Calvin and Hobbes was a major part of my childhood - I loved it. For something casually consumed on the daily at the breakfast table, it was so earnestly, so obviously, smarter than the median cultural offering. Smarter also then the local nightly news broadcasts. Smarter also than the median educational intervention I experienced through elementary and middle schoo…

What are these contradictions and hypocrisies? Maybe I'm just old, but I've never understood the angst younger people seem to have these days.

from my familiarity with the writing of past generations and even past civilizations it seems reasonable to conclude that contradictions and hypocrisies are generally understood to exit. I don't think it's just down to the young people.

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#68

Post by [deleted] »

lylejohnson wrote: post #29
h2zizzle wrote: post #11

Growing up, we had collected volumes of Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, and The Boondocks. Surprisingly good bedfellows. Covered the bases, so to speak.

I also tend to associate "Bloom County" with "Calvin and Hobbes". I think I was reading both of them around the same time.

[deleted]

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#69

Post by CurtHagenlocher »

complianceowl wrote: post #32
NiloCK wrote: post #26

That is just two years after I burst onto the page. Calvin and Hobbes was a major part of my childhood - I loved it. For something casually consumed on the daily at the breakfast table, it was so earnestly, so obviously, smarter than the median cultural offering. Smarter also then the local nightly news broadcasts. Smarter also than the median educational intervention I experienced through elementary and middle schoo…

You know, your comment reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about. We have been starting to let our child have a little more screen time and choose what he wants to watch (within the parameters we set). Some shows and movies seem harmless, initially, but then we noticed in so many kids movies (e.g., Zootopia, Sing), they're always yelling at each other, expressing anger, frustration, and hostility towar…

One thing I always notice after trips abroad is the extent to which American newscasters are practically yelling at their audience. This is a stark contrast to many European countries, where the tone is calmer and more measured.

Re: 'Calvin and Hobbes' at 40

#70

Post by rikthevik »

complianceowl wrote: post #32
NiloCK wrote: post #26

That is just two years after I burst onto the page. Calvin and Hobbes was a major part of my childhood - I loved it. For something casually consumed on the daily at the breakfast table, it was so earnestly, so obviously, smarter than the median cultural offering. Smarter also then the local nightly news broadcasts. Smarter also than the median educational intervention I experienced through elementary and middle schoo…

You know, your comment reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about. We have been starting to let our child have a little more screen time and choose what he wants to watch (within the parameters we set). Some shows and movies seem harmless, initially, but then we noticed in so many kids movies (e.g., Zootopia, Sing), they're always yelling at each other, expressing anger, frustration, and hostility towar…

I watched Home Alone last year and the characters call each other names constantly. It's funny for sure, but no wonder me and my friends had such filthy mouths as kids. You grow up on that and sitcoms where the characters just rip on each other. It's so strange to watch as an adult.
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