Revisiting Peep Show

 

We found this recent 20th anniversary special on Peep Show quite hilarious and interesting. They even brought into the actresses who played Dobby and Nancy! It was fascinating to hear about the writing process and how the writers and central cast perceived the show, its development over time, and what worked well about the show. Like they admit, the show had to end because Jez and Mark were no longer young men. It probably also helped that each season only consisted of 6 episodes. That meant that by the end of the 9th season, one could not get tired of the show. Alas, any American adaptation of Peep Show would probably ruin everything that worked so well...

Satyricon

Since this blog has developed an interest in covering a variety of early prose fiction and "novels" across time and space, the Satyricon of Petronius was destined to receive a post. Unlike The Golden Ass or The Story of Apollonius King of Tyre, what remains of the Satyricon is incomplete, mutilated, and disjointed. Believed to have been possibly 5 times as long as the remaining fragments, the original text must have been a lengthy and episodic series of adventures for Encolpius, Ascyltus, and Giton across the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean region. From what remains of the text, and J.P. Sullivan's lively translation of its prose and poems, it is a mostly first-person narrative told from the perspective of Encolpius, a former gladiator. His series of adventures include brothels, orgies, a fantastic dinner at the home of a wealthy freedman (which supposedly satirizes Nero, the nouveau riche, and many other aspects of Roman society), shipwreck, and sexual encounters with men and women. Like the later work of Apuleius, this tale features many outcasts, disreputable characters, amorous escapades, allusions to magic, and stories within a story (including a memorable account of a werewolf encounter). Unfortunately, due to the fragmentary nature of it, one cannot help but feel somewhat disappointed with the Satyricon. But due to its endless humor and satirical elements that bring to life Roman civilization of the early empire, it is an unforgettable romp of a civilization already imperiled. 

Lucian's A True Story

Lucian's famous work excels as satire but underwhelms for those seeking in it an early science fiction story. Openly telling the reader it is nothing but lies, the fictionalized Lucian/narrator lists the various exploits of his crew as they sail beyond the Pillar of Hercules. They encounter fantastic beings, creatures, and places on Earth, the Moon, and the Sun while openly mocking ancient Greek epics, Herodotus, Socrates, Plato, and various Greek writers. It's a lot of fun and a great work of satire. Its irreverence and fantastic beings and adventures has clearly inspired a large number of writers over the centuries, but it is in its extreme tale of interplanetary war between the Sun and the Moon which caught the attention. 

Anyone hoping for a space opera or inter-imperial solar system conflict will be disappointed by the brevity of this conflict in the overall narrative. It is a shame, however. One could imagine a Greek "romance" like that of Achilles Tatius or Helidorus set on the Sun and the Moon, involving a series of adventures and conflicts in the solar system. Maybe a forbidden romance between a man from the Moon and a woman from the Sun, or a sequel telling the tale of the colony they form at the Morning Star. A true space opera from over 1800 years ago would have been something, although the promise of adventure on earth and the unknown continent to the west of the Atlantic are still satisfying in the rest of Lucian's short text. It is an irreverent journey suggestive of how Greek-educated writers learned to apply satire to the epics and philosophy (especially poking fun at Socrates and Pythagoras).

Outer Space Employment Agency

A hilarious clip from Sun Ra's Space is the Place, a low budget blaxploitation flick filmed in Oakland. It's useful to remember that Sun Ra possessed a sense of humor and didn't mean to be taken seriously at all times. The El is a sound of joy. 

Gilbert Tonner

Although Le Zinglin was not the first comedic journal to appear in Haitian history (Le Cancanier and Oswald Durand's Les Bigailles predated it by a few decades), the short-lived journal (1890-91) included Henri Chauvet, who would make history through Le Nouvelliste. What struck me, however, was the ample use of illustrations in Le Zinglin, mostly comic strips satirizing local news, social mores, gender roles, and, although never directly, the state. The journal's cartoonist, Gilbert Tonner (a pseudonym, according to Jean Desquiron), produced most of the comics, usually written in French or French and Haitian Creole. 

Considering the low literacy rate in the city during the 1890s, presumably the journal was mostly addressed to upper-class and educated middle-class readers, and the use of Creole in the comics is usually restricted to characters from the lower classes (who are also depicted with darker skin, it would seem). Nevertheless, the journal also published a play by Henri Chauvet which extensively used Creole, and, as the name of the paper would suggest, local themes occupy an important role.

For these reasons alone, Le Zinglin is an interesting paper in the history of Haitian journals. Amply illustrated, use of Creole, it also appears to have been the first satirical journal to use cartoons. Considering the intended audience for the journal, some of the writers and readers must have traveled to France and absorbed influences from Western comics and caricatures. Indeed, the negative portrayals of Haiti in Cham's caricatures must have been known, 

Although the quality of the papers when digitized by the Center for Research Libraries has blurred or damaged some of the cartoons, I think Gilbert Tonner's style improved over time, particularly in its depiction of the human form. His cartoons also depict road scenes, pathways to Petionville or other areas of Port-au-Prince, and animals, restaurants, domestic scenes, or ships. He, like most 19th century cartoonists, places dialogue below the panels or at the bottom of the image, while relying on physical humor or absurd satire to convey comedic effect. For example, the lack of ice in Port-au-Prince heat fuels more than a few of the strips.

Unfortunately, I am not yet able to identify Gilbert Tonner. And no other newspapers, with the expection of Haiti illustrée, during this time used several pictures. So, I am unable to identify any other 19th century Haitian cartoons. However, by at least the 1930s, comics appear in Le Nouvelliste and caricatures almost certainly did not disappear complete from Haitian newspapers. Tonner's mixture of French and Creole might have been unique, however, and in some cases, quoted proverbs or hinted at a critique of dominant social relations. 

In the future, I hope to explore the history of comics and cartooning in Haiti and elsewhere in the Caribbean. In between Gilbert Tonner (or is it Toner?) and Zobope, a comics journal from the 1940s launched by Georges Remponneau and other artists (including Bloncourt, according to an article from Conjonction), what else transpired in the development of the comic strip in this Caribbean republic?

Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion

"All action, all creation was a betrayal of feeling and truth."

Naipaul's Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion is a strange little novel. No characters of color, old age, search for meaning, possible Hindu symbolism (Shiva), and London. The novel's themes are consistent with some of Naipaul's earlier work, and perhaps part of his attempt to not be pigeonholed as a West Indian or Caribbean writer, even though all his early work draws on Trinidad and the Caribbean. The protagonist, an aging Mr. Stone who is about to retire, struggles to find meaning in his life, fights to have something pure or stand the test of time. In this regard, Mr. Stone is not too different from other protagonists of Naipaul's novels. 

For those seeking an amusing and short read, give this one a chance. There is a rich and almost condescending humor throughout the text, as well as social commentary on marriage, family, the 'changes' of London as more immigrant communities of color establish themselves, as well a deceptively thin overview of one man's attempt to establish himself in a world, beyond the seasons or routine.

The Foxtrot Parody of The Boondocks

As a lover of the comic strip The Boondocks for quite some time, learning about and reading the Foxtrot parody of Aaron McGruder's beloved creation was hilarious. I especially loved the 'N-Word's strip. We miss you, Boondocks!