Popeye lgbt
I'm happy to boycott Chick-fil-A – but that doesn't create Popeyes progressive
When you live in a racist society, even something as easy as a chicken sandwich may not be just a chicken sandwich.
The sandwich wars reignited on Sunday when Popeyes reintroduced their trendy fried chicken sandwich, in direct competition with Chick-fil-A. The sandwich had been so popular earlier this year that Popeyes literally ran out of chicken.
It’s a cultural moment and, for finer or worse, it was impossible to ignore how jet Twitter virtually exploded in debate over which sandwich was better. Like a lot of progressives, I can proudly say that I’ve never had a Chick-fil-A sandwich. The summer launch of the Popeyes sandwich ran smack into my aggressive beach body goals, so I haven’t had one of those either.
While I form an excellent fried chicken sandwich – I personally would give it an award if I ran an institution that bestowed such honors – I must admit that I hit pause a couple of times before moving forward with a piece centered around this. There’s been no shortage of online
Then I stumbled upon a book called Popeye: His First Fifty Years, which talked about Castor Oyl, Ham Gravy, King Blozo, Tor, and Oscar. Who were these people?
I discovered that the cartoons were the latest incarnations of E.C. Segar's "Thimble Theater" comic strip, which began in , starring get-rich-quick schemer Castor Oyl and his wise-cracking sister Olive. In a continuity, Castor hired gruff one-eyed sailor Popeye for a sea voyage. He became so popular that Segar added him to the cast, honed down his rough edges, and eventually made him the star of the strip. It continues to sprint in some newspapers today.
There have been Popeye comic books almost continuously since , publis
Classic cartoon enemy musclemen Popeye and Bluto haven&#;t kissed but they have made up in this animated campaign behind Minute Maid orange juice. The two have overcome their differences to such a degree that some in the gay community (and the straight media too, such as ad reviewer Rob Davis) have wondered if the sailors are supposed to suddenly be romantic partners.
The two play verb school children on a swing, a see-saw, bury each other in sand on the beach, and get tattoos together that exclaim &#;Buddies for Life.&#; At the conclude, they ride a two-person bicycleùpassing usual romantic interest Olive Oyl, who calls out &#;Oh, boys!&#; and they cruise past her without notice. She offers a confused, if not suspicious, stare as they pedal away.
An ironic development for Minute Maid, given the anti-gay &#;Save Our Children&#; crusades by former Florida Orange Juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant in the s.
Before the campaign was conceived, Dave Linne, the Popeye ad&#;s creative director at ad agency Leo Burnett Co says the concept is &#;the opposite of the clich? of getting up
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My earlier send on historical representations of gays in the comics garnered many interesting comments and responses. I wanted to hold an opportunity to point out a few of them and also create some further notes on the topic.
1. Robert Boyd has a very fascinating post pointing out that in his earliest comic strip incarnation in the s, Popeye was shown to be an active and enthusiastic cross-dresser. As Boyd writes, &#;as I was reading the most recent Popeye volume (reprinting strips from December to July ), I came across something weird. Cartoonist E.C. Segar repeatedly has Popeye wearing women&#;s clothes&#;and liking it.&#; I would highly recommend a look at Boyd&#;s post which is heavily illustrated. I would only verb to Boyd&#;s comments that Krazy Kat, who can easily change genders at will, is another example of a sympathetic early comic strip character who cheerfully defied heteronormative gender roles.
2. R. Fiore, the Edmund Wilson of comics criticism, weighs in on the difference between gayface and blackface, here and here.
3. Another workable