Wedding Man Talk
In today’s For Better or For Worse, we see Gordon Mayes and Anthony Caine together on the way to the wedding. Seeing these men together takes me back to my wedding. I was with my best man and groomsmen when we were dressing in our rented morning suits. The lads gathered round me and convinced me I was doing the right thing. We discussed our nervous feelings. We talked about whether or not we would get married a second time. We all agreed we would and would not do that. We decided to be best friends forever, exchanged friendship bracelets and giggled a lot. Sorry, Lynn Johnston. You might as well put dresses on Gordon and Anthony and have them prance to the wedding with that touchy-feely dialogue in today’s For Better or For Worse.
Actually, on my wedding day, one of my groomsmen, who was much thinner than I am, switched his morning suit with mine. As I tried to put on that morning suit, the groomsmen got a good laugh watching me panic that my suit was too small and there was no time to get a replacement. (2 years later, that groomsman eloped for his wedding so I couldn’t get a chance to pay him back!) It was pretty funny in retrospect. And certainly more masculine.
Last week, the purpose of the For Better or For Worse strips seemed to be a litany of “Who’s paying for the wedding?” This week, it is a little harder to pick out the theme. Monday’s strip wants to make the point that Elizabeth still gets along with people in Mtigwaki. Tuesday’s strip wants to create a nice father / daughter moment.
As for today’s strip, it looks like the author is trying to compare Anthony to Gordon. Anthony has made the right decision to marry Elizabeth in his second wedding, just as Gordon would make the right decision to marry Tracey a second time, because his first marriage with her is so good. At first glance, that sort of comparison doesn’t make any sense, considering Anthony is not marrying Elizabeth in each of his marriages.
Lynn Johnston has a strange fixation with Gordon. In her Coffee Talk letter, Anthony’s association with Gordon was trumpeted as one of the majour reasons why Anthony was a good marriage partner for Elizabeth. Because of Lynn's opinion in this letter, I can take the strip from a different perspective---You have to presume that Gordon is good and without fault. Gordon Mayes is therefore a good judge of a marriage. As a proof, Gordon declares that his marriage is so good, he would do it again, but he would rather not because his marriage is so good. With reasoning like that, you can trust Gordon’s opinion, and if Gordon thinks Anthony is doing the right thing, then Anthony is definitely doing the right thing.
There you have it, naysayers. Anthony and Elizabeth should be married because Gordon Mayes says so. If you won't believe Lynn Johnston when she writes it in her Coffee Talk letter, then you have to believe Gordon Mayes when he says it. The part I don't believe is that we are 10 days away from the "I Do"s and Lynn Johnston is still trying to convince us the wedding should occur.
Actually, on my wedding day, one of my groomsmen, who was much thinner than I am, switched his morning suit with mine. As I tried to put on that morning suit, the groomsmen got a good laugh watching me panic that my suit was too small and there was no time to get a replacement. (2 years later, that groomsman eloped for his wedding so I couldn’t get a chance to pay him back!) It was pretty funny in retrospect. And certainly more masculine.
Last week, the purpose of the For Better or For Worse strips seemed to be a litany of “Who’s paying for the wedding?” This week, it is a little harder to pick out the theme. Monday’s strip wants to make the point that Elizabeth still gets along with people in Mtigwaki. Tuesday’s strip wants to create a nice father / daughter moment.
As for today’s strip, it looks like the author is trying to compare Anthony to Gordon. Anthony has made the right decision to marry Elizabeth in his second wedding, just as Gordon would make the right decision to marry Tracey a second time, because his first marriage with her is so good. At first glance, that sort of comparison doesn’t make any sense, considering Anthony is not marrying Elizabeth in each of his marriages.
Lynn Johnston has a strange fixation with Gordon. In her Coffee Talk letter, Anthony’s association with Gordon was trumpeted as one of the majour reasons why Anthony was a good marriage partner for Elizabeth. Because of Lynn's opinion in this letter, I can take the strip from a different perspective---You have to presume that Gordon is good and without fault. Gordon Mayes is therefore a good judge of a marriage. As a proof, Gordon declares that his marriage is so good, he would do it again, but he would rather not because his marriage is so good. With reasoning like that, you can trust Gordon’s opinion, and if Gordon thinks Anthony is doing the right thing, then Anthony is definitely doing the right thing.
There you have it, naysayers. Anthony and Elizabeth should be married because Gordon Mayes says so. If you won't believe Lynn Johnston when she writes it in her Coffee Talk letter, then you have to believe Gordon Mayes when he says it. The part I don't believe is that we are 10 days away from the "I Do"s and Lynn Johnston is still trying to convince us the wedding should occur.
posted by howard at 12:32 AM
22 Comments:
howard,
There you have it, naysayers. Anthony and Elizabeth should be married because Gordon Mayes says so. If you won't believe Lynn Johnston when she writes it in her Coffee Talk letter, then you have to believe Gordon Mayes when he says it.
Reading between the lines tells us that Gordon also believes that Anthony's marriage to Thérèse was a mistake. I'm sure that Françoise will be glad to know that an oracular used-car salesman has said she has no right to exist. After all, no evil career woman, no oddly articulate three year old. She'll be thrilled to hear that she's the undesirable replacement for another dreary nitwit whose only skill is being pretty.
The preceding paragraph, of course, was my atempt to explain why Mister Mayes should forswear unsolicited advice. Merely because Anthony's first marriage doesn't mesh with some crazy mass fantasy the attersons and their co-cannibals hae doesn't mean that it had to be destroyed. These people need to learn that he world is not fair.
Lynn Johnston is still trying to convince us the wedding should occur.
And each time, it rings even less true.
The sad part is, it's not too late to do a little damage control. Instead of having Anthony and Gordon paint each other's nails and giggle, she could have, say, shown Anthony putting on his tux and finding a note from Elizabeth in the pocket. Or had him eating a sandwich she left him since she knows he forgets to eat when he's nervous. Some acknowledgment of their love and compatibility. Instead, with their friends and family each talking up one to the other, it feels like an arranged marriage.
ellie,
Instead of having Anthony and Gordon paint each other's nails and giggle, she could have, say, shown Anthony putting on his tux and finding a note from Elizabeth in the pocket. Or had him eating a sandwich she left him since she knows he forgets to eat when he's nervous.
Showing us that these people have some sort of chemistry would take away time that Lynn thinks could better spent spoon-feeding her plots to the slower members of her fan base. You and I would be able to read between the lines if Anthony were to eat the sandwich. Kool-Aid Nation, on the other hand, would demand that a week be devoted to explaining his forgetting to eat.
DreadedCandiru2,
Reading between the lines tells us that Gordon also believes that Anthony's marriage to Thérèse was a mistake.
True. The line, “This feels like it’s gonna work” has an odd sound to it for someone talking up a marriage choice, unless you consider that back before Anthony married Thérèse, Gordon said Thérèse was a nice girl and he was just surprised that Anthony did not propose to Elizabeth. Perhaps then, Gordon did not feel like it was gonna work.
Merely because Anthony's first marriage doesn't mesh with some crazy mass fantasy the Pattersons and their co-cannibals have doesn't mean that it had to be destroyed.
Very true. Anthony’s “I have no home” speech occurred when his child was only 5 months old and his wife was going through post partum depression. At this same time, Gordon Mayes was driving Elizabeth over to see Anthony and telling Elizabeth that Anthony “tries to love” Thérèse. What would have happened if Gordon Mayes had expended the same effort to help Anthony and his wife through a tough time?
Ellie,
she could have, say, shown Anthony putting on his tux and finding a note from Elizabeth in the pocket. Or had him eating a sandwich she left him since she knows he forgets to eat when he's nervous. Some acknowledgment of their love and compatibility.
I am not sure Lynn could do either of these. In theory she could; but it took forever just to show Elizabeth saying “I love you” and had the couple kiss after they were engaged, and that was only after succumbing to constant criticism from the Coffee Talk crowd. Her mindset has been so anti-romance for the last year, I can’t see her even thinking about the kinds of things you suggest.
howard,
Anthony’s “I have no home” speech occurred when his child was only 5 months old and his wife was going through post partum depression. At this same time, Gordon Mayes was driving Elizabeth over to see Anthony and telling Elizabeth that Anthony “tries to love” Thérèse. What would have happened if Gordon Mayes had expended the same effort to help Anthony and his wife through a tough time?
Either the Pattersons would be forced to suffer the indignity of not having the world going their way or Lynn would end up telling us that they fixated on the wrong redheaded boy named Anthony. I would not put it past her to have a sequence wherein Elly discovers that the little boy who was Liz's Grade One crush (and thus her Destined Twoo Wuv") was Anthony Smith instead of Anthony Caine.
I can't imagine how Lynn Johnston could be married, have a son, a brother, live in a world around men and still not pick up the way men converse IS NOT like her chatty little women. Hell, I don't even do the touchy-feely thing and Lynn certainly doesn't seem like that type either.
Her wedding situation is seeming more and more like Michael's book plots and excerpts--melodramatic, after-school special, romance novels over-the-top dialog and situations.
What a sad ending to something that seemed almost real at one point. The characters have become as empty as the situations Lynn is forcing.
debjyn,
I can't imagine how Lynn Johnston could be married, have a son, a brother, live in a world around men and still not pick up the way men converse IS NOT like her chatty little women.
This one is easy to figure out. Lynn’s staff is all women and has been for awhile. I expect she rarely sees her son or her brother, and she is divorced.
What a sad ending to something that seemed almost real at one point. The characters have become as empty as the situations Lynn is forcing.
Lynn’s strength was adapting real-life stories from her life or that other people told her to her comic strip. Her strongest stories in the last few years have been when she played to that strength. Without that, what you get is stories from Lynn’s imagination, and this last year has been a testament to how limited that is.
dreadedcandiru2,
Either the Pattersons would be forced to suffer the indignity of not having the world going their way or Lynn would end up telling us that they fixated on the wrong redheaded boy named Anthony.
Maybe Lynn would go that way; but the serious flaw in the Anthony / Thérèse breakup is that you don’t see Anthony try to make it work. You don’t see Anthony’s friends try to help Anthony make it work. Instead you see the exact opposite, and that is why people sided with Thérèse. If we saw Anthony try with Gordon helping him to make his marriage work; then when Thérèse had the affair, the reader would side with Anthony and we wouldn’t have this whole mess of Anthony, the emotional cheater.
OT, but I was looking at the "Mike and Deanna" part of the foob site again and found another detail that was misreported:
The Groom and groomsmen wore traditional tuxedo's [sic]
This shows up right next to that Mike/Dee image clearly showing Mike wearing a non-tux suit and tie.
howard,
If we saw Anthony try with Gordon helping him to make his marriage work; then when Thérèse had the affair, the reader would side with Anthony and we wouldn’t have this whole mess of Anthony, the emotional cheater.
Sadly, that's a story Lynn could probably never write. If we had seen Anthony do his best to stay married, we would be in the man's corner as we pointed out that he would have to be the strong one in his second marriage. There's something else we wouldn't have seen if he were the hero Lynn says he is: "I have no hoooooooome." Instead, we'd have seen him at the police station reassuring the Pattersons that Liz was okay and reminding them that he was late for his counseling session. We would feel sorry for a man who gave his all and still lost so it's a shame that Lynn decided to make him a victim.
howard said...
Without that, what you get is stories from Lynn’s imagination, and this last year has been a testament to how limited that is.
I still think there's a strong possibility that Lynn has been and is battling depression resulting from the break-up of her marriage. As someone who has lived through major depression, I can testify to how you live your life on autopilot in that state. You scarcely have the energy to cope with or even care about everyday life (drawing sloppiness), it's difficult to feel or express joy (witness the bland relationship we've been seeing), you feel hopeless (it's pretty hard to be imaginative when you're feeling hopeless), and your memory simply doesn't function very well (the Crow/Crane thing). I repeatedly lost memories of entire *important* conversations (e.g., ones regarding my sister's surgery) when I was at my worst. Mixing up surnames of fictional characters is nothing.
Of course, I really know nothing about Lynn's state of mental health--I'm just speculating. But I think it's just as valid a hypothesis as "Lynn is an unimaginative hack."
(longtime lurker)
dreadedcandiru, I agree about Anthony, and it shows the failure of the "tell, don't show" style that has plagued the strip in recent years.
Gordon says Anthony tries to love his wife.
Anthony said they'd tried counselling, but Therese still left him.
What was shown of Anthony was his obsession with Liz (especially, as you point out, after Howard's attack!), however, which makes the above seem like a lie.
If we'd been shown Anthony talking with Therese about how he hadn't realized how alone he would feel when she went back to work, and her ignoring him.
If we'd seen Therese at her baby shower belittling Anthony's efforts and saying in front of others how she'd rather talk with real adults at work.
If we'd seen Anthony coming back from bringing little Francoise to visit mommy at the office.
If we'd had one of the Pattersons run into the Caine family at the park and been shown a preoccupied Therese hating every second away from work as Anthony tried to get some quality family time ...
Then I'd buy it.
canuckdownsouth,
But since we didn't see anything like that, all we're left with is Anthraxny's side of the story with nothing to back it up. No wonder that we forgive all the many mistakes Therese made; we're left with the feeling that she was provoked.
The phrases "this feels like it's gonna work" and "you're doing the right thing" sound like Gordon is trying to convince Anthony. If my friend/boss said those things to me on my wedding day, I would actually assume that the friend had doubts. When people are thrilled and happy and think a marriage will work, they usually just say "congratulations" and "we're so happy for you."
The only time people say things like "I'm pretty sure this is the right thing for you to do" is when they are still trying to convince themselves. People said things like this to my mom's friend Jennifer when she was getting married for the fourth time, for example. Or when my friend's cousin Megan decided to marry the father of her first child, even though he had been a deadbeat for the first few years of their daughter's life before he straightened up a little.
So it makes me giggle to see Gordon speaking in this fashion. It reads to me like Gordon doesn't really think marrying Liz is such a great idea, but maybe the best compromise for Anthony under the circumstances. Now, I realize this is not what Lynn intends. She is writing Gordon this way to convince us. But it is fun to read it without her motives in mind. I could just see another panel tacked on to this where Gordon says, "She's a Patterson. Marry her, and her parents will make you a rich small businessman. You gotta do it, man!" Because that is also how Gordon's advice reads, given how much he sucks up to the Pattersons. Like, "Don't give up the chance to marry into their family!"
aprilp_katje
OT, but I was looking at the "Mike and Deanna" part of the foob site again and found another detail that was misreported:
The Groom and groomsmen wore traditional tuxedo's [sic]
This shows up right next to that Mike/Dee image clearly showing Mike wearing a non-tux suit and tie.
I am reminded of a song from the musical Cinderella where, after hearing a long list of expensive wines, the king declares he wants the wine of his country, which is revealed to be beer. Perhaps for the Pattersons, a traditional tuxedo is a suit and tie.
DreadedCandiru2
Sadly, that's a story Lynn could probably never write. If we had seen Anthony do his best to stay married, we would be in the man's corner as we pointed out that he would have to be the strong one in his second marriage. We would feel sorry for a man who gave his all and still lost so it's a shame that Lynn decided to make him a victim.
We know that there was a backlash from the Howard Bunt story with Anthony, because over a year later, the Howard Bunt trial came into being. Why Lynn thought that simply having Elizabeth press charges was enough, I don’t know. That was her time to consider that backlash and take steps to correct Anthony’s behaviour. Instead she took steps to correct Thérèse’s behaviour. She went from irrationally jealous working woman to uncaring, cheating woman.
Kristina,
I still think there's a strong possibility that Lynn has been and is battling depression resulting from the break-up of her marriage.
I think you are quite right here. Depression, plus she has a good hate on for her ex-husband, if her selection of reprint strips over the last year is any indication.
I repeatedly lost memories of entire *important* conversations (e.g., ones regarding my sister's surgery) when I was at my worst.
What we also saw this year very similar to this in Lynn’s personal interviews was that she started changing the details of some of her most famous personal stories. The one I remember the most was when she changed the story of her son taking a picture of an auto accident, only to find out the person in the accident was someone he knew, to a story of her son taking a picture of a person who had hung themselves using a tree in a public park. The original story had been used in the comic strip, and she told it for many years; so it was shocking to hear her change it. Maybe severe depression was the cause.
CanuckDownSouth
(longtime lurker)
Welcome to the Howard Bunt Blog.
If we'd had one of the Pattersons run into the Caine family at the park and been shown a preoccupied Therese hating every second away from work as Anthony tried to get some quality family time ...
Then I'd buy it.
This is the crux of the problem. There are some things the reader can fill in between the lines to tell a story, but there have to be lines.
qnjones,
Now, I realize this is not what Lynn intends. She is writing Gordon this way to convince us. But it is fun to read it without her motives in mind.
That is my absolute favourite way to read For Better or For Worse If I read the Liz and Anthony story as the story about 2 lovers who are obsessed with the idea that they only love each other when they can’t have each other, who destroy the lives of anyone foolish enough to get involved with them, and who are finally forced to marry each other after they find that no one else will have them; then the story works great, and I enjoy it quite a bit
Regarding the hanging story: it is possible that Lynn's original story about the car crash is the fabrication. I find the hanging story to be a lot more shocking and feel that it would tend to make more people question whether Aaron/Mike was actually a decent human being. I would not be surprised at all if she softened it in the first place for the strip, and then told the real story years later when she felt it didn't matter anymore--and at a time when some of us suspect she may be angry with Aaron.
qnjones,
I find the hanging story to be a lot more shocking and feel that it would tend to make more people question whether Aaron/Mike was actually a decent human being.
The hanging story is more shocking, but it is also less realistic. Car crashes happen all the time. In my lifetime, I have never heard of anyone going to a park to hang themselves on a tree. Your experience may be different, but I found the hanging story rang the most false to me.
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