The End of New-Run John?
We had seen new-run John representing the ideals of the Lynn Johnston. No longer was John the man, uninvolved with anything in his household while Elly slaved away. John changed diapers, fed his daughter, played ball with his son, discussed feelings with his son, etc. New-run John was an example to fathers everywhere and especially to a certain father who dared to divorce Lynn Johnston.
That is once again a thing of the past. In today’s For Better or For Worse, Connie Poirier arrives to tell Elly that she should take a stand over reading the newspaper, which John has time to do but Elly does not. Good-bye new-run John. It was nice to know you. Welcome back, old-run John, who makes his wife work so hard she never has any time to herself to even read a newspaper. She even has to carry her child on her back in order to wash dishes. Unless of course, this strip sequence is leading to a moment where new-run John is shown being trained to let Elly read a paper. There may be some hope for new-run John after all.
That is once again a thing of the past. In today’s For Better or For Worse, Connie Poirier arrives to tell Elly that she should take a stand over reading the newspaper, which John has time to do but Elly does not. Good-bye new-run John. It was nice to know you. Welcome back, old-run John, who makes his wife work so hard she never has any time to herself to even read a newspaper. She even has to carry her child on her back in order to wash dishes. Unless of course, this strip sequence is leading to a moment where new-run John is shown being trained to let Elly read a paper. There may be some hope for new-run John after all.
posted by howard at 11:53 PM
8 Comments:
There could be another way in which he might be salvaged; his saying that she won't let him help during the week. He could depicted as actually wanting to ease her burden only to have her as too much of a perfectionist to let him. Add in an argument about how the way his mother showed him how to clean isn't good enough for her and RetJohn will be alive and well.
Is "the Lynn Johnston" kind of like "the Donald"? ;)
DreadedCandiru2,
There could be another way in which he might be salvaged; his saying that she won't let him help during the week.
That would be something that old-run John occasionally did, but never said.
Add in an argument about how the way his mother showed him how to clean isn't good enough for her and RetJohn will be alive and well.
An actual argument over the matter would be fun, certainly a lot more fun than those, “This is how you fold the laundry.” “Yes, dear.” moments from the old-run strips.
aprilp_katje,
Is "the Lynn Johnston" kind of like "the Donald"? ;)
Big egos. Warped perspectives. Big, ugly divorces eagerly discussed at length in national publications. I think it fits pretty well.
howard,
An actual argument over the matter would be fun, certainly a lot more fun than those, “This is how you fold the laundry.” “Yes, dear.” moments from the old-run strips.
An actual argument would also demonstrate that both of them took each other seriously enough to argue with, a thing that did not obtain in the old order.
dreadedcandiru2,
An actual argument would also demonstrate that both of them took each other seriously enough to argue with, a thing that did not obtain in the old order.
The new order thing seems to be mainly that Elly is willing to complain about John to her girlfriends, which is probably a lot of what Lynn Johnston does these days. I feel for Lynn Johnston's girlfriends.
Well, don't make New-Run John sound too good there. Remember, he's totally incompetent with children and housework.
This is also an ugly statement about Elly. She allows housework to so rule her life that she has forsaken the idea that she should 1) have a mind, and 2) try to improve it in any minimal way. Total ignorance is not acceptable, and I don't care what her excuse is. And it IS an excuse. Even the busiest housewife can decide to postpone some non-essential task and take 15-30 minutes to look at a newspaper. My mother had four small kids to look after, and she read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal every day.
It's also a commentary on Lynn that she thinks we should sympathize with Elly here. Whereas my first reaction was, "God, no wonder she's such an ignoramus."
qnjones,
Well, don't make New-Run John sound too good there. Remember, he's totally incompetent with children and housework.
Absolutely. In that respect, new-run John and old-run John are alike.
It's also a commentary on Lynn that she thinks we should sympathize with Elly here. Whereas my first reaction was, "God, no wonder she's such an ignoramus."
I had that reaction too. Lynn is pushing the sympathy element too hard, also. She actually has Elizabeth strapped on Elly’s back while Elly is washing dishes. In yesterday’s strip, she had Elizabeth hanging on her leg, while she was carrying a laundry basket. She might as well start drawing Elizabeth as a ball-and-chain with a blonde hair wig. It might be more believable.
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