New Years’ Eve
The AMU Reprints archive is a wonderful place for checking on-line archives of old comic strips. The For Better or For Worse archive goes back to 1996, and the site allows for key word searches on comic strips. When I saw today’s For Better or For Worse and its startlingly upbeat take on New Years’ Eve, I searched the AMU Reprints archive for moments when John and Elly kiss. Actually, I looked for “kiss*” in general, and read through all the strips. There was a lot of kissing from 1996 – 2008, and even one with John and Elly in the 1/28/2002 strip, which is, as near as I can tell, the only time since 1996 when the two have kissed. Today’s reprint in For Better or For Worse is more romantic than that strip, for no other reason than the kiss seems consensual. In 2002, the kiss is cute, but there is no evidence that Elly likes or enjoys it. As for real-life version of this, Lynn Johnston has stated in interviews this past year that she believed her husband was having affairs as early as 1980, when they lived in Lynn Lake. This dearth of kissing between the two main characters may have its origins in this belief of Lynn’s.
The humourous part of the story is that little Michael sees the kissing and declares that there is nothing special about New Years’ Eve night. The idea is that Michael would consider his parents kissing to be uninteresting, as it probably is to a lot of boys his age. Boys go, “Icky romance stuff. Ick! Ick!” That may be true to a certain degree. However, my daughter, at age 11, has an interest in seeing her parents be affectionate and has had this desire for a number of years now. My wife is not much into public displays of affection, especially in front of the children. My daughter, on the other hand, has from time-to-time demanded to see a public kiss, and she usually has the support of her brother when she makes these demands. When this happens, most times my wife will give in, even though it makes her uncomfortable to kiss, while her children are chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
I have long been told that children model their romantic behaviour off of their parents’, but it still surprises me when my daughter says these things. It has let me know, first-hand, that children want to see their parents be affectionate to each other (in an appropriate fashion, of course). What this boils down to is, I am not sure Michael’s reaction in the reprint is the correct one. Maybe Mike will want to look at his parents’ kissing because of the secure feeling he gets when they do that.
The other aspect of this is that young Michael in For Better or For Worse is modeled after Lynn Johnston’s son, Aaron. Young Aaron may very well have a different opinion if he chanced upon Lynn and Rod Johnston kissing, since Rod was not his father. What we have in today’s For Better or For Worse could well be a real reaction that Aaron had, when seeing Lynn and Rod kiss. For him, it might not be a sign of security, but a sign that his birth father would never be a part of his life.
It’s hard to say. I cannot tell my daughter’s reaction is typical, or if Michael Patterson’s reaction is typical. What I can tell is that today’s For Better or For Worse is pleasant to read and that I enjoyed seeing a moment where Elly and John genuinely seem to like each other.
The humourous part of the story is that little Michael sees the kissing and declares that there is nothing special about New Years’ Eve night. The idea is that Michael would consider his parents kissing to be uninteresting, as it probably is to a lot of boys his age. Boys go, “Icky romance stuff. Ick! Ick!” That may be true to a certain degree. However, my daughter, at age 11, has an interest in seeing her parents be affectionate and has had this desire for a number of years now. My wife is not much into public displays of affection, especially in front of the children. My daughter, on the other hand, has from time-to-time demanded to see a public kiss, and she usually has the support of her brother when she makes these demands. When this happens, most times my wife will give in, even though it makes her uncomfortable to kiss, while her children are chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
I have long been told that children model their romantic behaviour off of their parents’, but it still surprises me when my daughter says these things. It has let me know, first-hand, that children want to see their parents be affectionate to each other (in an appropriate fashion, of course). What this boils down to is, I am not sure Michael’s reaction in the reprint is the correct one. Maybe Mike will want to look at his parents’ kissing because of the secure feeling he gets when they do that.
The other aspect of this is that young Michael in For Better or For Worse is modeled after Lynn Johnston’s son, Aaron. Young Aaron may very well have a different opinion if he chanced upon Lynn and Rod Johnston kissing, since Rod was not his father. What we have in today’s For Better or For Worse could well be a real reaction that Aaron had, when seeing Lynn and Rod kiss. For him, it might not be a sign of security, but a sign that his birth father would never be a part of his life.
It’s hard to say. I cannot tell my daughter’s reaction is typical, or if Michael Patterson’s reaction is typical. What I can tell is that today’s For Better or For Worse is pleasant to read and that I enjoyed seeing a moment where Elly and John genuinely seem to like each other.
posted by howard at 10:35 PM
16 Comments:
Hrm. The strip from 2002 is disturbing on reading; it comes across as John finding it a turn-on for Elly to suggest she have cosmetic surgery.
Howard,
I think your daughter's behavior is unusual. My friends and cousins and so forth were always embarrassed/grossed out by PDA by our parents. My friends' kids don't like to see them kiss.
This strip reads to me as very true-to-life. There is nothing very exciting to kids about the new year or seeing their parents kiss. I remember the first time my parents let me stay up for New Years. I was around 8-9. My parents had a little wine around 9:30 pm and they let me have a little. I wondered why they weren't waiting until midnight. I soon found out. They couldn't stay awake that long! They both fell asleep in their chairs and I had to wake them up at midnight so we could toast.
I'm 31 now and I still think it's a boring holiday, except for the fact that I get together with all of my high school friends and we play board games. And for most of us, another year gone by just reminds us that we aren't married, or can't afford to have kids, or can't afford to have another kid, and we're in our thirties, and still don't know what we want to do when we grow up.
Can't say I've seen the "we made it through another year!" attitude that John displays, though. That sounds seriously depressing.
qnjones,
I can't say that I'm too excited about New Year's Eve myself. All it is to me a boring excuse for people to go out and get hammered. I'm far more interested in the Rose Parade and the bowl games the next day.
Can't say I've seen the "we made it through another year!" attitude that John displays, though. That sounds seriously depressing.
That sounds like a Patterson; they do tend to forget all the good things that happen to them and obsess over every little negative thing.
What makes John's statement "we made it through another year!" seem really depressing to me is that outwardly, John does not lack for things that most people value: money, a family, a home, etc. Why should it be so hard to get through a year like that? It tends to suggest that John does not value his wife, kids, and job much.
qnjones,
(O)utwardly, John does not lack for things that most people value: money, a family, a home, etc. Why should it be so hard to get through a year like that? It tends to suggest that John does not value his wife, kids, and job much.
I know. All the Pattersons are like that; they're always disappointed with what they have. It doesn't matter how much others envy them their success; they want more than they have.
In later years, "made it through another year" is a sentiment Grandpa Jim would express on New Year's--at least it made sense to someone who might perceive himself to have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. (Though I did weary of his, "Oh, looky, I'm still alive, who'da thunk it" repeated again and again.)
I agree with qnjones--I don't think this strip is about Mike thinking, "Ew! Yucky kissing!" but about him absorbing the sort of pop culture message about NYE's being exciting party time, only to realize that it's not anything wild or special--just his parents, gently talking to one another, and no one else.
fairest1,
The strip from 2002 is disturbing on reading; it comes across as John finding it a turn-on for Elly to suggest she have cosmetic surgery.
If there is a pun involved, then I could see John being turned on by it.
qnjones,
I think your daughter's behavior is unusual. My friends and cousins and so forth were always embarrassed/grossed out by PDA by our parents. My friends' kids don't like to see them kiss.
Good to know. The next time my daughter makes such a request, I will inform her.
They couldn't stay awake that long! They both fell asleep in their chairs and I had to wake them up at midnight so we could toast.
I had one New Years’ like that. At the countdown, only my son and I were still awake. We watched the countdown and my son said, “Is that it?” And then I chased him around the house using one of those party favors that extend out when you blow on it.
I'm 31 now and I still think it's a boring holiday, except for the fact that I get together with all of my high school friends and we play board games. And for most of us, another year gone by just reminds us that we aren't married, or can't afford to have kids, or can't afford to have another kid, and we're in our thirties, and still don't know what we want to do when we grow up.
No dancing? No “Auld Lang Syne”? No party noisemakers?
What makes John's statement "we made it through another year!" seem really depressing to me is that outwardly, John does not lack for things that most people value: money, a family, a home, etc.
We saw the strip where John and family went to fetch the Christmas tree and shoved it in the car with his entire family, his brother-in-law and the family dog; all because he was too stupid to bring ropes or ask for ropes from the Christmas tree lot salesperson. Obviously, John lacks for common sense. I would have to say that even if you have money, a family, and a home; if you lack common sense, things could be difficult.
DreadedCandiru2,
That sounds like a Patterson; they do tend to forget all the good things that happen to them and obsess over every little negative thing.
Maybe so, but there is John with his arm around Elly, and then affectionate with her for more than one panel. To me, that is about as positive as a Patterson gets.
What really made the 2002 strip fail for me is that it relies upon pronouncing "liposuction" with a short "I" as in the word "lip." I've always pronounced it with a long "I," so the first syllable rhymes with "ripe." Isn't this the more common pronunciation?
aprilp_katje,
In later years, "made it through another year" is a sentiment Grandpa Jim would express on New Year's--at least it made sense to someone who might perceive himself to have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. (Though I did weary of his, "Oh, looky, I'm still alive, who'da thunk it" repeated again and again.)
Thanks to AMU reprints, I went to see how often Grandpa Jim said such things. I found the following strips on: 1/1/1999, 1/5/2001, 12/31/2006, and 12/30/2007. 4 out of the last 10 New Years, which is a pretty good percentage.
What really made the 2002 strip fail for me is that it relies upon pronouncing "liposuction" with a short "I" as in the word "lip." I've always pronounced it with a long "I," so the first syllable rhymes with "ripe." Isn't this the more common pronunciation?
I thought so, but www. dictionary.com disagrees. The short I is listed in 2 different definitions as the first (most common) pronunciation.
lip⋅o⋅suc⋅tion [lip-uh-suhk-shuhn, lahy-puh‑]
lip•o•suc•tion (lĭp'ō-sŭk'shən, lī'pō-)
Cedar,
I don't think this strip is about Mike thinking, "Ew! Yucky kissing!" but about him absorbing the sort of pop culture message about NYE's being exciting party time, only to realize that it's not anything wild or special--just his parents, gently talking to one another, and no one else.
That seems reasonable if Michael were present for the entire strip. We don’t see Michael observing the gentle talking, just the kissing, so I assumed his reaction was to the kissing.
So how does the reprint archive work? Can you only find particular strips by searching, or can you find every page from start to finish? I stopped reading the funnies when I was 8 or so, in 1994, and later caught up with the archives from Lynn's site from 2004 on, but I'd kind of like to know what happens in between.
Esther, you can enter search terms to look for specific strips, but you also have the option of entering a date range. IIRC, the FBoFW archive at AMU begins in 1996.
howard:
I think your daughter's behavior is unusual. My friends and cousins and so forth were always embarrassed/grossed out by PDA by our parents. My friends' kids don't like to see them kiss.
Good to know. The next time my daughter makes such a request, I will inform her.
Howard, it seems that you took offense to this. My point was not that "your daughter is weird" because "unusual" does not equal "bad". I frankly think what you describe is pretty cute. I just don't think she's an example of how kids usually act.
No dancing? No “Auld Lang Syne”? No party noisemakers?
Nope. You have never hung out with a bunch of hardcore Midwestern white Protestant nerds before. All of those things are considered to be embarrassing. We don't hug and kiss at midnight either. Very exciting.
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