Overhear and Disapprove
Both my daughter and my son talk aloud to themselves when they are alone. Sometimes I hear it and to me, it is a delight to hear the things going on in their heads, and remember how I used to think about things when I was that age. If I run across that situation, I have no intention of interrupting my child to correct them. Those thoughts are not intended for me, and it would make them self-conscious if they knew I accidentally heard them.
In today’s For Better or For Worse, we see young Michael Patterson talking to himself and then we find out that Elly Patterson has been listening to him and she does not approve of the thought Michael is expressing. Then we go to the joke which is that Elly is so busy cleaning on her hands and knees, with Farley underneath her and Lizzie on top of her; she cannot understand Michael’s perspective. As usual, the setup doesn’t work.
1. If Elly were that busy, then why would have the time to listen to or even be bothered by thoughts Michael is expressing out loud? She has to get Lizzie off her back, get up off the floor and then travel to where Mike is and tell him that she doesn’t like what he is saying to himself.
2. Elly does not give Michael any positive instruction. All she does is tell Michael she is fed up with what he has been saying to himself. Does she want Michael to be quiet, or speak only of things that cannot be considered complaining?
3. Elly is cleaning on her hands and knees. I am pretty sure that by 1980, the mop had been invented.
The theme of overworked Elly has been pretty well used in the strip. However, we do have another theme with the Patterson parents where they eavesdrop on their kids and interrupt them in order to express their disapproval. A recent example of this is when April is composing her Christmas song and Elly drops by to let April know that she disapproves of the song. Is it any wonder that Michael Patterson ends up going to the attic to work and write, later on in life?
In today’s For Better or For Worse, we see young Michael Patterson talking to himself and then we find out that Elly Patterson has been listening to him and she does not approve of the thought Michael is expressing. Then we go to the joke which is that Elly is so busy cleaning on her hands and knees, with Farley underneath her and Lizzie on top of her; she cannot understand Michael’s perspective. As usual, the setup doesn’t work.
1. If Elly were that busy, then why would have the time to listen to or even be bothered by thoughts Michael is expressing out loud? She has to get Lizzie off her back, get up off the floor and then travel to where Mike is and tell him that she doesn’t like what he is saying to himself.
2. Elly does not give Michael any positive instruction. All she does is tell Michael she is fed up with what he has been saying to himself. Does she want Michael to be quiet, or speak only of things that cannot be considered complaining?
3. Elly is cleaning on her hands and knees. I am pretty sure that by 1980, the mop had been invented.
The theme of overworked Elly has been pretty well used in the strip. However, we do have another theme with the Patterson parents where they eavesdrop on their kids and interrupt them in order to express their disapproval. A recent example of this is when April is composing her Christmas song and Elly drops by to let April know that she disapproves of the song. Is it any wonder that Michael Patterson ends up going to the attic to work and write, later on in life?
posted by howard at 9:08 AM
5 Comments:
howard,
However, we do have another theme with the Patterson parents where they eavesdrop on their kids and interrupt them in order to express their disapproval. A recent example of this is when April is composing her Christmas song and Elly drops by to let April know that she disapproves of the song. Is it any wonder that Michael Patterson ends up going to the attic to work and write, later on in life?
That is a fairly annoying trend. The Pattersons seem not to know when to shut up and keep their opinions to themselves when confronted with things that only bother them. Liz played the same stupid game by screaming "STOP" because Francoise and Robin were having fun without her say-so.
Liz's "STOP!" Supposed to be funny. Actually horrifying. That really wasn't an opinion expressed about what they were doing. It was more of a command for absolute silence. That may be what Elly is asking of Michael in today's reprint, but she is not as clear as Liz in giving direction.
howard,
Liz's "STOP!" Supposed to be funny. Actually horrifying. That really wasn't an opinion expressed about what they were doing. It was more of a command for absolute silence.
The Patterswine are at least consistent. They do not see children as a blessing; kids start off as means to the extra-important end of getting attention and quickly degenerate into a distasteful and wearying burden.
Yes. The continually negative viewpoint towards kids was designed to get sympathy for the parents, but unless there is a moment where the parent enjoys their kid, then the sympathy shifts. Lynn never seemed to learn this. I remember trying find a strip where Elly was shown playing with her grandkids, and there was not one. Likewise for strips where Merrie and Robin were shown playing together without any parental complaint.
Rereading the strip, I don't think Michael is talking to himself and being overheard so much as making a loud declaration for Elly's benefit. In that first panel, I read Elly as being just outside of the frame, in roughly the same position she is when the "camera" pulls back for panel two. (Not that this makes me like the strip any more than I would otherwise.)
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