Michael the Voyeur
Today’s reprint in For Better or For Worse once again brings forth a youthful innocence which is a little creepy, which is pretty standard for Lynn Johnston these days. The last time we had this kind of youthful creepy was when we learned that Elizabeth liked to watch Michael urinate. Ick!
So, young Michael wants to watch his parents fall in love again. Actually, I don’t blame him. It would be interesting to see what John and Elly in love would look like. Of course, at the time this strip was written, the more interesting aspect of it is the idea that Lynn thinks John and Elly are not currently in love. This isn’t the first time Lynn has made this suggestion. Back in June, Elly asked John when the magic left their marriage. I often wonder what Rod Johnston thought when he saw this kind of stuff in Lynn’s comic strip. It's not too likely there are any marriage counselors in Lynn Lake, Manitoba.
Even more interesting is John’s belief that “rushing rivers and fresh air” would make two people fall in love. I would think it would be more like “starlit nights” or something more traditionally romantic like that. The sound of rushing water usually makes me want to urinate.
As far as the strip goes, Lynn Johnston has set up a nice comparison / contrast. First Elly confesses to Anne that she thinks the camping will end in disaster. Then we have John who, for some reason, thinks of the camping trip in romantic terms, even though they are taking the kids with them. In typical Patterson fashion, none of the adults ever seem to think of a particular venture as fun for the whole family.
So, young Michael wants to watch his parents fall in love again. Actually, I don’t blame him. It would be interesting to see what John and Elly in love would look like. Of course, at the time this strip was written, the more interesting aspect of it is the idea that Lynn thinks John and Elly are not currently in love. This isn’t the first time Lynn has made this suggestion. Back in June, Elly asked John when the magic left their marriage. I often wonder what Rod Johnston thought when he saw this kind of stuff in Lynn’s comic strip. It's not too likely there are any marriage counselors in Lynn Lake, Manitoba.
Even more interesting is John’s belief that “rushing rivers and fresh air” would make two people fall in love. I would think it would be more like “starlit nights” or something more traditionally romantic like that. The sound of rushing water usually makes me want to urinate.
As far as the strip goes, Lynn Johnston has set up a nice comparison / contrast. First Elly confesses to Anne that she thinks the camping will end in disaster. Then we have John who, for some reason, thinks of the camping trip in romantic terms, even though they are taking the kids with them. In typical Patterson fashion, none of the adults ever seem to think of a particular venture as fun for the whole family.
posted by howard at 9:38 PM
6 Comments:
howard,
First Elly confesses to Anne that she thinks the camping will end in disaster. Then we have John who, for some reason, thinks of the camping trip in romantic terms, even though they are taking the kids with them. In typical Patterson fashion, none of the adults ever seem to think of a particular venture as fun for the whole family.
In an odd way, it's almost refreshing to realize that the Pattersons never seem to think what would please everyone; why it is that they think that they cannot come up with a solution that would please everyone is beyond me but it is nice to know that they come by the idiot inflexibility that resulted in April never having gone on a real family vacation honestly.
So, young Michael wants to watch his parents fall in love again.
That's because Michael's real-life counterpart had a different father, so comments like this would make sense, as he'd already seen it once before and it probably was a lot of fun: his stepfather-to-be took his mother on dates to places where there would be fun things for kids to do while their parents had some time to talk uninterrupted.
Since Michael himself is supposed to be the child of John and Elly and not of a previous marriage, this comment is just sad because it conjures up impressions of a child who is curious to see how affection is expressed because it's a novelty.
As with many of these new-ruins, though, I wouldn't have thought anything about this strip originally. The knowledge of the later years and insertion of filler strips (like Lizzie wanting to watch Mike pee) has so coloured my impression of the characters that the negative interpretations win out every time.
DreadedCandiru2,
it is nice to know that they come by the idiot inflexibility that resulted in April never having gone on a real family vacation honestly.
Lynn’s characterizations are remarkably consistent as far as family unfriendliness goes. I think that is one of the great things about basing the strip on real people. It creates a strong consistency, even when the people are unpleasant most of the time.
forworse,
That's because Michael's real-life counterpart had a different father, so comments like this would make sense,
Good point. This could very well be a real-life comment from the real-life Michael, which would make more sense in the real-life circumstances. The more I look at these early strips, the more I realize how many moments there were like this.
The knowledge of the later years and insertion of filler strips (like Lizzie wanting to watch Mike pee) has so coloured my impression of the characters that the negative interpretations win out every time.
One of the other aspects is that, thanks to snarking the strip on a daily basis, we pay much closer attention to these things. Back in 1980, For Better or For Worse was one of many strips I read on a daily basis and didn’t think of any longer than the 2-3 seconds it took to read it. It’s when you read several in a row and read them carefully, do you realize just how strange these Pattersons are.
I think "rushing rivers" is Lynn's way of trying to say "waterfalls". Pretty much any body of water can be pretty romantic, unless it's a swamp, i.e. Florida :P. Also, I do think parents can be romantic with their kids around. How else would kids learn how romantic relationships are supposed to go? Obviously I'm not talking about sex, but hugging and saying sweet things to each other and just generally being together.
I still think Mike's comment is flippin' weird though.
Clio,
I think "rushing rivers" is Lynn's way of trying to say "waterfalls".
Yes, I remember now that Niagara Falls is supposed to be romantic.
Pretty much any body of water can be pretty romantic, unless it's a swamp, i.e. Florida :P.
Maybe swamps too. I remember years ago, Six Flags Over Georgia used to have a tunnel of love kind of ride called the Okeefenokee.
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