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Chicago:1968 © Len Kody and Jenny Frison


Johnson's withdrawal from the race threatened the underpinnings of the entire protest movement.  LBJ had become the symbol of everything the Mobilization and the Yippies were against.  And until he suddenly announced that he would not be running,  everybody just assumed that Lyndon Johnson - the sitting President - and Hubert Humphrey - his Vice President - would be nominated by the Democrats in Chicago for a chance at a second full term.  So the protests were being planned as a symbolic rejection of LBJ and his pro-war policies.

 

Without the Johnson bogeyman to galvanize the vitriol of the left, much of the thrust had been taken out of Yippie for a time.  What was building steam as the battle of the century - Johnson vs. the Counter Culture - had become anticlimax by the end of March.

 

Before Obama electrified the left, Reagan radicalized the right.  And as they have throughout the centuries, from cave paintings to hieroglyphics to the Yellow Kid, comics were there to comment upon the political climate of the 1980's -- 

 

 

 

THE BURDEN OF MODERN TABOOS --

 

From "You Will Die: The Burden of Modern Taboos," by Robert Arthur at http://www.suburra.com/ 

 

Taboos are a burden on society.  By protecting irrational views they hinder progress towards greater happiness.

FACTS YOU WON’T HEAR ON THE NEWS:

• There are gay animals and the “gay gene” has been discovered in insects.
• It is highly likely an American president was gay.
• Shielding kids from visual exposure to sex is linked to their later sexual aggression. Porn is not.
• Celibacy is linked to health problems.
• Prostitution raises women’s self-esteem.
• Heterosexuals were never in much risk from AIDS.
• Jesus Christ denounced lying – not pre-marital sex, contraception, abortion, or drug use.
• Adolescents who experiment with drugs are better adjusted than their peers.
• Marijuana users are happier overall than non-users.
• Wild animals enjoy getting high in nature.
• America’s gardens contain easily accessible morphine and hallucinogens.
• Caffeine is as addictive as cocaine. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin. LSD addiction is impossible.
• Legalized heroin would be less harmful than alcohol.
• If you tried crack or heroin it is unlikely you would ever become addicted.
• One of the 20th century’s greatest scientific discoveries was drug induced, as was one of the 19th century’s greatest paintings.
• Brazil, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Russia, and Spain have already decriminalized personal possession for all drugs.
• In America, people serve longer prison sentences for drug charges than for rape or manslaughter.
• The federal government bullies states and foreign countries whose citizens wish to decriminalize drugs.
• America’s global drug war made 9/11 possible.

 

I happened by an ad for Robert's book, "You Will Die," while cruising facebook.  It immediately intrigued me.  So I started a discussion about the above list of bullet points on one of the forums I visit.  Rob later contacted me and sent me a copy of his book.

 

So I didn't get my Amazing Spider-Man with Obama on the cover.  Boooo!  Diamond apparently screwed my local comics retailer out out of his copies.  He seemed pretty upset about it when I stopped by on Thursday.  I feel confident enough in my efforts to remain politically circumspect and "fair and balanced" in my approach to Chicago:1968 to disclose that I'm a far left Democrat and a supporter of Barack Obama's since he hit the political scene here in Chicago earlier in the decade.  And though I'm passionate in my views, deep in the truest heart of my best self I believe there are few on either side of the political spectrum with bad intentions.  Only, perhaps, wrong-headed ideas.

 

Last weekend the Internet ether seemed to be bubbling with discussion over claims of a supposed "liberal bias" in comics.  It's tough to measure cause and effect in the almost quantum realm of the zeitgeist, but the Christian Science Monitor "identified" this "phenomenon" in a column last friday.  And conservative comics writer Bill Willingham commented upon it on the far right Big Hollywood blog.

 

Is featuring a Democratic president on the cover of your comic evidence of political bias?  Ken Shepherd of the hardcore conservative News Busters site claims comics are "crawling with pro-Obama bias" and uses Marvel's latest shortpacked alternate cover gimmick to build a case against comics' political leanings going back to a Punisher story written by Garth Ennis in late 2001. 

 

But then, where does veiled ideology end and simple capitalistic self-interest begin?  The Obama visage has been a short term solution to the long term problems of the withering publishing industry.  His historic presidential victory was a life ring tossed to paper-and-ink newspapers that still find excuses to put him on their front pages to boost sagging numbers.  And if the $75+ prices Amazing Spider-Man #583 is fetching on ebay leaves any doubt to the boon Obamania has been to the comics industry, look no further than the copycats already lining up for a piece of the action.

 

So, I don't give Marvel credit for having the fortitude to publish its alleged political biases right on the cover of one of its flagship titles.  If anyone deserves the credit (or the blame) for unapologetically proclaiming his political allegiances from the comic shelves, it's trendsetter Erik Larson with his endorsement of Obama on the cover of Savage Dragon #137 back in August, when the outcome of the election was far from certain.

Yippie Movie Review - Frost/Nixon

 

So Ron Howard decided to adapt Peter Morgan's play about David Frost's 1977 series of television interviews with disgraced President Richard Nixon.  This was probably the Oscar-season film I was looking forward to the most.  I'd set the bar a bit high, so one might say I was setting myself up for disappointment.  Well, mission accomplished, I guess.  Lucky me.

 

Don't get me wrong.  It wasn't a bad movie at all.  I've no doubt that Frank Langella will at least get a well-deserved Oscar nod for his portrayal of Tricky Dick.  Though it's no secret what Peter Morgan's political leanings are, Langella takes Morgan's script and succeeds in making Nixon a real, sympathetic, three dimensional character.  The film works from the premise that Nixon is the "bad guy" who got away with breaking the law because of Gerald Ford's prompt presidential pardon after taking office following Nixon's resignation.  And Nixon is set up as the intellectual Goliath whom the mentally inferior British playboy, David Frost, must "slay" to restore America's faith in the office of the President. 

 

The film keeps returning to the metaphor of a boxing match to describe the struggle between these two men.  And, indeed, there are several moments when the verbal pugilists must "return to their corners" for a Rocky-esque pep talk from their respective "trainers" during the course of the interview/bout.  Nixon is seeking redemption, Frost has both pride and money on the line, and only one can emerge the victor.  Dramatic stuff.

 

So the actors and the script were both pretty solid on this flick, if you ask me.  It was the director, Ron Howard, who came up short.

 

But perhaps Howard was setting himself up for failure, too.  Or, at least, a David-and-Goliath type of struggle.  Because, while I was watching it, I got the impression that Frost/Nixon probably made a better play than a movie.  The stage is very different than the screen.  Plays are focused on the spoken word.  While film is all about the image.  In the intimate setting of a theater, with the actors living, breathing and emoting right in front of you, two men locked in debate is a whole lot more captivating than they are on the screen.  Howard tries to make up for this by inserting tense reaction shots and close ups that are never really that successful at delivering the emotion of live performance.

 

And to be honest, the script still wasn't well adapted for film.  I still blame Howard for that, because he's the filmmaker.  So he should know his shit better than anyone.  Playwriting is different than screenwriting because you have to be more explicit and over the top to make sure your message carries to the cheap seats.  The cardinal screenwriting rule of "show, don't tell" was thrown right out the window in Frost/Nixon the movie as characters would often lapse into overwrought soliloquy that just seems awkward in modern cinema.

 

Happy 2009 from the creative team of Chicago:1968! 

 

YIPPIE!

 

Hope you stick around for all the drama yet to unfold in our little web strip.  We've got lots of exciting things planned for this next trip around the sun.  And we hope you spend the new year surrounded by love.