by SB » Thu May 01, 2014 4:51 am
See the thing is... it's not about trans or cis people at all; the gender dysphoria, should you insist on reading that deeply into the situation presented, is purely a vehicle for the actual content of the comic. It's about contrasts. Popeye is a character most people are familiar with, with one of his most defining characteristics being his nearly archetypical manliness... The evident contrast between the cartoon (where spinach allows Popeye to win what he wants) and the comic (where spinach causes him to lose what he wants) forms the basis of the humor here. It's about telling a sad story, but having it be about a wacky light-hearted character, that one wouldn't expect... maybe Bugs Bunny chokes to death on his signature carrot, Wiley Coyote could kill the roadrunner and feel purposeless, or Pepe Le Pew gets given a restraining order. That's black comedy all the way, though whether or not you personally find that sort of thing amusing is, perhaps, a worthy discussion in its own right (though one that hasn't seen much light in this thread).
Should one truly feel the need to empathize with a goofy character in a one-shot comic, it doesn't seem farfetched to say that both trans and cis people would be able to feel Popeye's distress--a cis person might need to imagine their emotional state were they to begin changing like that, while a trans person might have a more immediate connection, but it's not as though it's a totally alien emotion for anybody. What makes the whole discussion of trans and cis ridiculous in this context is that the depth of the humor relies on the ability of the reader to empathize with Popeye to a certain extent... the more you feel his pain, the funnier it is that it's a silly children's cartoon which is making you feel that way.
It's really pretty clear that the comic displays no hint of judgement towards anyone, carries no criticism, and delivers no offense. It's not saying a man growing breasts is bad or wrong, it's merely saying that Popeye in particular doesn't like it... life has it that different people feel differently about situations, and merely establishing that a character feels a certain way does not implicitly carry offense. Should one choose to take issue with the comic, simply on the basis that the subject matter is even being broached, yes, that is being overly sensitive. It also seems as though it's trending towards overly sensitive behavior to try and put one's self in Popeye's shoes to the point where it becomes upsetting or distracting from the humor. It's just a comic, sheesh, simply because it touches tangentially on issues that you feel connected to doesn't mean you have to try and deeply connect with it. Just because a character's well known traits contrast with your own personality doesn't mean you need to get upset. Frankly, I think the most offensive part of the whole comic is the preemptive apology assuming that people would take it the wrong way... worse still, it's embarrassingly cliche that so many people then fulfilled those expectations.
In other words, your experience is not relevant here. It's not about you, it's not about what you've been through or how you feel. It's about making a funny joke, thas it and thas all. And I'm sure it's much, much funnier now that it's been excessively explained...
See the thing is... it's not about trans or cis people at all; the gender dysphoria, should you insist on reading that deeply into the situation presented, is purely a vehicle for the actual content of the comic. It's about contrasts. Popeye is a character most people are familiar with, with one of his most defining characteristics being his nearly archetypical manliness... The evident contrast between the cartoon (where spinach allows Popeye to win what he wants) and the comic (where spinach causes him to lose what he wants) forms the basis of the humor here. It's about telling a sad story, but having it be about a wacky light-hearted character, that one wouldn't expect... maybe Bugs Bunny chokes to death on his signature carrot, Wiley Coyote could kill the roadrunner and feel purposeless, or Pepe Le Pew gets given a restraining order. That's black comedy all the way, though whether or not you personally find that sort of thing amusing is, perhaps, a worthy discussion in its own right (though one that hasn't seen much light in this thread).
Should one truly feel the need to empathize with a goofy character in a one-shot comic, it doesn't seem farfetched to say that both trans and cis people would be able to feel Popeye's distress--a cis person might need to imagine their emotional state were they to begin changing like that, while a trans person might have a more immediate connection, but it's not as though it's a totally alien emotion for anybody. What makes the whole discussion of trans and cis ridiculous in this context is that the depth of the humor relies on the ability of the reader to empathize with Popeye to a certain extent... the more you feel his pain, the funnier it is that it's a silly children's cartoon which is making you feel that way.
It's really pretty clear that the comic displays no hint of judgement towards anyone, carries no criticism, and delivers no offense. It's not saying a man growing breasts is bad or wrong, it's merely saying that Popeye in particular doesn't like it... life has it that different people feel differently about situations, and merely establishing that a character feels a certain way does not implicitly carry offense. Should one choose to take issue with the comic, simply on the basis that the subject matter is even being broached, yes, that is being overly sensitive. It also seems as though it's trending towards overly sensitive behavior to try and put one's self in Popeye's shoes to the point where it becomes upsetting or distracting from the humor. It's just a comic, sheesh, simply because it touches tangentially on issues that you feel connected to doesn't mean you have to try and deeply connect with it. Just because a character's well known traits contrast with your own personality doesn't mean you need to get upset. Frankly, I think the most offensive part of the whole comic is the preemptive apology assuming that people would take it the wrong way... worse still, it's embarrassingly cliche that so many people then fulfilled those expectations.
In other words, your experience is not relevant here. It's not about you, it's not about what you've been through or how you feel. It's about making a funny joke, thas it and thas all. And I'm sure it's much, much funnier now that it's been excessively explained...