InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i love spongebob"

dr_hermes (dr_hermes) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-11 23:01:00

A little corned beef and cabbage wouldn't hurt
The huge wave of Irish immigrants in the mid-19th Century (from the Potato Famine) left strong anti-Irish prejudices that lasted well into the 20th Century. It's strange how familiar the stereotypes about the Irish seem, but then they are the same stereotypes that seem to be leveled against most surges of immigrants. BRINGING UP FATHER by George McManus played on some of these attitudes and defused them through humor. Jiggs is a rough working man who becomes immensely wealthy through the Sweepstakes. Although his tastes don't change --he remains loyal to his old cronies at Dinty Moore's and is happiest when playing cards, drinking and eating corned beef and cabbage -- his wife Maggie and their daughter are determined social climbers who want to join America's aristocracy. So there's the conflict that plays out. (McManus also loved fashion and architecture and design in general, so the slapstick is acted out against gorgeous backdrops, very Art Deco at times. Here's a page from July 1921.

The most familiar running gag is Maggie beating the hell out of Jiggs whenever he steps out of line, breaking dishes over his head, slamming him against the wall, throwing him down the stairs. He often shows the results of this, not just shrugging it off. MAD MAGAZINE did a few features about "What if Comic Strip characters aged?" or "What if Comic Strip characters behaved like real people?" and they gave their take on what eventually happened to Maggie and Jiggs.

(Post a new comment)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-08-12 03:45 am UTC (link)
	I'm so glad that we live in a Post-(Western)European-Ethnicity country. This means all you Irish, Italian, and whatever people can shut up; The only thing you are nowadays, is white. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	dr_hermes 2009-08-12 04:20 am UTC (link)
	Well, except for St Patrick's Day, Columbus Day, Oktoberfest and whatever, when all the old stereotypes are dragged out and aired out for a day. It's mostly excuses for eating and drinking and schmoozing in costume, not much of the police busting heads to make unruly crowds disperse. No Paddy Wagons any more. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lightbrigade 2009-08-12 04:34 am UTC (link)
	Wow, I had never heard about the context of the strip before. I always thought it was a comic about a rich guy whose wife would occasionally beat the snot out of him. I remember having an issue of MAD Magazine in which the characters from the Peanut strip had aged. It was really depressing. (Reply to this) (Thread)

dr_hermes
2009-08-12 04:42 am UTC (link)

It's kind of interesting, although anti-Irish sentiment was so long ago that it seems irrelevant. You can still find old signs on eBay that say NO IRISH NEED APPLY that have been saved, and old pulps and comics are full of the incredibly stupid Irish cop stereotype.

I know what you mean about MAD sometimes being sadder than funny, but the old NATIONAL LAMPOON had them beat. They once had a gallery of comic strip characters done as realistic paintings. Henry, Popeye (deformed because of the Bends), Little Orphan Annie (with cataracts). It caused a twinge of sympathy rather than a laugh.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darklorelei 2009-08-12 05:48 am UTC (link)
	It wasn't that long ago, and there are some areas where it's still active. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darklorelei 2009-08-12 05:48 am UTC (link)
	Not to the 'No Irish Need Apply' degree, I hasten to add. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dr_hermes
2009-08-12 06:03 am UTC (link)

When John Kennedy was elected President, he met with some outright anti-Irish sentiment, as well as anti-Catholic critics. That was in 1960.

Every St Patrick's Day, Tv and radio ads feature a barrage of stereotyped and poorly done Irish accents. (Not to mention the cartoon Leprechauns with the pug noses and long upper lips.) It's always surprised me that no one takes exception to this; maybe Irish-Americans are so assimiliated and secure that they don't feel threatened.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

darklorelei
2009-08-12 06:15 am UTC (link)

I think it's really interesting phenomenon. My father definitely has quite a few stories from his childhood about being harassed for being Irish in the 50s/60s.

I myself was under the impression that it was pretty much gone with some lingering anti-Catholic sentiment, but there was an interesting discussion on jf about some areas with more active anti-Irish prejudice.

I think part of the reason why the St. Pat's stuff doesn't bother people as much because it's basically been embraced. There's definitely been a certain fetishization of having a Celtic background, even if it's only an 8th or less.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	dr_hermes 2009-08-12 08:30 am UTC (link)
	There's that "Everyone wants to be Irish" and "there's a little bit of Irish in all of us"... it's really an intriguing development. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-08-12 09:06 am UTC (link)
	I think it was just simply that immigration from Ireland died down and they were replaced as bogeymen by other more visible minorities. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dr_hermes
2009-08-12 06:56 pm UTC (link)

There was definitely that. As one wave of immigrants became assimilated to whatever extent, another group was already on the waY in. In a way, this is part of the theme of the United States. Although there is grumbling and jostling to make room and for everyone to adjust, much of our strength has come from influxes of new ethnic groups with their own cultural strengths and weakness, new foods and devices. Even our brand of English is so eclectic. You can take an average newspaper page and circle words swiped from a variety of languages.

There's always friction as new groups arrive in numbers, but it almost always works out.. just in time for the next batch to start showing up.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	foxhack 2009-08-12 07:16 pm UTC (link)
	Or maybe they're just like us Mexicans, you know. In the sense of "we don't really care anymore." (Reply to this) (Parent)

jlroberson
2009-08-12 05:43 am UTC (link)

So what just occurred to me when reading this? Something minor. Is "Dinty Moore" one of those licensed brands we've forgotten the origins of(like Kayo syrup, which was originally named for the character in MOON MULLINS), or is it just a coincidence that this strip had a prominent character of that name? (And it seems to me the product would have been in line with the character)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

dr_hermes
2009-08-12 06:11 am UTC (link)

The strip predated the product, although I don't know if there was any licensing agreement back in the mid-1930s. And I've always thought "Dinty Moore" has the ring of a name from an old song or something and McManus used it for his character.

I'm pretty sure the product is Karo syrup, not Kayo. The Moon Mullin kid was certainly named Kayo after the slang term for a knockout in boxing, a KO. (This tells you something about what kind of kid he was). And Moon's fuller nickname was Moonshine Mullins, which was used in the earlier strips and again told you about the character's habits.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-08-12 06:30 am UTC (link)
	I have seen bottles saying "Kayo" and even once saw one when a kid with the character, who at the time I didn't recognize. Maybe it was just a Southern thing... (Reply to this) (Parent)

rab62
2009-08-12 07:35 am UTC (link)

From Wikipedia, which I now use in place of a memory:

"One of McManus' friends, restaurateur James Moore, claimed he was the inspiration for the character Dinty Moore, the owner of Jiggs' favorite tavern. James Moore changed his name to Dinty and founded a real-life restaurant chain. The restaurant owner, however, did not begin the successful line of Dinty Moore canned goods marketed today by Hormel."

I think Hormel may have just swiped the name a la the Baby Ruth candy bar -- look that one up on Wikipedia sometime! -- rather than licensing it like the Duncan Hines brand.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	dr_hermes 2009-08-12 08:33 am UTC (link)
	Trademarks and brand names, quite a fascinating area of knowledge. From the real Dr Pepper to Prince Matchabelli. (Reply to this) (Parent)