GARFIELD: The Paranoid Dynamics of Racial Strife at the Turn of the Century
dex...@mtrap.org
GARFIELD: The Paranoid Dynamics of Racial Strife at the Turn of the
Century
VERSION ONE FAQ
.. CONTENTS ..
. 1 Introduction to one man's insanity .
. 2 Questions, answers, and proof .
. 3 The authors of this document .
.. ..
[ 1 ]
[ Introduction to one man's insanity ]
Jimmy Carter was president in 1978, a man most remembered for
looking to the
future, and in that year, cartoonist-cum-society commentator Jim
Davis, a
pseudonym for a man whose birth name is still unknown, began an
extended acid
trip in our nation's newspapers.
When one thinks of Garfield, you are brought into an ideal world
filled with
fat cats, cute kittens, and dogs with subaverage intelligence. This,
however,
is not the true purpose of the comic.
What is actually being displayed in (hilarious?) comic form is an
insane
man's twisted vision of reality. This character is Jon Arbuckle.
Before the comic began, Jon began to experiment frivolously with
heroin,
crack cocaine and marijuana. This, perhaps, might reflect how the
creator, Jim
Davis, got the idea for Garfield.
Davis originally got the idea after one of his all-night bar crawls
in New
York's fashionable Greenwich Village. In a drunken stupor, Davis and a
friend
decided to take a few tabs of a certain exceptionally potent mixture
of LSD,
mescalin and mushrooms. The resulting vision was in fact history.
Excerpts from
Davis's unpublished autobiography, "On The Margins of Madness In
Corporate
America: The Garfield Story", describe visions of an 'orange demigod'
who
visited the two and told them riddles in an ancient Sanskrit-like
tongue,
including several popular Zen koans. Davis recorded all of this only
years
later after emerging from psychiatric treatment from the shock of the
experience; he was discovered after the incident lying in a pool of
urine in
his apartment, unresponsive to treatment.
Early versions of the comic began appearing on the walls of Davis's
psychiatric ward, scratched in with a knife in a series of harsh,
jagged
strokes. The early figures of the comic were all horrifyingly present
even at
that early juncture. Davis, unable to communicate in any other
manner, often
wept hysterically during such 'brainstorming sessions'.
Word somehow spread about the nightmarish reality drawn daily on the
walls
of the mental ward, and syndicate bosses from Universal Press soon
arrived on
the scene with an eye towards 'expanding the consciousness' of the
comics
pages. Davis was released and immediately began work on the classic
vision of
the characters debuting in 1978, an artist tormented, driven. The
results were
unmitigated success.
Directly before the comic's timeline, Jon had just gotten a
roommate, named
Lyman. Jon soon figured out a dark secret of his new friend's when
they both
became swayed by dropping heavy amounts of acid. Lyman blurted that he
had an
asian slave hidden in the basement. This intrigued Jon. He decided
that he must
go get a slave of his own. Jon drove to the mexican border and saw a
young
hispanic child begging for food. After slipping a rag covered in
ammonia around
the boy, he threw a chain collar around his neck and stuffed him into
the trunk.
When the comic opens, Jon is introducing us to his "cat", Garfield.
In
truth, Garfield (his given name is "Julio") has just woken up from his
drugged
sleep and is actually questioning where he is, in spanish. By then,
however,
Arbuckle had already began his descent into madness and has twisted
his own
vision of the young boy. Lyman knew that it was actually a young boy
who Jon
repeatedly fed "lasagna", which was actually heavy amounts of shrooms
and other
random drugs. Eventually, however, Lyman also began the path to
insanity,
seeing the boy as a cat and his own slave as a dog.
At first glance, one is tempted to turn away and cringe from the
nightmare
vision that is Jim Davis's Garfield and its drastic forays into the
inner
labyrinths of racial hatred and the bleak view of the darker side of
the human
soul itself. However, if one attempts to look beyond this immediate
horror,
one finds the true point of Mister Davis's magnum opus - a pastiche of
human
relationships and values, projected through a complex net of metaphor
into a
ground-breaking zeitgeist of changing personae and moral values at
this, the
dawning of a new era of human existence. Davis reminds us that in
this world,
not all is sun and roses.
Davis may or may not realize the nightmarish worlds that he has
created, but
the subtext is there. This FAQ will attempt to prove to any
unbelievers of the
racism, violence, religious persecution, and drug references that are,
and
always have been, present in Garfield.
Here is an example of a comic strip seen through Jon's eyes, which
led to
awful beatings.
[ENTER JON AND GARFIELD]
JON: Getting a little plump, are we?
GARFIELD: Plump?
(Garfield's stomach enlarges grotesquely. Keep in mind this is all in
Jon's
addled brain.)
GARFIELD: Plump, you say?
JON: Put it back!
GARFIELD: Plump is history.
Here's the true story, exclusive to this FAQ.
[ENTER JON AND GARFIELD]
JON: Getting a little plump, are we?
GARFIELD: No hablo inglés!
(here, Jon believes that Garfield enlarged his stomach to annoy him.
This
angers Jon greatly.)
JON: Put it back!
GARFIELD: Mi madre! Deseo a mi madre!
After the comic, "Garfield" was beaten profusely.
Convinced yet? Perhaps not. This is why we will answer your
questions in the
next section..
[ 2 ]
[ Questions, Answers, and Proof ]
(Q) Tell me more about Garfield's obsession with hunger.
(A) Jon very rarely purchases groceries for his home, preferring to
visit the
garbage bins behind local restaurants with his 'cat'. Garfield is
constantly
hungry, and Jon portrays Garfield as a glutton, to the point of an
overweight,
orange monstrosity. In reality, however, Garfield weighs only 70
pounds. Also,
one of the few english phrases that Garfield knows is "I'm hungry".
-Dexter
(Q) What is the purpose of Jon's last name, "Arbuckle"?
(A1) The name "Arbuckle" is in fact an anagram for something more
sinister --
"Bare Luck". This is simply Jon's twisted mind playing games about
Garfield's
horrible underweightness. -Dexter
(A2) Arbuckle is obviously a reference to William F. Buckley, arch-
conservative. Davis's brutal sarcasm is in full force here, tying
Jon's
delusional world view to the emptiness of the modern Establishment.
-Professor
Stephen future
(Q) What is the meaning of Garfield's obsession with spider death?
(A1) Garfield's obsession with spider death is not one with death in
itself;
he often acts out his life with Jon's with spiders as puppets. In this
way,
Garfield is able to command power over Jon. -Dexter
(A2) Garfield killing spiders represents Garfield being so annoyed at
his
neglect, that he releases his anger on creatures lower than him.
-Zamros
(Q) Whatever happened to Lyman, who seemed to disappear during the
early 80's?
(A) After some time, Jon decided he wanted to be the "master
slavemaster" of
his house. He beat Lyman to death and threw his body in the basement.
His
"return" in the tenth anniversary special was all in Jon's head.
-Skullie
(Q) What is the purpose of Arlene, Garfield's supposed girlfriend?
(A) Arlene represents the longing for the eternal-feminine component
of life;
the desire for metaphysical romance, fulfillment of dreams and escape
from
Garfield/Julio's bleak life and situation. His visualization of this
individual as a pink cat only tragically underscores the effect of
Jon's
paranoia on all surrounding him. -Professor Stephen Future
(Q) What's the basis for Garfield's constant pursuit of birds?
(A) Garfield, in an attempt to bring pleasure to his master, often
attempts
to catch birds. However, that's only part of the story -- Jon also
sends
Garfield out to do this often, still mesmerized under the belief
Garfield is,
indeed, a cat. -Dexter
(Q) Why does Garfield constantly pursue the mailman?
(A1) The mailman, past such unattainable creatures as Liz and Arlene,
is
Garfield's only contact with humanity. He yearns to escape on the
mailman's
free-driving truck. -Dexter
(A2) He represents the regularity of society and orderly existence to
which
Garfield must return. -Professor Stephen Future
(Q) Are Jon's parents still alive, or is this yet another delusion?
(A) Jon is an orphan. His wholesome farm family represents the
archetype of
the kind of family he truly desires but can never have. His sick
fantasizing
with Garfield and Odie are possibly yet another manifestation of this.
-
Professor Stephen Future
(Q) Then who is Nermal, really?
(A) Nermal was originally introduced as a "kitten" belonging to Jon's
parents. However, he is actually a young vietnamese prostitute from
the mean
streets of LA hired by Jon. His constant claims of being "the
prettiest kitten
in the world" are, in reality, "the best cocksucker this side of
Hollywood".
Jon's foreshadowing line, "I wish we could keep him", becomes a harsh
reality
when Nermal is captured and thrown into the basement with Lyman's
rotting
corpse. Sometimes he lets him out for more oral satisfaction, which is
when he
is seen in the strip. -Skullie
(Q) So why does Garfield constantly send Nermal to foreign lands?
(A1) Garfield believes he can help at least one member of his
household --
Nermal -- via the mail, allowing him to leave this hell-hole once and
for all.
-Dexter
(A2) Psychological mechanism. He feels that he's out of his element
with the
Jon situation and so he has to inflict similar suffering on Nermal.
-Professor
Stephen Future
(Q) How does Jon continually fund his drug addiction and general
livelihood?
(A) Jon's home was found abandoned, after the previous tenant had
died. Jon
fools his 'pets' into believing he's a cartoonist, however, Jon grows
marijuana
plants in his backyard and sells them at 400% profits. His car was
purchased at
a government auction for slightly more than $80. He does not buy too
much food,
however, allowing him to live in relative comfort. -Dexter
(Q) If Odie isn't a dog, why is he constantly seen chasing cars?
(A1) Odie steals gasoline from unlocked gas tanks. This allows him to
be fed a
can of dog food every other day, on average. -Dexter
(A2) Jon constantly sends Odie out to steal cars, to help his own
cash flow.
-Zamros
(Q) Who is Liz, besides a romantic interest for Jon's purposes?
(A) Though Jon believes that Liz is a vet for Garfield, she is
actually Jon's
psychiatrist. -Skullie
[ 3 ]
[ Questions, Answers, and Proof ]
This document has been compiled by the efforts of 4 people, whom are
listed
below. If you wish to help the GARFIELD: TPDRSTC FAQ, e-mail Skullie
with your
questions/ideas. You may also freely e-mail any of us with feedback
and
opinions of the FAQ.
Skullie ( skizz...@hotmail.com )
Professor Stephen Future ( jwtho...@mail.utexas.edu )
Dexter ( dex...@mtrap.org )
Zamros ( zam...@hotmail.com )
The latest version of this can usually be found at
http://mtrap.org/vgbay/GARFIELD.txt
-2001-