Conference moira::naturism

    Hmmm...I didn't see it in the papers...but...
    
    I think that it is open to alot of interpretations by different people...
    
    I wonder if Gary Larsen (the artist?) drew the cartoon from the
    viewpoint of a nudist?  Is it possible that his wild and crazy mind
    actually plan it that way?  Or is he making fun of nudists?  Maybe...
    How he intended it to be interpretted, I have no idea.
    
    It can be used, however, to demonstrate how "plumage" (clothes,
    for humans) is used to attract other animals.  Without the fancy
    clothes to "dress up" the body, there isn't all that much to
    differentiate between different groups of people.  How do you tell
    how rich or poor someone is from their bare bodies?  Clothes are
    used to accent and/or hide various features of the body to attract
    attention, and to show differences in a group of people.

    I think that I would have thought the cartoon was funny as a first
    reaction, because I like the Far Side cartoons regardless of the
    topic.  The artist does make fun of ALOT of things and makes a weak
    attempt to create controversy and stimulate thought.  If he picks
    on something that means alot to me, he is entitled to do so; he
    picks on everything else without prejudice.  Any topic is fair
    game.

    Benson
    
    PS: Judy, I think people who like Far Side are a little touched...
        Look at me, I have almost all the books. ;-)

    maybe like certain other? minorities society first ignores them
    when numbers are small and inobtrusive, then the group goes throught
    the stage of being treated humourously on its way to being first
    tolerated then accepted

    
       Well, I didn't see the cartoon, but I'm kind of biased because
    I happen to like Gary Larsen's work (yes, I have a couple of the
    FAR SIDE books). Here's my two cents...
    
       Larsen's cartoons always take a twisted view of life in an effort
    to put a smile on our faces. A lot of his work has an implicit "what
    if" question behind them. Other cartoon's take a common
    situation/saying/mannerism and take a look at the funny side of them.

       One of my favorite cartoons shows a cowboy with a smoking gun in
    his hand standing over a dead body. The cowboy is asking the corpse
    some questions ("What's the circumference of the earth?", I believe
    is one). Another cowboy nearby is shouting "No, no, you can't shoot
    first and ask questions later!"
    
       Another shows a room full of dead cats on laboratory stools,
    some are in front of blackboards with mathematical equations written
    on them, others are seated in front of what appear to be chemical
    experiments. The caption simply says, "Curiosity killed the cats."

       Anyway, the bottom line is you can't take Larsen seriously, and
    none of his cartoons are meant to offend any person or group of
    people (at least not in my opinion).
    
       In the case of the cartoon mentioned in the base note, yeah it
    sounds funny to me. We tend to think that bears and animals in general
    don't have much intelligence. So the fact that Larsen has the bears
    thinking about the situation is to a degree humorous. Then to say
    that they're thinking about whether to attack the people because
    of the lack of clothing just adds to it.
    
       I don't know, maybe you need a twisted mind to appreciate Larsen's
    work...
    
    
    Frank
    

RE: -.1

>>    PS: Judy, I think people who like Far Side are a little touched...
>>        Look at me, I have almost all the books. ;-)
    
RE: -.4

>>       I don't know, maybe you need a twisted mind to appreciate Larsen's
>>    work...

Well, I must have a warped mind! ;-}  I have 2 of his books and enjoy most 
(not all) of his cartoons.  

Another comic strip I enjoy is Calvin and Hobbs.  Calvin is the kid with the 
stuffed tiger that turns real whenever there are no adults around.  We have 
one of his strips I will share with you...Calvin takes his clothes off.
(shock!)  I'll enter it later.  

Maybe I should have named the basenote COMIC STRIPS! 

Judy

    I usually like Far Side cartoons, but I felt that it was offensive.
    I hadn't thought of other interpretations until today, but what
    I thought it meant was that the people were not very attractive
    (are they ever in Far Side?), and that seeing fat, middle-aged,
    wrinkled bodies was enough to turn the bear's stomach.  Not my kind
    of attitude.
    
    Now if it really meant that it's the plumage (clothes) that are
    used to attract others, it might be OK.  As it is, I think it's
    too ambiguous, and I think that too many clothing compulsives will
    interpret it as I did.
    
    Elizabeth

Here's the written version of the CALVIN and HOBBES strip I promised you guys:

Let me set the scene.  Calvin (a youngster) and Hobbes (Calvin's stuff tiger 
who transforms into a 'living' character when no other people are looking 
besides Calvin) are walking in the woods and they come across someone's 
discarded aluminum soda can.

Calvin is walking up to the crushed can saying to Hobbes "Look, another can 
thrown on the ground!  Boy, this makes me mad!"

You see Calvin with his arm out-stretched to the sky like he is protesting 
something and his mouth is wide open yelling "By golly, if people aren't 
burning toxic wastes or testing nuclear weapons, they're throwing trash 
everywhere".

Next, Calvin has picked up the can is looking grossed out and continues "You'd 
think planets like this were a dime a dozen!  Now I'VE got to carry this gross 
thing".

Hobbes is now standing there with a paw to his chest telling Calvin "You know, 
there are times when it's a source of personal pride not to be human" and 
starts walking away, leaving Calvin with this 'thinking' look on his face.

Next you see Calvin undressing and the last scene has him carrying his clothes 
and walking along next to Hobbes with his bare rear showing, saying "I'm with 
you".


This was out early 1987, looks like Feb 19th or so, Sunday comics.  This kind 
of struck home with us because we are always picking up aluminum cans from 
roadways, around our neighborhood and where we vacation.  I know it has 
nothing to do with nudism but seeing Calvin's bare ass was cute.  Too bad when 
you WOULD like to disown the human race, it would be as easy as taking off your 
clothes! :-)

Judy

    
      Judy, I don't think you're warped, slightly demented perhaps but
     you needn't worry, you are far from alone here. I also enjoy the
     Larsen strips and even your description of Calvin's scene.
    
         If we can't laugh at ourselves, if we can't find some humor
    in the way others portray us then we need to sit down and take
    another look at ourselves. Everyone is so damned concerned about
    the way they look to others, why?  The major problems in the world
    today is not enough humor and worry over the way I look to you and
    the way you look to me. Clothes or no clothes, we're all just silly
    human beings that have hang-ups and maybe if we laughed a little more
    instead of being so damned serious the world would be okay!
    
      Look, I'm sitting here without clothes and laughing at the way
    I look but do I care? I don't even care if you laugh, it doesn't
    matter.
    
    Tom
    
    

Boy, this is an old note.  but let me add my 2cents...

I think that this farside toon has a simpler meaning than most folks are seeing.
 

as a refresher, this topic is about a farside toon that depicts a couple of
bears peeking in at a nudist camp and one says something like: "Boy, I just lost
my appitite!".  Some folks seem to feel that this may be making some derogatory
comment about nudes and nudism.

For the moment, let's turn this around.  Picture, if you will, two bear hunters
out it the woods and they come across a group of bears who have had ALL of their
fur shave off of their bodies.  *picture this*.  I don't know about these
particular hunters, but I think that *I* would loose my appitite at this site. 
This is not to say anything bad about bears, just that I could easily imagine
this to be *seriously ugly*.  (picture your cat or dog saved bare...).  I
remember this toon and simply see it as the bears having seen nude people for
the first time, that's all.

jim

jim,

Thanks for the interpretation, never thought of it that way.

Judy