Tom Tomorrow, �Greetings From This Modern World�
When I was in taking classes in England, one of our courses consisted of analyzing media and culture. I got along with my professor amazingly well, and I think I annoyed the rest of the class as we bounced scandal after scandal off each other, each time upping the ante on what was more incredulous or offensive for lack of coverage. Most of the time, the rest of the class didn�t have the first clue of what we were talking about, no matter how recent or shocking.
A typical day would start with her talking a little about the textbook and then delving into current examples.
�The news media is supposed to represent the fourth branch of government,� she�d say. �Its purpose is to serve as a watchdog over the people in power. So what happens when you find out Cokie Roberts is filmed in front of the White House with a box underneath that says LIVE � WASHINGTON D.C. and then we find out later she was actually in a studio in California standing in front of a blue screen?�
�Or,� I�d interject, �what if they�re doing a story on a truck that supposedly has problems with blowing up upon impact, so they rig the car with explosives to get good footage?�
�Or Newsweek using a computer to digitally darken OJ Simpson�s skin for their cover to make him look menacing�
�Ooh, good one! How about George Will writing a speech for Ronald Reagan and then appearing on camera as a reporter afterward, remarking on the �Powerful� speech they just heard?�
�Yeah, yeah! Or The Mercury News running a story about how car dealerships rip off the public...�
�And every car dealer pulls their advertising...�
�And,� we said say in unison, �the paper pays for a full-page ad listing reasons why you should buy a car from a licensed dealer!�
I swear we did everything but high-five each other during those moments.
Finally one day, another student meekly raised her hand. �I have a question that�s totally off topic, but how do you two know about all this?�
�By paying attention to the media!� The instructor answered. �And by thinking critically about what you see!�
The girl seemed reluctant, like she couldn�t fathom what must be countless hours of analyzing. I don�t think I meant to talk down to her, but it might have come out that way when I made a suggestion:
�If you don�t think you can or want to do all the research,� I offered, �there�s an alternative, though I feel a little stupid for bringing it up. There�s a cartoon that�s published in The Metro every week called This Modern World. Eight times out of ten, that little cartoon will expose a scandal and make it more understandable in four panels than any number of news articles. Plus he�s truly funny. And if anything, he presents things in a way that will MAKE you want to find out more for yourself.�
I still stand by that statement.
I�m guessing this was the first book of Tomorrow�s collections and it shows. The cutout pop art is a little sloppier here than the streamlined look he has now and the humor isn�t as biting as the current incarnation. What this means is that a lot of the jokes are hit or miss, and there�s an awful lot of misses.
But I don�t mind. It reminds me of Garfield for some strange reason. I actually went and found some older Garfield cartoons to see if it was ever funny, as I once thought it was, or if I was just retarded as a child. Thankfully, it was kinda funny way back when. Jim Davis just apparently ran out of ideas and has recycled the same dumb joke over and over. The fact that Tom Tomorrow is actually getting better gives me hope for the future, albeit a dark and morose hope.
