"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."
In essence, the author is changing how the comic is understood by remixing the content by removing just one part, Garfield. They are creating a new story, one of a very different Jon Arbuckle than most readers would be used to.
Simple and genius.
If you are looking for a similar strain of remix hilarity of classic American cartoons, try 3eanuts which takes Peanuts cartoons and remixes them by removing the last panel.
These are so funny Cornelia! I wonder if they have any of these for Archie comics. Those were my favourite when I was a kid..
ReplyDeleteThese have always been one of my favourite things to look at. The Garfield and the Peanuts comics by removal are just so sad, and it's done so simply. They are so cute but just by taking out one frame, it makes the whole comic strip which is supposed to be "funny" (or at least produce a smile), such a depressing little story. I guess it's not that hard to do, seeing as Charlie and Jon both have such depressing lives, but by removing their pet friends, they really are lost without them.
ReplyDeleteFirst off: these are absolutely hysterical, and have brightened my week substantially. THANK YOU for finding this and exposing me to them, Cornelia! :)
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I think this is very important in the sense that it shows exactly how easy remix can be, but also how reworking or removing such a small element can totally change the text. This reminded me of what Scott McCloud (whose book Understanding Comics pretty much revamped my university education) referred to as the "gutter" - the blank space between comic panels, in which the unseen action had to be understood (or constructed) by the reader.
In this sense, most of the Garfield strips are reduced to being half 'gutter', thereby allowing the reader to far more prominently project their own interpretation (and, by proxy, 'remix' their reading) of the text. Is GmG depressing or hilarious? There's no real right answer, because the intent of Davis' referent has been removed, leaving it up to the reader to supply their own.
Also, at the bottom, I noticed a link where the author, Dan Walsh, cites Davis appreciating the site's demonstrating a "different side of Garfield". The author then writes this:
ReplyDelete"In an age when the internet gives everyone an opportunity to put their own spin on art, music and literature, it’s a pity more people aren’t as generous with their work - just imagine some of the fantastic creativity we could be enjoying."
Davis' 'remix-friendly' approach strikes a noticeable contrast with that of Bill Watterson, author of Calvin and Hobbes, who closed down his strip and retired his characters without merchandizing them, for fear of having what he intended for the characters be compromised. Now I don't mean to speak against Watterson, as Calvin and Hobbes pretty much defined me as a child, but the fact that he correctly predicted that by not "selling out" or allowing his strip to recede in quality, he would achieve iconic status does demonstrate an interesting alternative to remix.
In the case of Davis, being open to remixes such as these helps his strip stay fresh, vital, and alive in the cultural sphere. In Watterson's case, imposing and maintaining more creative control over his strip helped it not deteriorate in quality (can you imagine if Calvin and Hobbes had been appropriated by some other writers? It's very hard to imagine it getting any better...).
This shows, I'd say, that remix isn't necessary the be-all-and-end-all answer to navigating today's culture-saturated society, and that, in certain cases, resistance to remix could actually work in the favour of the cultural masses (keeping the memory of Calvin and Hobbes, and the impact they had on so many people, young and old) untainted and not tarnishing what the comic stood for.
I realize this argument is kind of simplistic and subjective, and thereby problematic, but I thought it was worth positing the idea that people not wanting to have their stuff remixed is not necessarily as awful as many of us would instinctively think by first impression. :)
Awesome Remix! In my opinion this is a very unique type of remix as I have noticed over the course of this semester many remixes are done by adding something to the original product. In the case of "Garfield Minus Garfield" this remix has taken away part of the comic strip which not only makes if funny but also puts a spin on the strip as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of this! Very interesting remix post!!!!