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It's time for a second round of safaris into the wonderful world of Calvin and Hobbes!

For those who don't know, Calvin and Hobbes was a comic strip drawn and written by a man named Bill Watterson. This comic strip series, which ran from 1985 to 1995, followed the adventures of a six-year-old boy named Calvin and his stuffed tiger, named Hobbes, whom Calvin imagined as a real anthropomorphic creature. While the strip mostly is written from Calvin's child-like perspective, and certainly appeals to children as it did for me, the content, ideas, and philosophies explored are very palatable for adults. In fact, I can say that Calvin and Hobbes is one of the few comic strips that gets better with age.

I previously wrote a post introducing some of my favorite strips a while back. This time, things are going to get a bit more sober and philosophical.

Strap yourselves in, and welcome to Round II!

Enmity Sells

Fans of Calvin and Hobbes often talk about how strangely relevant the strip has stayed over the course of the decades since Watterson stopped drawing it (in fact, I believe that's what makes good art good). In a world where everyone in developed countries are bombarded with emails, snail mails, and even supposed friends who want you to buy their stuff, this strip has taken on more relevance than ever.

What makes these endeavors so sinister isn't the fact that there are people who want you to buy their stuff (fund them, which is basically the same thing). Rather, it's the exact thing that Calvin is explaining here. The lambasting of those who disagree with you as evil devils who will “destroy everything you hold dear”, and then riling up that base to stop listening to the other side—that is actually pretty evil.

And also very 2020.

The Important Things in Life

With social media (and general media, really) the way it is, Calvin's first line feels far too close to home than it should. And the problem is pointed out wonderfully in the second panel.

Perhaps it's due to human nature, or a need to be entertained, or a desire to escape from the boredom of the world (or probably, all of those and more). It seems like, every day, I know more and more about the personal lives of people who have no effect on me than what I need to know about myself and my local community.

What's troubling is that this kind of media sensationalization is what is now driving people politically. If I take a step back and look at the present day through the lens of someone living only a couple of decades ago, I'd think the current social climate was some sort of augmented reality TV program, somehow derived from a single person living in the US White House.

And yet, somehow, real governmental policy is still not discussed.

The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives...Wait, What?!

I'm going to be honest: this is how I made it through university.

I remember slogging through essays and other writing assignments in my earlier college years. I was bored, the assignments were boring, and I wasn't getting what I thought I would learn from my classes (i.e. what I thought they had promised). I remember sitting one morning, a couple hours before an essay was due, looking at my blank laptop screen, trying to come up with some inspiration for a civics class essay. And I couldn't, because I just didn't care.

And so, I remembered this comic.

I can't say I wrote the essay title anywhere near as eloquently as Calvin did here. But I do remember finishing up less than half an hour before the class started. And I do remember actually passing that assignment quite handily.

And I never put any serious effort in my university classes ever again.

As an aside, I do have to say—there are certain parts of society right now that follow lines of thought eerily similar to what is being presented by Calvin here. Eerily similar.

The Problem with Superheroes

Most kids (and many adults) I know love superheroes. A friend's daughter recently did a birthday party where everyone in attendance was some form of MCU superhero (she was Doctor Strange, which was the cutest thing).

Even Calvin has his own superhero, called Stupendous Man, who he pretends to be from time to time. Superheroes offer a sort of escapism and fun from our seemingly dreary world. They make us feel empowered, righteous, and understood.

But in our own world, enemies are not always easy to spot, and evil often resides within rather than without. These are difficult things to express in visual media, let alone explore. Watterson himself famously said he didn't like comic book superheroes, finding them rather absurd. Unfortunately, especially in the short term, the visceral will always outsell the contemplative.

But I'm glad he was able to shift that very medium on its head to delve into these themes. I certainly feel like I've benefited from it.

TVs = iPhones

While he didn't have an iPhone, and the Internet wasn't anywhere near as widespread as it is now, Watterson nailed popular culture's obsession with consumer entertainment.

I think there's an argument to be made, not just on how social media has affected us in an addictive way, but how media in general is pushing information on us faster than we can truly process it. It doesn't matter much if it comes from an old tube CRT or the always-connected screens we hold in our pockets and wrists. The constant flow of information, especially those designed to keep us stimulated emotionally and neurologically, and thus addicted to our devices, is having a detrimental effect on society, en masse.

Maybe I'm old school, but I don't think the human heart, mind, and soul was made to be so overwhelmed by today's technology. We weren't ready for instantaneous communication with people that aren't living anywhere near us, and it shows.

Advertising...Advertising Never Changes

This one is probably very relatable to Coil users, as well as many who have sat through the atrocious increase of ads on Youtube, or those who now use ad-blockers and web browsers like Brave.

I once heard a version of this applied to music today. In a small interview, the interviewee said that most pop music today is not produced to be musically pleasing or harmonically rich. Instead, it's made to be repeatable and quick to digest. That way, even though most of us don't really like the music on the top charts, when advertisers and other mediums constantly push it on our ears, because of familiarity, our brains are tricked into believing we like it, and thus, we buy, download, and listen to it. As we do, we continue to propagate that exact familiarity to our friends and family, who in turn do the same.

I must agree with Hobbes here. I don't know about you, but if I hear another Postmates Pad Thai advert on Youtube again, I'm pretty sure I will swear off food delivery services for life.

The Question We're All Asking Unconsciously

I remember reading this as a kid, but not really understanding it very much. Perhaps I was lucky with the schooling I got (and certainly with the amazing parents I have), but I enjoyed my early educational years tremendously.

It wasn't until I got older that I realized how important this question really is. Our individual understanding of the purpose of human existence drives what we do, how we feel, and how we think. In fact, some of the most well-known studies in psychology center on how knowing one's own purpose and meaning are often behind a happy life.

And the reverse is true as well. The feeling of having no purpose or meaning will often lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicide.

It's not something I'd advocate to be taught by publicly funded schools. This would be a job best relegated to families, religious institutions, and local communities. But it's just as important as getting a good education.

Everyone's Looking For a Little Love

A simple comic, but poignant and deep. I think we all on some level recognize the need for love and affection. But like children, we don't understand how to behave and ask for it.

It's enlightening in a couple ways. First, of course, is that the yelling and screaming to get people away from me will only compel them to leave me alone. Reverse psychology isn't a thing. Or rather, it shouldn't be. Me telling someone else to do something and expecting the opposite is the definition of poor communication. It's like saying no, but others are expected to interpret it as yes. Which is a terrible rabbit trail to go down.

But second, and more importantly, it's a self-perpetuating spiral into worse and worse behavior. At the end, Calvin is primed to repeat his behavior at the beginning, since he hasn't learned to properly communicate his need for affection. But he can only get angrier from here. The same exists with real human behavior.

Good communication is key to good relationships. Perhaps I'll write a post on that in the future.

On a Lighter Note

I have lots of photos with quotes saved on my phone. One of them is by Duncan Trussell, who said this:

Some poor phoneless fool is probably sitting next to a waterfall somewhere totally unaware of how angry and scared he's supposed to be.

With all the craziness of the world, I think it's important to sit back and recognize that the vast majority of what we pay attention to online and in media have very little to do with real life, or really, the reality of the earth we live upon. While much of humanity has been concerned with politics, social justice, riots and protests, the rest of the earth, and the universe, has very little to do with all of it. Heck, even things like climate change (at least, our perception of it) is very small in the grand scheme of things.

When I realize this, I like to just isolate myself, and just enjoy the life I have. Sit back and think, before I make a decision from which it's too late to turn back.

I think Calvin has the right idea, here. A child unconcerned with the worries of the modern world, his own thoughts and passions to pursue, and a simple companion to share everything with. And a wagon upon which to have these brilliant conversations.

And that's it for this round! Have a wonderful day!

Header Image credit to Billy Ireland Museum.