tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post6306268071636707297..comments2024-02-25T03:15:48.893-05:00Comments on News and Views by Chris Barat: DVD Review: THE BAND WAGON (MGM, 1953)Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-60985931191937363552011-01-07T13:04:30.935-05:002011-01-07T13:04:30.935-05:00Mark,
You're right, of course, but the timing...Mark,<br /><br />You're right, of course, but the timing of "egghead" and the theme of THE BAND WAGON were too closely allied for me not to note it.<br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-81644455058815051642011-01-03T18:23:38.470-05:002011-01-03T18:23:38.470-05:00Actually, lampooning intellectuals is (as TV Trope...Actually, lampooning intellectuals is (as TV Tropes puts it) Older Than Feudalism. Consider Aristophanes' <i>The Clouds</i>, which made fun of Socrates.Mark Lungohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470025194827675845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-27585532449488687052010-12-31T20:45:32.437-05:002010-12-31T20:45:32.437-05:00Joe,
"Egghead" came into being as a sla...Joe,<br /><br />"Egghead" came into being as a slang term for a pompous intellectual during the presidential campaign of 1952. I think it originated with Adlai Stevenson's having a high, bald forehead. The satirical point was primarily a political one at first, but then gradually bled into other fields, such as science and literature. <br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-81059843455951917402010-12-30T22:35:54.216-05:002010-12-30T22:35:54.216-05:00Chris:
You wrote:
“…is an interesting comment o...Chris: <br /><br />You wrote: <br />“…is an interesting comment of sorts on a peculiar phenomenon that accompanied Dwight Eisenhower's ascendancy to the White House -- namely, the installation of the overly intellectual "egghead" as a figure of fun.”<br /><br />I’m curious… Did the “humor at the expense of the egghead” really begin in the fifties? And prior to that, not so much… or at all? Sure crackpot scientists and absent minded experts like Ludwig Von Drake abounded in the fifties, sixties, and beyond. This was certainly so in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Probably the result of the Atomic and Nuclear Ages – and a reaction to those perceived as ushering this in. Even Dr. Zachary Smith would probably qualify. <br /><br />But, I’m thinking Gottfredson’s “Dr. Einmug”, or Segar’s “O.G. Wottasnozzle” would be exceptions to this. Though, admittedly, Einmug was not actually a comedic figure, he was still an oddball mad-genius. <br /><br />Could you elaborate more on this?Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.com