Cartoons, cancer and society
Yesterday we featured a Special K's cause marketing partnership with . . . well, if you look carefully, you'll notice that it doesn't name the cause or the charity. The reason: it's breast cancer. Presumably they feel that no one would buy cereal with cancer on the box.
The cartoon above took a much bigger risk. It's today's Funky Winkerbean strip, the culmination of a storyline in which lead character Lisa Moore dies due to breast cancer. This strip also has a significant social enterprise component: the cartoonist, Tom Batiuk, has been working in partnership wiith Cleveland's Ireland Cancer Center to establish and finance Lisa's Legacy Fund for Cancer Research and Education. In fact, the Fund will receive 100% of the proceeds from the book collecting the strips in the storyline.
But not everyone thinks this is a good thing. Check out the heated comments on TheCancerBlog, particularly from one angry grandmother:
I think you are on an ego trip and feeling that you are doing something good. Well it is not good and you need to fix it. Consider your public and remember, children are reading your work. Young mothers with breast cancer are reading your work.You are hurting people who already have more hurt in their lives than you can possibly imagine. As a mother and a grandmother I beg you to stop hurting and begin to give some hope to those who must face each day with the knowledge that hope is all they really have.
Which got me thinking about the family and social responsibility. Should society be obligated to shelter children from the dark side of life? Must public life paint the picture of a Secret world in which every outcome is positive?
Contrast the American criticism of Lisa's death with the popular acclaim afforded the new Doctor Who series in the U.K., in which "everything dies" is the pervasive recurring theme. Doctor Who is unapologetically marketed as a children's program, and even the happy endings have a tragic core.
My own take: death, pain, loss--these are part of life, the ultimate natural law. Without them there is no growth, no change; pretend they don't exist and you risk being unprepared to face them down. In this regard the family can play an invaluable role as a social enterprise, teaching kids how to respond to the negative in ways that make life better for us all.
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Two thumbs up into this article! I agree in your opinion that as early as now, children should teach and make them realized that in life there are ups and downs. They should be aware how to handle it and how to react. In relation to downturn issues, Ireland has been one of the hardest hit countries in the downturn of the world economy. It is said that when Ireland gained its independence, the Irish Republic emerged as a country behind the curve, but over the next 50 years they become the richest nations of Europe. The Celtic Tiger boomed for years until recently, as the Anglo Irish Bank was nationalized amid fears of a collapse. But because of this recession Irish many turned to cab driving to sustain the needs of its people. They never granted any no fax cash advance as well as short-term loan. Radical budgets cuts appear in the prospect, as there may not be a large enough short-term loan for Ireland to keep things as they were. Now all we can do is to try our very best to survive and be optimistic because in due time I know we can make it.
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