Ooh! Ooh! I vote for God!
The Family Circus, 7/24/04
The culture war for the soul of America rages on in The Family Circus. Who are you going to believe, Billy — Mommy, or the secular humanist park ranger who’s no doubt determined to undermine your family’s most cherished beliefs? That ranger was probably appointed under Bill Clinton’s watch anyway. You can get the real scoop from the park bookstore if you’ve had enough of the Park Service’s so-called “science.”
Today’s fun Family Circus fact: did you know that in Latin, the word circus originally just meant circle? The Romans also used it to describe the circular arenas where horse-racing, beast-fighting, and gladiatorial combat took place, which is where we get our meaning of the word from. So, you see, the name of the cartoon is in fact a bilingual pun, since the panel is always circular. Pretty clever, huh?
The Roman arena is also where many early Christians were sent to their death, so maybe there’s some symbolism there. These martyrs were massacred — just like Billy, Dolly, and Jeffy massacre the English language! OK, I’ll stop.
Incidentally, my friend Dalton has uncovered a vast conspiracy involving The Family Circus and Amazon.com. Click on the link to find out more — but prepare yourself emotionally for what you’ll learn!
February 23rd, 2005 at 12:26 am
Oh man the evil gnomes at Amazon must have killed all that beautiful satire. Not one review remains… [sob]
March 3rd, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Keane originally called the strip “The Family Circle” when he was pitching it to the syndicates. Some King Features bigwig came up with the name switch – to avoid ticking off the magazine of the same name, to sound more fun, and because of the play on words that you caught.
Clever? I guess. Keane’s idea? Nuh-uh.
May 17th, 2005 at 9:02 am
Man, she’s got nice legs. Combine her bottom half with Blondie’s torso, and you’ve got something!
February 21st, 2008 at 10:37 pm
At this late date, I just got a link to Dalton’s photographs. What was the controversy over anyway?