New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow has been relentless in his crusade against the highly problematic cartoon character Pepe Le Pew.
Even in the face of criticism from right-wing blogs:
RW blogs are mad bc I said Pepe Le Pew added to rape culture. Let’s see.
1. He grabs/kisses a girl/stranger, repeatedly, w/o consent and against her will.
2. She struggles mightily to get away from him, but he won’t release her
3. He locks a door to prevent her from escaping. pic.twitter.com/CbLCldLwvR— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) March 6, 2021
This helped teach boys that “no” didn’t really mean no, that it was a part of “the game”, the starting line of a power struggle. It taught overcoming a woman’s strenuous, even physical objections, was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman the ability to SPEAK.
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) March 6, 2021
Just because Blow’s crusade is relentless, though, doesn’t mean it’s not thoroughly asinine.
Tweeter and video game studio creative director Tim Soret, who, like Pepe Le Pew, is a male of the French persuasion, put together a comprehensive thread explaining exactly why Blow’s argument, well, blows.
Unbelievable how malevolent & uncharitable this interpretation is.
Of course Pepé the Pew is disgusting, it's the whole point of this character & this cartoon! Let me explain for those who aren't familiar with it ? https://t.co/trtpbnVOJs
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
You listening, Charles?
First, the Looney Tunes characters are obviously not designed as role models.
They behave in the most insane, stupid, obsessive & reprehensible manner.
Their flawed nature is why it's morally acceptable and so regressively funny to see them fail miserably over & over. pic.twitter.com/mrnaWhPjv0
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
Pepé the pew is a skunk: he literally stinks.
They couldn't design a more obvious signal.As a skunk, well he's completely unaware of his own smell – when others faint or flee in horror, it's always a mystery to him. pic.twitter.com/ehvctSjTCh
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
That's his core trait: obliviousness. pic.twitter.com/pfOy1fyldW
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
His unawareness of his own smell
*mirrors*
his obliviousness of his own flippant attitudeHe's too absorbed by his seduction act to even realize that he's mistaking a cat for a skunk (paint would somehow always land on her back in absurd ways, which is the show's running joke). pic.twitter.com/8d0mFsC5ZT
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
The best episodes are the reversal ones, in which, after various stratagems (love potions, deodorants), Penelope finally falls in love. pic.twitter.com/VZcvvJGEuQ
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
But it *always* backfires terribly & he ends up terrified, chased, cornered, harassed in the most hilarious schadenfreude, completely caught at his own game. pic.twitter.com/Jkr4DGfuxb
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
Cartoons did more to educate kids like me than any lecturing NYT columnist: I was absolutely embarrassed for Penelope & vowed to never annoy anyone like that.
Pepé is ridiculed. An anti-role model. A moral repellent, packed in an intuitive & widely accessible format for kids. pic.twitter.com/NbweojoXjK
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
It's an insult to the artists, animators & writers of these cartoons to profess that they didn't know their responsibilities toward kids' education.
They expertly navigated that fine line between the moral & the outrageous, that specific humor making cartoons absurdly funny. pic.twitter.com/jSX8GxoapM
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
The message:
"Kids, don't be oblivious fools like Pepé the Pew, be more self-conscious about your own smell & behavior before annoying others".
A lesson that our dear NYT columnist should look into. To claim that this cartoon is endorsing harassment is absurd & untrue. pic.twitter.com/TY3BsLVLve
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
As a French, I should be the one offended by Pepé the pew. But:
1. I'm not a killjoy
2. I didn't realize his Frenchness until adult: funnily enough, flippantly flirtatious French ???characters like Pepé the Pew / the Mask were always rebranded as Italian ???in the French dub? pic.twitter.com/N29Lcu1xgC— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
The search from pernicious "intellectuals" of the absolute most uncharitable interpretation of art to score easy social justice points needs to stop.
This is not progressive, this helps no cause & nobody. pic.twitter.com/GNfYQnYm1S
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."
In our postmodern era, how we see things tells more about us than what they really are. pic.twitter.com/hNHAuqNcwJ
— Tim Soret (@timsoret) March 7, 2021
Bravo!
Brilliant thread https://t.co/2LoANqeZft
— Ravan????? (@SukiRavan) March 8, 2021
This is a really fantastic thread https://t.co/5EHrUazwSI
— Dave Dixon (@rdaviddixon) March 8, 2021
This guy gets it. https://t.co/ZimRmCrspT
— Tyler D (@TylerD_1999) March 8, 2021
Damn straight, he does. In fact:
Give this man a New York Times column https://t.co/MXiZKewxx5
— Katie Herzog (@kittypurrzog) March 7, 2021
Now there’s an idea!