5.0 out of 5 stars
''Sunlight quakes inside gregarious visionists.'', November 10, 2011
This review is from: When Do The Good Things Start? (Paperback)
Cartoons often disarmingly display a mirror for examining our inner selves, which we can cathartically chortle at, enabling us to accept and better comprehend our human frailties. They also make profound sociopolitical--sometimes propagandistic--statements. I've questioned the seriousness of some animated series, like "Kevin Spencer" (1998-2005), a show about a mute "chain smoking, alcoholic sociopath" who resides with his obdurate and torpid welfare parents in Ottawa and communicates with "Allen the Magic Goose"--the voice in his head. He is treated by his psychiatrist, "Mr. Franklin." The characters and entire series, it turns out by the end of its run, are a hallucination of the bird. Another show, "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" (1995-1999), was about a New York City psychologist/psychoanalyst who was, during therapy sessions, engaged interpersonally by famed thespians, or subjected to the routines of comedians. This all interspersed with the vicissitudes of an abstruse family life.
Similar to the aforementioned cartoon shows, but captured in book form, is "When Do The Good Things Start?" (1988) by real life psychotherapist/psychiatrist, substance abuse expert and rabbi, Abraham Joshua Twerski, M.D. (1930- ), who authored over thirty other books, including "From Pulpit To Couch." Twerski first used the "Peanuts" comic strip while treating an alcoholic, discovering that psychological concepts can be condensed into frames of an innocuous cartoon. In this volume he utilizes the same strips from 1957-1987 (total run was 1950-2000 in newspapers)--because of the way they galvanized thought and used defense mechanisms through characters in various situations--of American cartoonist Charles Monroe ''Sparky'' Schulz (1922-2000). The latter was German/Norwegian, born Lutheran/raised Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and taught at a United Methodist Church Sunday School, but later embraced secular humanism. Interestingly, regarding the ''Peanuts'' characters, "Linus" was an earlier friend of Schulz's, who brought out his spiritual side; and his sister, "Lucy van Pelt" (shown on the book's cover, offering psychiatric help to Charlie for five cents), was inspired by his first wife. Further, toy piano virtuoso/German composer Beethoven devotee, ''Schroeder'' (who once deputized for the fawning Lucy, as her psychiatric assistant, when she was unavailable), is an invented moniker appearing to jive with the cartoon character derived from a youth Schulz caddied with on the golf course. ''Peppermint Patty,'' coined after the confection, was a cousin of Schulz's; and ''Little Red-Haired Girl'' was based on a woman at art school whom he loved, but spurned him. Lastly, "Charlie Brown" (introverted like him) was the name of a coworker of his in art school and "Snoopy," Brown's beagle, was similar to the pointer he had as a child.
Needless to say, the human doctor and animator make for a fruitful collaboration. This 128 page work, dealing with feelings and relationships, is comprised of thirteen chapters, respectively: "Assessing Yourself," "Facing Reality," "Self Esteem," "Love and Friendship," "Emotions," "Worry," "Guilt," "Depression," "Responsibility," "Coping," "Taking Positive Action," "Values," and "Dealing With Others." In each chapter, a series of subtitles, each accompanied by a comic strip, headline a more specific aspect of the topic discussed. For instance, in the opening chapter on personal assessment there are six admonishments. In one, entitled "Recognize Your Capabilities," we see Charlie Brown as an inadequate baseball pitcher, hurling the ball to the batter, when "Pow!" - the ball returns, knocking him head over heels on his fundament--glove and clothing off and in disarray on the mound. With sore head, he wistfully says, "Every now and then I become plagued by self-doubts..." This poignantly illustrates how we must not eschew, via the defense mechanism of denial, confronting our limitations, in order to achieve a healthy level of self esteem. Twerski comments, "...a winner uses the experience of losing to learn what he does not do well....The loser never learns. He continues to make the same mistakes...." As an adult, I find cartoons--like fairy tales with children--enchanting, because there is always something magical about the way appealing characters can meaningfully reach out to me. Child psychologist/psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim, in his book, "The Uses of Enchantment" (1977), said, "...the child must be helped to make...sense...of his feelings....He needs...a moral education which...by implication...seems...meaningful to him...through fairy tales." Much the same was done for me in this amusingly anecdotal guide to living a good life, psychologically. Let loose and brighten your inner child by getting "When Do The Good Things Start?" by Abraham Twerski, with illustrations by Charles Schulz, where sunlight quakes inside gregarious visionists.
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