Moment magazine'sCartoon Caption Contest for the Fall 2024 issue brings us to the day of the emotional college dropoff. The parents are leaving their son with a menorah. My submissions are shown below. The drawing is by former college boy Benjamin Schwartz.
"Guess what we found in the bookstore?" "It's always been a babe magnet and you're living proof." "Just set it in any window that's bulletproof." "It might come in handy in these dark times."
John Held, Jr., created lively illustrations for MGM's 1929 musical "So This is College." His work, extremely popular in the 1920s, appeared on lobby cards, movie posters, and sheet music promoting the movie. Doesn't college look like the bee's knees!
John Held, Jr. "So This is College" Lobby Card, MGM, 1929
In one scene from the movie, Stella Star sings and dances the original song "Campus Capers." Cliff Edwards accompanies her and demonstrates why he was known as "Ukulele Ike" in vaudeville. He was later to be the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's "Pinocchio," singing the classic "When You Wish Upon a Star."
"Campus Capers"
Music by Martin Broones
Lyrics by Charlotte Greenwood
Performed by Sally Starr and Cliff Edwards (a.k.a. "Ukulele Ike")
"So This is College" (MGM, 1929)
John Held, Jr. "So This is College" Lobby Card, MGM, 1929
In Esquire's July 1952 installment of E. Simms Campbell's "Harem Girls" cartoon, we are treated to an awkward encounter between father and son at the beginning of a college break. The caption doesn't make a joke exactly, but it does clarify the fraught scenario with "Pop, I asked some of my American college friends home for the holidays." So the sultan is being asked to extend his hospitality, shall we say, to a group of his son's virile college friends who have shown up with him unexpected and unannounced. As always, the sultan has improbably surrounded himself exclusively with women of about his son's age—where then is his son's mother?—and abruptly he realizes he is not the only rooster in the henhouse.
Alcohol, of course, is forbidden in Islam, but whether or not Campbell knew of the prohibition, it does shows up in his harem cartoons and may have seemed natural enough to Esquire's readers. It is the women though whom the college students seem utterly stunned to behold; for their part the Harem Girls appear...intrigued. The men are for the first time, one imagines, encountering nubile, semi-clad women who must be considerably more experienced than they are.Usually Campbell's Harem Girls appear as passive figures merely to be ogled, but here, while this is still to some degree true, there is at least a suggestion that they may have desires of their own. Pity then the poor sultan. His young and somewhat naive son, who still sports a freshman beanie rather than a varsity letter, is oblivious to the confused excitement he has stirred up all about him. The composition is a bit odd though, with the sultan's exaggerated reaction off way too far to the extreme right. He is meant to be the last thing we see as we take in the busy scenario bustling with no fewer than fifteen figures. Quite naturally we are supposed to read this cartoon from left to right, with lingering pauses expected no doubt for the scantily-clad Harem Girls.
"Pop, I asked some of my American college friends home for the holidays[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, July 1952, page 39[?]
Note: Welcome home! Attempted Bloggery continues its revue of the work of prolific cartoonist E. Simms Campbell (1906-1971). Ambitious readers may wish to send in high-resolution scans or photographs of original Campbell art or of rare published cartoons and illustrations.
In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish'd dove;
In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"Locksley Hall"
Spring is in the air once again in April of 1938. College Humor magazine cartoons by William Von Riegen lightly turn to thoughts of love. Of course, the lover can't be just anybody...
"But, dad—I tell you she's different." William Von Riegen,College Humor,Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 33
The women are getting frisky as well. This cartoon is published without a signature, but that might be the loop of Von Riegen's R just discernible in the lower left corner.
"Wait a minute, lady—I'm only the butler."
William Von Riegen [?],College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 34
The cartoonist's depiction of what goes on in the workplace would be absolutely deplorable—if it weren't at least partly true. This line is meant by the boss (and maybe by the editors) to be cute, but it's clear from the secretary's face that the attention is unwanted and even menacing as well.
"Take a kiss, Miss Spencer."
William Von Riegen,College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 39
Note: The April 1938 number of College Humor shown hereis a part of the Steven Boss humor magazine collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University. My thanks to librarian Karen Green, the Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia, for helping me to track down this and other issues.
By chance the annual conference of the International Society for Humor Studies was held at Trinity College, Dublin about the same time I was in town. Bob Mankoff mentions the Society in the introduction to his memoir How About Never—Is Never Good for You? I can now verify that the Society is real, but I fear they were too busy deconstructing "Gilligan's Island" to seek out any new insights from the likes of me.
International Society for Humor Studies 2016 annual conference held in Trinity College, Dublin
The home page of the International Society for Humor Studies could use an update, August 28, 2016
Note: The 2017 Conference of the International Society for Humor Studies will be held July 10-14 at the University of Quebec at Montreal. Las Vegas bookies have posted million-to-one odds against my being the keynote speaker.
So far as I know, Attempted Bloggery has yet to be cited in any academic journal of any type. I'm waiting, scholars.
John Held, Jr. illustrated a swinging college graduation celebration for Cosmopolitan in the mid-1920's. Diplomas are tossed aside by a stunned college president and parents look on in quiet befuddlement as the graduating class succumbs en masse to the unrestrained rhythms of the Jazz Age. What on earth is the world coming to?
Illustration House
John Held, Jr., Original illustration for "We Can Only Be Young Once," Cosmopolitan, c. 1925-1926
The uncertain job outlook for the college graduate could be anxiety-provoking in any era, but it was particularly so during the Great Depression. Constantin Alajálov's 1935 New Yorker cover evokes the new graduate's exaggerated hopes for brilliant success on the one hand versus the fear of fruitless low-wage toil on the other. Alajálov manages to mine humor from every scenario. Each of the young man's prospects features some sort of work, which means the most feared and least humorous outcome--unemployment--doesn't really come into play here.
Constantin Alajálov,The New Yorker, May 22, 1935
Note: Careful readers may have noticed that I've gone overboard a bit with posts about the art of Constantin Alajálov recently. Careless readers may have noticed as well.
In an annual rite of passage, eager college freshmen are moving into dormitories on campuses all over the country. This raises a concern, namely: are they prepared, musically, for the oldest college student's song of them all?
Probably not. "Gaudeamus Igitur" is a traditional student song dating from the days when almost everyone studied Latin. It's been in its current form for well over two centuries. Christian Wilhelm Kindleben published his version of the verses in 1781 to be sung to a well-known melody of the time. The serious nature of some of the material did not preclude its use as a drinking song. In fact, it is the first line that sets the devil-may-care tone of the piece, and not the morbid musings on life's brevity.
I leave it to the reader whether "Long live all young women" is a faithful translation of Vivant omnes virgines.
My personal introduction to the song was in the operetta "The Student Prince" (1924). The score is by Sigmund Romberg and the lyrics are by Dorothy Donnelly, but in addition there is that one traditional student's song. It's quite enjoyable and quite the showstopper. Tenor Mario Lanza, who does not himself appear on screen in the 1954 MGM movie, reportedly performed each track of the recording in just one take:
Is this traditional song still performed? Yes, I'm sure it is, but probably not as much as in years gone by and probably only rarely with all ten verses. Even "The Student Prince" doesn't get past the first verse, which is sung a total of three times.
Speaking from my own experience, I'm pleased to report that "Gaudeamus Igitur" was performed at the Vassar College Fall Convocation on August 31, 1983. Don't worry if you don't have a program; I saved mine. Note that in this arrangement four verses were performed in the order 1, 4, 3, 10.
Vassar College, Fall Convocation August 31, 1983
"Gaudeamus!" Vassar College, Fall Convocation August 31, 1983
A lovely sound can be heard from the Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale, who consider "Guadeamus Igitur" to be a "Glee Club Favorite." The verses sung are 1 and 10.
"Gaudeamus Igitur" Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale From "23 Glee Club Favorites" (1962)
The famous student's song is even quoted in an orchestral showpiece. Brahms's Academic Festival Overture concludes with the triumphant theme, which begins in the finale at around 9:11 on this video recording.
Johannes Brahms, Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, 1880
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1983
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor
Johannes Brahms, Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, 1880
In 1953, the year prior to the release of the movie "The Student Prince" when the operetta was on no one's mind in particular, The New Yorker published a cartoon by Eldon Dedini of a monk singing in the shower. At this point, I bet you can guess what he's singing.
"Gaudeamus igitur, Juvenes dum sumus; Post jucundam juvenutem, Post molestam senectutem Nos habebit humus." Eldon Dedini The New Yorker, February 14, 1953, p. 40
The Robert Israel score to Harold Lloyd's "The Freshman" (1925) features the theme at about 7:01.
Harold Lloyd, "The Freshman" (1925)
Video added February 22, 2016
Most recently, the traditional school song appeared in the soundtrack for "Monsters University." The melody of "Gaudeamus Igitur" is prominent at the beginning of this clip as Mike and Sulley chase Archie the Scare Pig, the stolen mascot belonging to Fear Tech, Monsters University's rival college. Got that?
"Monsters University" (2013)
Animation Progression
Disney/Pixar
Sulley and Mike chase Archie the Scare Pig to the tune of "Gaudeamus Igitur" in Disney/Pixar's "Monsters University" (2013). The traditional school music during the early part of the chase is a really deft touch, and it's too bad they didn't put the same care into crafting a satisfying ending for this movie.
OK, you now know what I know about this song, and if you're musically inclined, you can even sing it, which I can't do for love or money. All together, now!
Note: Here's another handy Latin phrase for the college bound: "Dimidus Asinus Genius." Does it mean half-assed genius? Not exactly, but still that might have been the inside joke among Disney's top brass. I am the current owner of former Disney President Donn Tatum's Ludwig von Drake cufflinks bearing those inspiring Latin words and if you agree that that's certainly worth a blog post, check it out here.
My pleas to have Attempted Bloggery's contents inform our nation's college curricula have gone unheeded, perhaps because I chose to run my entire academic campaign on April Fools Day and I don't think it was taken seriously. Nevertheless, I would love to hear all about it if this blog should ever be referenced in any college syllabus or other academic course materials. Look, it could happen. There's got to be secondary source material for a senior Comics thesis in here somewhere. Yes, they teach courses in Comics now. I believe the subject has replaced Latin.
In the past, college film courses have had to get by without referring students to this blog. This resulted in film school graduates who were book-smart yet vaguely aware that their expensive education wasstill lacking in some essential, unifyingcomponent. Now that should be a thing of the past.
Today, blog titles utilizing impressive academic jargon will make it preposterously obvious to even the most entrenched professors that they can save themselves hours of course preparation time by referring motivated students here. For example, the above title is designed to foster meaningful academic discussion regarding Marcel Proust and his narrative use of olfactory sensationswhich apparently had a profound influence on American filmmaker Mel Brooks.
Madeleine, anyone?
From "Blazing Saddles" (1974) Mel Brooks, Director
For those tenure track film professors who may not yet be sufficiently familiar with Proust's literary masterpiece to incorporate it into the coursework, here's a quick reference, cleverly disguised as a competition to summarize all seven novels. Any questions?
Once again, the rigorous academic jargon presented in the post title above is being used to demonstrate to college professors the utility of this blog in promoting shared higher educational goals. This is designed to assist overworked instructors in dealing with some of the vexing cultural questions that come up every day in the classroom such as, for example, "What is the true meaning of the lyrics 'Skyrockets in flight / Afternoon delight?'" Such thorny interpretive problems are best approached with the scrupulous use of an academic lexicon, allowing for a nuanced, scholarly explication of even the most obtuse and difficult song lyrics to emerge from an increasingly complex cultural landscape.
It is painfully obvious that this blog isn't being used
as a resource in the ivy-covered halls of academia. In fact, there isn't a single college course anywhere that regularly assigns
readings from here despite Attempted Bloggery's veritable trove of vital
information. The result, if no corrective action is taken, will be a nation of college
graduates woefully ill-informed on just about all the critical subjects
covered herein.
The problem is largely one of language. College professors require a certain degree of academic jargon to reassure themselves that the material at hand has sufficient scholarly merit. Anything written with a folksy lilt or jocular tone is automatically suspect, whatever the content. So please note that today's remaining posts have been carefully provided with serious academic titles so that our dedicated college and university instructors will finally feel comfortable assigning lengthy portions of this blog to the eager young minds they're charged with educating. For example, this post's title should appeal to those many academics with Marxist leanings, prompting them to assign extensive readings from this blog to their students. These students, in turn, will receive a more informative education here than they ever would in the classroom havingthe workers' paradise continually rammed down their throats. Better they should stay in their dorms reading this blog and Richie Rich.
Silicone breast augmentation was first introduced in 1962 and within a short time many women chose to have their figures surgically enhanced. Not coincidentally, it also allowed filmmaker Russ Meyer to make a name for himself, directing top-heavy exploitation movies such as "SuperVixens" (1975). Meyer signed this eye-popping film poster with the inscription "Deep Cleavage, Russ Meyer," which pretty much sums up his thinking on the subject.
Movie Poster from Russ Meyer's "SuperVixens" (1975)
I haven't seen this movie, although I did once have to sit through the milder "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965) for my college Mythology class, and this more or less ended any lingering desire I might have had to see Meyer's other movies regardless of the assets featured on the promotional posters. (Here's the Mythology college course angle: the three hostile go-go dancers in "Pussycat" were supposedly the Furies.) The "SuperVixens" trailer looks disturbingly violent and far less welcoming than the film poster itself. In fact, the movie might be all but unwatchable. If you manage to sit through it, you can let me know.
So there you have it. The only Russ Meyer movie I've seen was for a college course. This blog is going to continue to discuss erudite subjects like this one suitable for both undergraduate and even graduate study. Tell all your friends on campus. Let the higher education begin!
