The Rehabilitation of Pepe Le Pew
Added 2021-08-14 22:04:35 +0000 UTCNew comic! Just because. Now I'll get back to Dungeon Divers. Love you!
Comments
The devil already has plenty of advocates, you don't need to help
Jonathan Rosenberg
2021-08-15 22:52:26 +0000 UTCHe's breaking kayfabe. Glad you caught that.
Jonathan Rosenberg
2021-08-15 22:51:38 +0000 UTCIt's been a long time since I've seen a Pepe cartoon, but my vague recollection is that he does suffer setbacks (not Roadrunner-scale punishments, but maybe running into some walls?), but that part of his schtick is he remains completely unhurt and unperturbed by them. He's like an amorous Terminator ("It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever…") — maybe the solution is to rebrand those cartoons as horror.
William Cole
2021-08-15 16:42:28 +0000 UTCThe problem is that Pepe does not suffer for what he tries to do. Wile E Coyote and Ralph Wolf are trying to kill and eat someone, but they are stymied and horribly punished repeatedly. If Pepe were to pursue Kitty Cat and if she were to set traps that mangled, defenestrated, and dismembered him--now that would be funny. Wouldn't it? :) Wiley is the victim of his own devices, hoist on his own petard, so that's one level. Ralph gets his comeuppance from Sam or Fred Dog. And that's another level. Would Kitty taking agency for herself be a step too far? I don't think so, I think it would be hilarious. Because Pepe would not learn but would continue his objectionable advances and be repeatedly launched from catapults, run over by trains, and pitched from great heights. :P Comedy in a grand tradition restored! :D
J.E. Melton
2021-08-15 04:03:49 +0000 UTCI was just talking to someone recently about how torn I feel about Pepe Le Pew. I totally get how problematic the character is, and inasmuch as Looney Toons are seen as kids' fare, it's probably best if he's taken out of circulation. But I still have a certain fondness for the original Pepe cartoons (especially the crazily stylized background art), and they belong to an era in which behavior now rightly considered sexual harassment (or worse) was condoned, even encouraged, by the culture at large. How many classic films include a "romantic" scene where the male lead forcibly kisses a reluctant woman, only to have her melt into his arms (thus "justifying" his aggression)? Since Pepe is a caricature of that romantic cliche—one who is usually *not* rewarded for his aggression by getting the girl—I think an argument could be made for his being *less* offensive than the characters he parodies. Still, he is the nominal "hero" of his cartoons, and he's modeling terrible behavior, which makes him pretty hard to defend.
William Cole
2021-08-15 02:26:23 +0000 UTCRight on the money, this
Trey
2021-08-15 01:09:26 +0000 UTCI was curious, should the very last word he says actually be “zis” instead of “this”? Or is he breaking kayfabe? (I kinda like the idea that it’s a no-accent, mask-off moment)
Wildfire
2021-08-14 23:40:42 +0000 UTCLove it x
Andrew Tate
2021-08-14 22:47:46 +0000 UTCYeah, Pepe had *one shtick.* I remember, as a kid, being puzzled by the sudden, total disappearance of "Heckyl & Jeckyl" (sp?) cartoons. Sometimes I'd see 'em one on NYC's UHF stations than run Spanish programs. Now wondering if they were horrible stereotypes in other languages.
Stefan Edward Jones
2021-08-14 22:20:36 +0000 UTCI asked a French colleague once if the depiction of Pepe was offensive, and he said that in the French dub of Looney Tunes, Pepe has an Italian accent.
Max Kaehn
2021-08-14 22:15:03 +0000 UTCRead it in his voice, Mel blanc would have a field day
Hope
2021-08-14 22:13:06 +0000 UTC
