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Social Greenman
Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
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 Posted: 26 Feb 2005 10:53 pm Post subject:
Socialist Comics/Tracts
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I
have been having a good discusion on the CPC discussion board about the
feasability of producing Socialist comics that would educate the working
class about Marxism-Leninism. Of course here in the U.S. Communism is a
dead horse so to speak, however, that is not the case in Canada. At any
rate, producing graphic comics and graphic tracts about Marxism-De
Leonism would not be a bad idea considering much of the American
population has been dumbed down by the bourgeoisie who are against
universal literacy. An educated worker is a danger to the ruling class
and would be resistant to their propaganda. Is this an acceptable
concept?
Social
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mikelepore
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Joined: 17 Sep 2004
Posts: 578
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Posted: 27 Feb 2005 06:56 am Post subject:
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I
like the idea! Maybe people with some ideas for dialogue can team up with
people with artistic talent. Jot down any creative ideas as soon as they
pop into your mind.
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mikelepore
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Joined: 17 Sep 2004
Posts: 578
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Posted: 27 Feb 2005 07:28 am Post subject:
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This
isn't exactly "comics", but related ... Perhaps some people
didn't know that De Leon used to write satirical dialogues. Here's an
example:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uncle Sam and Brother Jonathan
by Daniel De Leon
reprinted from "The People", April 18,
1897
Brother Jonathan - I'd like to know upon what
principle
socialists claim that the working class should have
all the wealth,
and the capitalist class none.
Uncle Sam - Upon the very simple principle that the
working class
does all the work of production and the capitalist
does none.
B.J. - Go away!
U.S. - Whither?
B.J. - I don't care whither in particular. That's
not so!
U.S. - What's not so?
B.J. - That the capitalists do not work.
U.S. - If you know of any who does, let me know.
B.J. - Did you ever hear of Jay Gould?
U.S. - Yes.
B.J. - Did you ever read his biography?
U.S. - Several of them, and they prove my
statement.
B.J. - You must have been asleep while reading
them, or you must
have read very imperfect ones.
U.S. - Neither.
B.J. - Why, I remember distinctly that it is
recorded in the one
I read that he used to work regularly 16 hours a
day.
(U.S. puts his hands to his hips and roars.)
B.J. - What are you roaring about?
U.S. - At your blunder. I now see the funny error
that you have
fallen in.
B.J. - What error?
U.S. - You are getting mixed up on the word
"work." See here.
Does a pickpocket "work," or does he not?
B.J. - Guess he does.
U.S. - Does a pirate "work," or does he
not?
B.J. - Guess he does.
U.S. - Does a forger "work," or does he
not?
B.J. - I guess he, too, works.
U.S. - Now, don't you yet see the difference
between "work" and
"work"?
(B.J. puckers his eyelids as if a flood of light is
pouring into
his eyes.)
U.S. - All exertion may be termed "work."
But there are two
sorts of exertions.
One sort is productive of benefits to society; it
either directly
enriches its store of wealth or of knowledge, or it
does so
indirectly. This sort of exertion is the work done
by the working
class.
Another sort of exertion is productive of nothing,
at least of
nothing that is good, and may be productive of much
that is bad.
Not an additional blade of grass, or an additional
shoe string, not
one particle of the material wealth needed by man
is brought forth by
the exertion of the pirate, the forger, the
pickpocket, or any other
criminal, nor does their exertion bring forth one bit
of useful
knowledge. The exertion of all such people does
only this: it
transfers to their own pockets the wealth created
by the productive
work of others.
This sort of exertion is the work of the capitalist
class.
B.J. - Well, that throws a new light upon the
question.
U.S. - The capitalist class does not do any useful
work. It
schemes, indulges in tricks by which it transfers
from the hands of
the working class the wealth that these produce,
and its several
members cudgel their brains and "work" 16
or more hours a day upon
fraudulent devices to cheat one another.
This sort of work, so far from being entitled to
any reward, is
entitled only to severe punishment. That's why we
socialists say that
the capitalists are entitled to nothing except to
bolts and bars.
B.J. - If that's the only sort of work they do,
they surely
deserve the prison.
U.S. - On the other hand, the intellectual and
manual workers,
the working class, exerts itself in the interest of
life. Its mental
and manual efforts do all the needed thinking and
produce all the
material things that civilized man aspires to and
that life requires.
That's why we socialists say that all the wealth
belongs to the
working class.
B.J. - So say I, now.
U.S. - Don't ever again allow yourself to be
deceived by the
words that capitalists and their hirelings fling
about.
Work is noble. No capitalist works, except in the
sense of the
multimillionaire father in the following story:
Multimillionaire to
applicant for his daughter's hand -- "Do you
work, sir?"
Applicant for the hand of the multimillionaire's
daughter -- "I do,
sir."
Multimillionaire to applicant for his daughter's
hand -- "Whom do
you work?"
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Social Greenman
Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
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Posted: 27 Feb 2005 02:17 pm Post subject:
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Putting
De Leon's satirical dialouges into graphic tract reading would get a lot
of worker's attention and cause them to think and take a look into
Marxist thought.
Social
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mikelepore
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Joined: 17 Sep 2004
Posts: 578
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Posted: 28 Feb 2005 05:22 pm Post subject:
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Since
De Leon was writing a hundred years ago, I bet we today could produce
something in more modern language, and illustrating modern situations.
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Social Greenman
Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
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Posted: 28 Feb 2005 08:20 pm Post subject:
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Yes,
you hit the nail on the head. Modern illustratations with modern
situations would enhance workers education. If I was a betting man I
would gamble and say that it could spark revolutionary tendencies in
workers. If some people with the talent and ability to produce these
comics/tracts with other willing to distribute them--tracts are easy to
place under a windshield wiper or anywhere else. I wonder if this would
be cheaper than trying to open and run a radio station?
Social
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davesearles
Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 426
Location: Vermont
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Posted: 02 Mar 2005 01:04 pm Post subject:
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Maybe
we could have a Sim SIU.
Dave
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Social Greenman
Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
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Posted: 02 Mar 2005 05:07 pm Post subject:
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Not
a bad idea. Computer simulated models.
Social
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mikelepore
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Joined: 17 Sep 2004
Posts: 578
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Posted: 03 Mar 2005 09:28 pm Post subject:
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Here's
a cute image that someone posted to newsgroup alt.binaries.clip-art in
September 2004. Unfortunately the originator made it blurry by saving it
as file type JPG. Artwork that uses the solid fields of basic colors
should always be saved as file type GIF. Only images with continuous
color gradients, such as photographs, should be saved as JPG.
http://www.deleonism.org/i/media340.jpg
To try to fix it now, I think the best thing to do
is cut off the small words at the bottom, resample it to a reduced size
of about 300, and then convert to GIF. The blurriness will be less
noticable.
http://www.deleonism.org/i/media300.gif
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Social Greenman
Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
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Posted: 05 Mar 2005 01:42 am Post subject:
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Most
likely my computer can do more than I could imagine. I built it myself
but it does not mean I know software. I believe it is time for me to
learn graphics and such.
Social
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mikelepore
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Joined: 17 Sep 2004
Posts: 578
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Posted: 05 Mar 2005 05:40 am Post subject:
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Yes,
if you're interested in the artwork of comics, I'd say this could be
combined most effectively with learning graphics software - personally I
use Paint
Shop Pro (where version 9 is out now, although I, having a
procrastination problem, am still using version 4).
You can even combine drawings, digital photos,
geometry, and fonts. Switch between color and b&w. Combine anything
according to your imagination, maybe like the album cover for Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band by the Beatles, or if you open up
the album cover for Disraeli Gears by Cream. (... for people who
are old enough to know what I'm talking about).
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mikelepore
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Joined: 17 Sep 2004
Posts: 578
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Posted: 19 Aug 2005 02:41 am Post subject:
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I
bought a new printer-scanner today. For my first scan, here is an old
Fred Wright cartoon that has been around for decades ... I've seen it
reprinted in many labor newspapers. The file's size is 597 X 785 pixels
by 16-colors -- 86,853 bytes. I'm having trouble figuring out how to save
it as a 2-color file without making it speckley (Paint Shop Pro version
4).
http://www.deleonism.org/i/scan002g.gif
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Social Greenman
Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
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Posted: 19 Aug 2005 09:41 am Post subject:
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Cool!
Gets right to the point. Thanks Mike!
_________________
I wasn't ready to say goodbye but goodbye was ready
for me--Robin Zander
If blood be the price of all your wealth, good God
we have paid it in. From the days when you chained us in your fields to
the strike a week ago--Utah Phillips
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mikelepore
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