I remember a reader writing a letter to the editor of MAD sometime in the 1970's. He said, and I quote from distant memory, "I watch a movie because I like it. And then, I read the MAD satire to let me understand it."
That sums up exactly why the MAD satires were some of the most brilliant examples of journalism during the 60's and 70's. They were well thought out, biting satire that nailed the weak points of films and TV shows that needed nailing.
A few of the satires that I fondly recall, along with translations of the more subtle ones, include Star Blecch, Crymore Vs. Crymore, A Crock of (blip) Now, What's the Connection? (The French Connection), Balmy and Clod, The Zing (The Sting), and, most telling, Up With the Academy.
Up With the Academy was a very brief admission by MAD that it had made a mistake in lending its name to a typical 80's R-rated trashfest comedy called Up the Academy. MAD admitted publicly that the movie sucked. The "satire" was a single page long, a telling statement in itself.
Now, who can't respect straightforwardness like that?
I have to admit that I've lost recent contact with MAD. Perhaps they are still letting the air out of of grossly overinflated Hollywood egos. But I know that when I grew up in the 60's and 70's, they shed a new light on movies that the critics and the general public went ga-ga over. I try to maintain the same tradition meself.
Comments (4)
Mad Magazine was used by our advanced journalism course as 'textbook' because of its great satire. Our senior class could not get over approval of an old man (35-40?) enjoying something we hid from our parents and even using it to teach us how to write satire, wow!
Posted by Linda Carrico | February 24, 2007 11:14 AM
Posted on February 24, 2007 11:14
Mad Magazine. The Usual Gang of Idiots.Alfred E. Nueman. EVERYONE Knew that Alfred's Middle Name E. Stood For, Clarence! His Tooth Missing Grin Made Deranged Psychopaths Change Professions, when They had a Choice between Turkey Farming,and being a Politician,and They Chose to run for Office! Mad Magazine was Our Instruction Manual, on How to get Through The Difficults Times by the Chinny Chin Chin on Our Hair! Our IQ's SOARED to The Staggering Heights of THIS Side of a Moron's F...But, We were TOUGH! So Tough...Scare M'Self! :B
Posted by Sam | January 30, 2009 3:10 PM
Posted on January 30, 2009 15:10
Its hard to comment on how important MAD was to me in early 70s. The humor, satire and sarcasm, was precious. They lampooned everything. I loved the typical sort of "You know you're in trouble when . . ."
Don Martin was my favorite. His books with Captain Klutz were hysterical. so much we cold talk about with this one. What a difference tween the public reaction to the early 50s MAD Comics and the later 50s format the endured after.
I am glad we changed from the overactive early 50s. But maybe we went too far at some point, no?
Long live MAD!
Posted by Scott Irving | March 1, 2009 1:27 AM
Posted on March 1, 2009 01:27
Iremember them well and always liked the cover featuring one of those satires! Classic stuff from the days of my youth!
Posted by Rivers End | May 27, 2009 2:50 PM
Posted on May 27, 2009 14:50