Word: plainness
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...people in politics, much as the success of The Blair Witch Project is discouraging to filmmakers: if the public embraces something so shallow and tedious, what future is there for the professionals? But the source of the man's strength is no secret. It is that he speaks plain English with none of the circuitous posturing and preening of public officials, who cannot give you the time of day without saying that time is a topic of great concern to them, as it is to all Americans, and that they have long devoted themselves to finding a solution...
People are grateful for that, and surprised, and on the basis of this plain-spokenness, Ventura has leaped to national prominence, and deservedly so. He scorns the religious right and the war on drugs, which nobody else dares to do. He is hard as nails on the subject of campaign financing. He is brave in so many ways, and just when you want to admire him, he shows his great capacity for silliness, and there is nothing more fatal in politics. I'm sorry, but it simply is true. Voters don't elect people to goof around...
...about prostitutes and not wearing underwear and breasts, breasts, breasts, Sophia Loren's and his wife's, and how he'd like to be reincarnated as a 38-double-D bra, and he implies that groping women, Tailhook-style, is a prerogative of the warrior and says, in perfectly plain English, "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers." So much for St. Thomas and Martin Luther...
...Which is not to say that all these cartoons are inane and depend on slap-stick comedy or just good old plain perversion to draw (sometimes uncomfortable) chuckles. Some of these cartoons attempt to make legitimate social commentary! The Beckers, for example, a parody of the '50s ideal of the suburban family, addresses the important and apparently relevant issue of teenage cannibalism. My other favorite, No Neck Joe, is not quite so high-brow. The title is pretty self-explanatory. The main character is a little human with no neck and the whole of the plot rests of the fact...
...plain talk and honesty"--and his unique role on the national political stage--that have brought him the most attention...