[24] in Humor
HUMOR: Proof that some people desperately need a life
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (abennett@MIT.EDU)
Tue Jan 25 15:31:30 1994
From: abennett@MIT.EDU
To: humor@MIT.EDU
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 15:26:19 EST
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 94 13:42:23 PST
From: ckleinja@Novell.COM (Connie Kleinjans)
...
From: gezelter@magnesium.cchem.berkeley.edu (Dan Gezelter)
Subject: Re: Indignities done to Professor and Mary Ann (was: Re: Important..
Scott Graves deconstructs:
>As if it weren't bad enough that The Professor never got a real name.
>But let's face it, neither did the Skipper.
>I haven't seen a lot of Gilligan's Island, but it seems that the Skipper
>and the Professor having technical names instead of personal ones means
>that artificial hierarchies based on ability (although I'm not sure the
>Skipper was that competent) lead to the relegation of individuals to
>impersonal positions, whereas the movie star and the rich people had names
>(even though the Howls (sp) only had genus names, not personal ones)
>and the dispossessed millionaire (Mr. Howl) still commanded a great deal
>of respect and freedom from work despite the fact that he no longer held
>all the capital. I guess this means that monopolies of non-essential
>skills, such as beauty and the possession of capital, are natural
>hierarchies, even though the character of the Howls was collective, and
>not inherently alienating. Still, there's some hope for us all in the
>fact that Gilligan and the Skipper seemed to get along so well even though
>the Skipper kind of bossed poor Gilligan around and bullied him. Seems
>like Mary Anne was the only proletariat in the bunch. Maybe she should
>have taken over the island and given everybody technical titles.
>Oh, well it doesn't make any sense anyhow.
No No No. You've got it all wrong. Gilligan's Island was a MORALITY
PLAY in which each of the characters symbolized one of the seven
deadly sins or cardinal virtues, depending on the episode:
Character Deadly Sin Cardinal Virtue
--------- ---------- ---------------
Gilligan Sloth Courage
The Skipper Gluttony Justice
Ginger Lust Hope
The Professor Pride Wisdom
Mr. Howell Avarice Temperance
Mrs. Howell Jealousy Charity
Mary Anne Anger Faith
Each episode dealt with one of the characters coming to terms with his
or her specific sin and virtue. Of course, I still can't analyze the
episode with the monkey and the plastic explosives in these terms, but
you must admit that this interpretation has a certain feeling of
"rightness" about it. That the women each symbolize one of the
Christian theological virtues while the men symbolize the Platonic
cardinal virtues is a subltlety that should not be left unmentioned.
Surely the show was a work of genius.
From the Uncharted Desert Isle,
--Dan
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