Motley's Crew
Encyclopedia
Motley's Crew was an American
newspaper comic strip by Ben Templeton
and Tom Forman
with satirical social commentary.
With readership spread among 250 newspapers in the United States alone, the comic strip acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans during its 23 years of operation. The comic strip in general was about a blue-collar worker
named Mike Motley and his wife Mabel Motley. Truman Motley (Mike and Mabel's son) eventually fell in love and married a woman named Tacoma. From that marriage came two sons. Mabel's older brother Abel was often collaborating with his wife Buffy. Her role in creating a rivalry between Abel and his brother-in-law Mike is muted by the fact that he respected Abel and his wife just a little bit. As a part of his wife's family unit, Mike had to face Abel and Buffy whether he liked it or not.
According to a 1997 comics poll conducted by the New York Daily News, Motley's Crew was elected as the 28th most favorite comic strip among readers and visitors to the official Internet site. The comic strip was considered to be more popular than B.C.
(still in publication) but less popular than Broom-Hilda
(still in publication). However, it also voted as the 30th least favorite comic strip in the same poll; indicating that more people liked the Motley's Crew comic strip than hated it. Templeton and Forman created the comic in 1976. It was first syndicated by what is known today as Tribune Media Services
on September 6 of that year. Templeton and Forman were working together on it until Forman's death in 1996. After Forman's death, Templeton continued alone. It continued until January 1, 2000.
The final week's strips dealt with the cast trying to cope with the possible effects of the Y2K
bug. Earl had the computers in the factory "bug proofed" but for the year 3000. Mike had to fix the computers so they were ready for the year 2000 instead. On the first day of the year 2000, the final comic strip ever to be printed presented long-time fans and casual readers with a sign with the words "This space for rent." This concept was similar to Sam Malone closing the Cheers bar permanently after the final episode of Cheers.
Since then, Motley's Crew comic strips have been sought by collectors of contemporary comic strips. Archived comic strips can be viewed at on Google News Archives
by simply typing in the name of the comic strip. However, not all issues of the Motley's Crew comic strip are available to view on the Google News archives yet.
Her primary task in the family was to cook and clean while her husband was working and providing a paycheck for the family unit. Eventually, she became a grandmother later in the lifetime of the comic strip. Mabel revealed some of the aspects of her personality during her time as a wife and a mother. She would frequently complained about her husband spending his weekend afternoons doing nothing but watching sports on the television
. With all the masculine elements that the comic strip
portrayed, having Mike Motley married to her provided a feminine
balance to the comic strip.
Setting her husband straight was always one of Mabel's things that kept her occupied. After Mike tried to bend the rules for certain situations, she would get upset with him. Strong criticism is often a part of being around her husband Mike. For example, a situation occurred where Mike refused to wear a necktie
to a wedding service. Mabel even forced her husband put on a formal outfit that wasn't exactly perfect in order to create an illusion of dignity for Mabel's side of the family. White tie outfits tend to be very fragile due to their delicate fabrics used in their manufacturing. The incredible rush to get her husband to switch from a casual tee shirt and boxer short ensemble to an ultra formal ensemble (jacket, bow tie, vest, tuxedo shirt, formal trousers, socks, and shoes) caused Mike Motley to cause an inevitable flaw (something that affected the delicate wool fabric) to appear on an outfit meant for ultra formal evening occasions. Notice that the character development of Mike Motley suggested that he wore boxer shorts
while resting inside his house and briefs
when he was outside the home. This was not meant to be a consistency error because some men prefer the support that briefs provide when away from home and the more comfortable fit of boxer shorts as outer clothing when relaxing at home.
While her husband was losing his brown hair, Mabel's hair was always blond throughout the entire comic strip series. The blond hair also serves a stereotype for females with a relatively low level of intelligence. Mabel liked to wear her hair in a traditionally feminine style, like a typical housewife. This femininity was extended to her wardrobe, her personality, and how she responds to life in general. Frequently seen in delicate dresses and almost never seen in trousers, Mabel was like a poster model for the 1950s lady. Mabel got married as a virgin and believes that a woman's place was home being the wife. There was never any mention of Mabel having any college education prior to marrying her husband Mike.
He worked for his employer Mister Drudge and was married to his equally middle aged wife Mabel. When not working, he was often caught spending most of his Sundays watching football
on television
. The occasional moments that he spent outside his factory
workplace and his home was considered to be spent on creating masculine
humor to the readers of the comic strip
that he played the starring role in. During his working days, he often wore a hard hat
because his blue collar job was considered to be dangerous work. While his character was in development during the early days of the comic strip, he and his wife took care of their son Truman. Eventually, the son grew up and got married because the comic strip had a story arc
like a soap opera
instead of a floating timeline
like a Saturday morning cartoon
. Even with his busy schedule of work, family, and bar
life, Mike still had time to travel the world.
Unlike Homer Simpson
and similar to Red Forman
on That '70s Show
, his lack of hair was caused by advanced age. It was never claimed to be caused by the dangerous chemicals that Mike was forced to deal every day in his job description. If Mike would have maintained all of his hair, his hairstyle would have closely followed that of a crew cut
; a typical hairstyle used by young middle class men starting in the 1950s. According to the chronology of the story, Mike Motley would have been born around the year 1941. Although his life prior to 1976 was never shown on the comic strip, he was shown as a younger man in the year 1977 when he joined the "working class poor." Mike can be seen in the comic strips as the equivalent to Archie Bunker
without the prejudice that dominated the character.
when Mabel coerced her husband into embarrassing situations. This fact was especially revealed in a comic strip that was published around July 22, 1997. Abel is in a normal business suit
and Buffy is in a cocktail dress. They enter Mabel and Mike Motley's house to see their embarrassed brother-in-law
Mike Motley being forced to dress up in a white tie outfit that was completely inappropriate for the afternoon visit. While in a state of confusion caused by Mabel shaving her husband's facial hair to the point of making his face bleed, Mike Motley opens the door to greet a couple of his wife's family members unaware of his face having injuries from his shaving wounds. His bald spot was now considered to be more clearly shown because his wife lacked the proper knowledge in how to comb a man's hair (this shallow attempt at being perfect was taken by Mabel because she didn't want her brother and his wife to think that her husband is going bald). Mike gave his wife's relatives a score of 2 out of 10 (20%) while his wife Mabel gave her family a mathematically illogical score of 12 out of 10 (120%).
The white underwear
that was slightly revealed through the noticeable rip in the formal trousers was an attempt to capitalize America's newly found obsession with underwear oriented humor during that era. Most comic strips (and eventually other forms of popular culture
) would eventually incorporate the use of underwear outside its expected role of underneath a person's trousers. This would find a use in humorous situations regardless of the age group being targeted. As long as the underwear was depicted in a form that was not considered to be sexual, it would be allowed on any media form in Western civilization
. Mabel's relatives were always a thorn in his side to her husband Mike; especially Abel and Buffy. Even though Abel and Buffy secretly liked him, Mike never liked them for some reason or another.
It was never officially explained when this rivalry between Mike, Abel, and Buffy began; the fact remained that any good intentions that Abel and Buffy had were quickly repulsed by Mike Motley at first glance. Mike always realized his hatred for Abel and Buffy when they arrived at a time when he wanted to be with his wife and not have to deal with her relatives on a social trip. Mabel always got him in the mood for all their visits because Abel and Buffy were a part of her family by birth (and Mike's by marriage). Mike always complains about either Abel or Buffy doing something wrong to him or his property at the end of their visits. Since Mabel has to be nice to her brother and his wife, she usually took his remarks with a grain of salt and have him look suitable for the occasion (whether it was a cordial visit on a summer afternoon or a family function where a necktie was required).
in his mouth and was the most incompetent person in the comic strip. When he was captured
and forced to steer the ship
, he took command of the ship until it collided with land in the middle of Kansas
. The humor behind that scenario was that ships cannot land in Kansas; Earl was clearly an incompetent sailor and no clear explanation was given about the reason of giving him command of an entire ship.
During the earlier years of the comic strip, Earl complained about the white flight
from metropolitan
cities into more suburb
an areas due to rising crime in the inner sections of North American cities. Humor was added when Earl talked about the things that suburban people had (swimming pool
s, shade
tree
s, lawn
s) and complained about not being able to afford to move out of an inner city environment to enjoy them. Eventually, the series moved to the suburban area after Truman Motley started to attend school for safety reasons. Earl Bird's character was similar to George Jefferson
who briefly lived next door to the Archie Bunker family.
Abigail Bird (maiden name: unknown) was Earl's wife who had suffered for a long time with him. She played a similar role to the late Maude Flanders on The Simpsons
, Gladys Kravitz
on Bewitched
, and Louise Jefferson
on All in the Family
and The Jeffersons
. Similar to the role that Mabel Motley played, she was the good wife and simply overlooked most of her husband's schemes that did bad things to him. Her maiden name is unknown, similar to the way that Mabel Motley's maiden name is also unknown. Abigail's past was never revealed on the comic strip, giving her the intention of being a stock character
. Her supportive nature is what helps Earl keep an even keel on life when he goes through one of his work-induced crises.
factory
manager.
He personally ran the fictional corporation Drudge Industries, Inc., which was a construction company. His signature was on every paycheck
that Mike Motley and his other subordinates received after working. The coarse nature of his operations is what kept the workplace in perfect working condition. Traditional gender role
s reigned supreme in his factory
. In addition to all that, Mister Drudge also had an obedient female secretary
that was always ready to take orders from him. His last name came from a word that means "labor" or "work." Very rarely did anyone receive a pay raise or a promotion in his construction company.
Mister Drudge was considered to be a very young person, with red hair, very young skin, and a white bow tie. He also appeared content in his successful life running a major corporation at his age.
(which was part of the Soviet Union during most of the comic strip's production).
He provided Cold War
humor from the perspective of what Americans were conditioned to believe to be the "enemy" during the Cold War
years. This character was used the most often during the Mikhail Gorbachev
administration. While Yuri was visited by his friend Mike Motley in the then-current Soviet Union, Yuri rarely traveled to America. The reason for Yuri's lack of visits to the United States was that financial and security reasons prevented citizens from the Soviet Union from entering Western Bloc
countries during that time. During the 1980s when the Soviets were warming relations with the United States, Mike (representing the United States of America and his capitalist employer) had fewer financial and security restrictions upon entering the Soviet Union.
One of Yuri's recent roles in the comic strip came on the week of March 28, 1994 when he was a proprietor of a casino in Moscow. Ben Templeton has a strong interest in the former Soviet Union and has made a novel about the country called The Last Decathlon
; which is a thriller novel that takes place in the 1980s.
. While Mabel did the housework (cooking, cleaning, washing dishes), Mike did all the yard work (raking leaves, cutting the grass, etc.) Even though Mike and Mabel Motley decided that only Mike needed to earn income for the household, Mike and Mabel Motley attempted to keep up with the times and with the changing needs of Middle America to their best of their ability.
industry
and was employed under the manager of Drudge Industries, Inc., Mister Drudge himself. Due to the fact that he was an unskilled laborer
, he and his wife lived a menial lower middle class
existence. Because Motley's Crew was intended to be a humorous comic strip on everyday life, certain strips would show Mike Motley wearing his underwear outside of his pants. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the comic strip, Mike Motley never got to retire
from his workplace. Had the comic strip been published for a longer period of time, Mike Motley would have retired around the late 2000s.
area in a hospital
being confused for a place where footballs are caught in an American football field for a touchdown.
Rarely were any of the characters were seen walking
, jogging
, or using any form of mass transit on Motley's Crew as the characters never saw anything else but automobile travel as a priority for the characters. Also, the lack of hybrid vehicles during the comic strip run made it inevitable for people to use vehicles that ran on fossil fuels. Environmentalist
s were still seen as the "potential destroyers of the country" because Mike didn't want to fix his faucet for $30 ($ in today's money) instead of buying a new one for $10 ($ in today's money).
Home computer
s and microprocessor
s were dealt with as processors of bills and income (as opposed to electronic video games) in a comic strip back in 1982. Political issues (such as the mistakes made by the Department of Defense in the late 1980s) were dealt with in a conservative but humorous manner. Conservatism could also be seen with stereotypical images of young people graduating from college. The newly graduated student joins the real world with his philosophy
degree and ends up becoming a shepherd
. At the end of that comic strip, the sheep were thinking "How come we always get stuck with the philosophy majors?"
From 1994 to 1999 (which served as the final five years of the comic strip's publication), the comic strip focused on entertaining its established audience with issues that they could relate to instead of dealing with the "problems of the young generation." It was possible that a second generation of Motley's Crew readers were starting to develop from young adults; the type of humor that keeps a person laughing frequently changes with age. However, they would receive a rude awakening by not being able to understand most of the issues that comic strip portrayed. Most of the issues in the comic strip series dealt more with the middle aged people and the elderly as opposed to the climate change
that society was forcing them to deal with on an everyday basis.
in order to keep a younger audience interested. Things like underwear appearing in strange areas of the body (i.e., outside of a person's clothes, on a person's head, etc.) and Mabel getting revenge on her husband Mike by giving him a black eye once in a while were attempts to make the comic strip more relevant for the young generation. Items of dignity became objects of ridicule as a three-piece white tie outfit is partially shredded without any explanation other than visual due to the limitations of the comic strip medium. While the dinner jacket, tuxedo shirt, vest, and bow tie would remain relatively intact, the formal trousers were given a few shreds which revealed the white briefs (presumably cotton) of Mike Motley.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper comic strip by Ben Templeton
Ben Templeton
Ben Templeton is the co-creator of the classic comic strip Motley's Crew along with his late partner Tom Forman. After the death of his partner, Templeton completed the strip on its own until its cancellation on January 1, 2000...
and Tom Forman
Tom Forman (comics)
Tom Forman was an American comic strip cartoonist, co-creator of the classic comic strip Motley's Crew along with Ben Templeton. His pre-1997 take on the comic strip involved Mike Motley's career as a blue-collar worker, sports, and his friends...
with satirical social commentary.
With readership spread among 250 newspapers in the United States alone, the comic strip acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans during its 23 years of operation. The comic strip in general was about a blue-collar worker
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
named Mike Motley and his wife Mabel Motley. Truman Motley (Mike and Mabel's son) eventually fell in love and married a woman named Tacoma. From that marriage came two sons. Mabel's older brother Abel was often collaborating with his wife Buffy. Her role in creating a rivalry between Abel and his brother-in-law Mike is muted by the fact that he respected Abel and his wife just a little bit. As a part of his wife's family unit, Mike had to face Abel and Buffy whether he liked it or not.
According to a 1997 comics poll conducted by the New York Daily News, Motley's Crew was elected as the 28th most favorite comic strip among readers and visitors to the official Internet site. The comic strip was considered to be more popular than B.C.
B.C. (comic strip)
B.C. is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Johnny Hart. Set in prehistoric times, it features a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from various geologic eras...
(still in publication) but less popular than Broom-Hilda
Broom-Hilda
Broom-Hilda is an American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russell Myers. Distributed by the Tribune Media Services, it depicts the misadventures of a man-crazy, cigar-smoking, beer-guzzling, 1,500-year-old witch and her motley crew of friends....
(still in publication). However, it also voted as the 30th least favorite comic strip in the same poll; indicating that more people liked the Motley's Crew comic strip than hated it. Templeton and Forman created the comic in 1976. It was first syndicated by what is known today as Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
on September 6 of that year. Templeton and Forman were working together on it until Forman's death in 1996. After Forman's death, Templeton continued alone. It continued until January 1, 2000.
The final week's strips dealt with the cast trying to cope with the possible effects of the Y2K
Year 2000 problem
The Year 2000 problem was a problem for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits.In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two...
bug. Earl had the computers in the factory "bug proofed" but for the year 3000. Mike had to fix the computers so they were ready for the year 2000 instead. On the first day of the year 2000, the final comic strip ever to be printed presented long-time fans and casual readers with a sign with the words "This space for rent." This concept was similar to Sam Malone closing the Cheers bar permanently after the final episode of Cheers.
Since then, Motley's Crew comic strips have been sought by collectors of contemporary comic strips. Archived comic strips can be viewed at on Google News Archives
Google News
Google News is a free news aggregator provided by Google Inc, selecting recent items from thousands of publications by an automatic aggregation algorithm....
by simply typing in the name of the comic strip. However, not all issues of the Motley's Crew comic strip are available to view on the Google News archives yet.
Mabel Motley
In the comic strip Motley's Crew, Mabel Motley (maiden name: unknown) was a stay-at-home mother.Her primary task in the family was to cook and clean while her husband was working and providing a paycheck for the family unit. Eventually, she became a grandmother later in the lifetime of the comic strip. Mabel revealed some of the aspects of her personality during her time as a wife and a mother. She would frequently complained about her husband spending his weekend afternoons doing nothing but watching sports on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. With all the masculine elements that the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
portrayed, having Mike Motley married to her provided a feminine
Femininity
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
balance to the comic strip.
Setting her husband straight was always one of Mabel's things that kept her occupied. After Mike tried to bend the rules for certain situations, she would get upset with him. Strong criticism is often a part of being around her husband Mike. For example, a situation occurred where Mike refused to wear a necktie
Necktie
A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...
to a wedding service. Mabel even forced her husband put on a formal outfit that wasn't exactly perfect in order to create an illusion of dignity for Mabel's side of the family. White tie outfits tend to be very fragile due to their delicate fabrics used in their manufacturing. The incredible rush to get her husband to switch from a casual tee shirt and boxer short ensemble to an ultra formal ensemble (jacket, bow tie, vest, tuxedo shirt, formal trousers, socks, and shoes) caused Mike Motley to cause an inevitable flaw (something that affected the delicate wool fabric) to appear on an outfit meant for ultra formal evening occasions. Notice that the character development of Mike Motley suggested that he wore boxer shorts
Boxer shorts
Boxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...
while resting inside his house and briefs
Briefs
Briefs are a type of short, tight underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which make briefs a popular underwear choice for men who...
when he was outside the home. This was not meant to be a consistency error because some men prefer the support that briefs provide when away from home and the more comfortable fit of boxer shorts as outer clothing when relaxing at home.
While her husband was losing his brown hair, Mabel's hair was always blond throughout the entire comic strip series. The blond hair also serves a stereotype for females with a relatively low level of intelligence. Mabel liked to wear her hair in a traditionally feminine style, like a typical housewife. This femininity was extended to her wardrobe, her personality, and how she responds to life in general. Frequently seen in delicate dresses and almost never seen in trousers, Mabel was like a poster model for the 1950s lady. Mabel got married as a virgin and believes that a woman's place was home being the wife. There was never any mention of Mabel having any college education prior to marrying her husband Mike.
Mike Motley
In the comic strip Motley's Crew, Michael "Mike" Motley was a middle aged unskilled factory worker (later being promoted to webmaster).He worked for his employer Mister Drudge and was married to his equally middle aged wife Mabel. When not working, he was often caught spending most of his Sundays watching football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. The occasional moments that he spent outside his factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
workplace and his home was considered to be spent on creating masculine
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
humor to the readers of the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
that he played the starring role in. During his working days, he often wore a hard hat
Hard hat
A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments, such as construction sites, to protect the head from injury by falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, bad weather and electric shock. Inside the helmet is a suspension that spreads the helmet's weight over the...
because his blue collar job was considered to be dangerous work. While his character was in development during the early days of the comic strip, he and his wife took care of their son Truman. Eventually, the son grew up and got married because the comic strip had a story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
like a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
instead of a floating timeline
Floating timeline
A Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
like a Saturday morning cartoon
Saturday morning cartoon
A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
. Even with his busy schedule of work, family, and bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
life, Mike still had time to travel the world.
Unlike Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and similar to Red Forman
Red Forman
Reginald Albert "Red" Forman is a fictional character on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, portrayed by Kurtwood Smith.-Biography and personality:Red is one of the classic archetypes of the "grumpy man"...
on That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
, his lack of hair was caused by advanced age. It was never claimed to be caused by the dangerous chemicals that Mike was forced to deal every day in his job description. If Mike would have maintained all of his hair, his hairstyle would have closely followed that of a crew cut
Crew cut
A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short or medium. A...
; a typical hairstyle used by young middle class men starting in the 1950s. According to the chronology of the story, Mike Motley would have been born around the year 1941. Although his life prior to 1976 was never shown on the comic strip, he was shown as a younger man in the year 1977 when he joined the "working class poor." Mike can be seen in the comic strips as the equivalent to Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
without the prejudice that dominated the character.
Abel and Buffy
Abel and Buffy (last name unknown; as it would be the maiden name of Mabel Motley) provided comic reliefComic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
when Mabel coerced her husband into embarrassing situations. This fact was especially revealed in a comic strip that was published around July 22, 1997. Abel is in a normal business suit
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
and Buffy is in a cocktail dress. They enter Mabel and Mike Motley's house to see their embarrassed brother-in-law
Brother-in-law
A brother-in-law is the brother of one's spouse, the husband of one's sibling, or the husband of one's spouse's sibling.-See also:*Affinity *Sister-in-law*Brothers in Law , a 1955 British comedy novel...
Mike Motley being forced to dress up in a white tie outfit that was completely inappropriate for the afternoon visit. While in a state of confusion caused by Mabel shaving her husband's facial hair to the point of making his face bleed, Mike Motley opens the door to greet a couple of his wife's family members unaware of his face having injuries from his shaving wounds. His bald spot was now considered to be more clearly shown because his wife lacked the proper knowledge in how to comb a man's hair (this shallow attempt at being perfect was taken by Mabel because she didn't want her brother and his wife to think that her husband is going bald). Mike gave his wife's relatives a score of 2 out of 10 (20%) while his wife Mabel gave her family a mathematically illogical score of 12 out of 10 (120%).
The white underwear
Briefs
Briefs are a type of short, tight underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which make briefs a popular underwear choice for men who...
that was slightly revealed through the noticeable rip in the formal trousers was an attempt to capitalize America's newly found obsession with underwear oriented humor during that era. Most comic strips (and eventually other forms of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
) would eventually incorporate the use of underwear outside its expected role of underneath a person's trousers. This would find a use in humorous situations regardless of the age group being targeted. As long as the underwear was depicted in a form that was not considered to be sexual, it would be allowed on any media form in Western civilization
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
. Mabel's relatives were always a thorn in his side to her husband Mike; especially Abel and Buffy. Even though Abel and Buffy secretly liked him, Mike never liked them for some reason or another.
It was never officially explained when this rivalry between Mike, Abel, and Buffy began; the fact remained that any good intentions that Abel and Buffy had were quickly repulsed by Mike Motley at first glance. Mike always realized his hatred for Abel and Buffy when they arrived at a time when he wanted to be with his wife and not have to deal with her relatives on a social trip. Mabel always got him in the mood for all their visits because Abel and Buffy were a part of her family by birth (and Mike's by marriage). Mike always complains about either Abel or Buffy doing something wrong to him or his property at the end of their visits. Since Mabel has to be nice to her brother and his wife, she usually took his remarks with a grain of salt and have him look suitable for the occasion (whether it was a cordial visit on a summer afternoon or a family function where a necktie was required).
Earl and Abigail Bird
Earl Bird was the next-door neighbor of Mike and Mabel Motley and a fellow worker at Drudge Industries and they were seen working side by side. Earl usually had a cigarCigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
in his mouth and was the most incompetent person in the comic strip. When he was captured
Shanghaied
Shanghaied may refer to:*Shanghaiing, or forced conscription*Shanghaied , a film starring Charlie Chaplin*Shanghaied, a 1934 animated short film starring Mickey Mouse...
and forced to steer the ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
, he took command of the ship until it collided with land in the middle of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. The humor behind that scenario was that ships cannot land in Kansas; Earl was clearly an incompetent sailor and no clear explanation was given about the reason of giving him command of an entire ship.
During the earlier years of the comic strip, Earl complained about the white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
from metropolitan
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
cities into more suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an areas due to rising crime in the inner sections of North American cities. Humor was added when Earl talked about the things that suburban people had (swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s, shade
Shade
Shade is the blocking of sunlight by any object, and also the shadow created by that object. Shade also consists of the colors grey, black, white, etc...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, lawn
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s) and complained about not being able to afford to move out of an inner city environment to enjoy them. Eventually, the series moved to the suburban area after Truman Motley started to attend school for safety reasons. Earl Bird's character was similar to George Jefferson
George Jefferson
George Jefferson is a fictional character played by Sherman Hemsley in American television sitcoms All in the Family and its spin-off The Jeffersons...
who briefly lived next door to the Archie Bunker family.
Abigail Bird (maiden name: unknown) was Earl's wife who had suffered for a long time with him. She played a similar role to the late Maude Flanders on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Gladys Kravitz
Gladys Kravitz
Gladys Kravitz is a fictional character on the American situation comedy Bewitched . Portrayed by Alice Pearce from the show's premiere in 1964 until Pearce's death in 1966 and then by Sandra Gould from 1966 until her last appearance in 1971, Gladys Kravitz is an across-the-street neighbor of the...
on Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, and Louise Jefferson
Louise Jefferson
Louise Jefferson was a supporting character, portrayed by Emmy Award-winning actress Isabel Sanford, who appeared first on the television series All in the Family. She later became one of the main characters in its spinoff series, The Jeffersons...
on All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
and The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
. Similar to the role that Mabel Motley played, she was the good wife and simply overlooked most of her husband's schemes that did bad things to him. Her maiden name is unknown, similar to the way that Mabel Motley's maiden name is also unknown. Abigail's past was never revealed on the comic strip, giving her the intention of being a stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
. Her supportive nature is what helps Earl keep an even keel on life when he goes through one of his work-induced crises.
Mister Drudge
In the comic strip, Mister Drudge was considered to be an autocraticAutocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
manager.
He personally ran the fictional corporation Drudge Industries, Inc., which was a construction company. His signature was on every paycheck
Payroll
In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons...
that Mike Motley and his other subordinates received after working. The coarse nature of his operations is what kept the workplace in perfect working condition. Traditional gender role
Gender role
Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
s reigned supreme in his factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
. In addition to all that, Mister Drudge also had an obedient female secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
that was always ready to take orders from him. His last name came from a word that means "labor" or "work." Very rarely did anyone receive a pay raise or a promotion in his construction company.
Mister Drudge was considered to be a very young person, with red hair, very young skin, and a white bow tie. He also appeared content in his successful life running a major corporation at his age.
Yuri
Yuri was Mike Motley's friend from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(which was part of the Soviet Union during most of the comic strip's production).
He provided Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
humor from the perspective of what Americans were conditioned to believe to be the "enemy" during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
years. This character was used the most often during the Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
administration. While Yuri was visited by his friend Mike Motley in the then-current Soviet Union, Yuri rarely traveled to America. The reason for Yuri's lack of visits to the United States was that financial and security reasons prevented citizens from the Soviet Union from entering Western Bloc
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc or Capitalist Bloc during the Cold War refers to the powers allied with the United States and NATO against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact...
countries during that time. During the 1980s when the Soviets were warming relations with the United States, Mike (representing the United States of America and his capitalist employer) had fewer financial and security restrictions upon entering the Soviet Union.
One of Yuri's recent roles in the comic strip came on the week of March 28, 1994 when he was a proprietor of a casino in Moscow. Ben Templeton has a strong interest in the former Soviet Union and has made a novel about the country called The Last Decathlon
The Last Decathlon
The Last Decathlon is a novel about the Soviet Union by John Redgate that takes place in the 1980s. It was published in May 1980 by Dell. The book tells the story about the conditions that would eventually lead to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. There is espionage along with some adventure and...
; which is a thriller novel that takes place in the 1980s.
Mike and Mabel Motley's community
Mike and Mabel Motley were home owners during the course of the entire comic strip. They lived in the suburbs of an industrial city somewhere within the lower 48 states of the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. While Mabel did the housework (cooking, cleaning, washing dishes), Mike did all the yard work (raking leaves, cutting the grass, etc.) Even though Mike and Mabel Motley decided that only Mike needed to earn income for the household, Mike and Mabel Motley attempted to keep up with the times and with the changing needs of Middle America to their best of their ability.
Mike Motley's employment status
Mike Motley was employed in the constructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and was employed under the manager of Drudge Industries, Inc., Mister Drudge himself. Due to the fact that he was an unskilled laborer
Laborer
A Laborer or labourer - see variation in english spelling - is one of the construction trades, traditionally considered unskilled manual labor, as opposed to skilled labor. In the division of labor, laborers have all blasting, hand tools, power tools, air tools, and small heavy equipment, and act...
, he and his wife lived a menial lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...
existence. Because Motley's Crew was intended to be a humorous comic strip on everyday life, certain strips would show Mike Motley wearing his underwear outside of his pants. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the comic strip, Mike Motley never got to retire
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
from his workplace. Had the comic strip been published for a longer period of time, Mike Motley would have retired around the late 2000s.
Politics and conservatism
Despite other comic strips changing completely with the times to suit a younger audience, older fans of the comic strip wanted to keep traditional gender roles present in the comic strip as much as possible. Therefore, any changes to the main characters were seen as temporary and made to look as foolish as possible in order to create a laughter effect. Like the other suburban residents, Mike owned a car in which he used to travel to work and play. In addition to factories, houses, and office buildings, the neighborhood also had a bar, a health clinic, a church, a beach, and other fine places where Mike, his friends and family all worked and played at. Humor was found in the least expected places like a receptionReception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
area in a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
being confused for a place where footballs are caught in an American football field for a touchdown.
Rarely were any of the characters were seen walking
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
, jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
, or using any form of mass transit on Motley's Crew as the characters never saw anything else but automobile travel as a priority for the characters. Also, the lack of hybrid vehicles during the comic strip run made it inevitable for people to use vehicles that ran on fossil fuels. Environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s were still seen as the "potential destroyers of the country" because Mike didn't want to fix his faucet for $30 ($ in today's money) instead of buying a new one for $10 ($ in today's money).
Home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s and microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
s were dealt with as processors of bills and income (as opposed to electronic video games) in a comic strip back in 1982. Political issues (such as the mistakes made by the Department of Defense in the late 1980s) were dealt with in a conservative but humorous manner. Conservatism could also be seen with stereotypical images of young people graduating from college. The newly graduated student joins the real world with his philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
degree and ends up becoming a shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
. At the end of that comic strip, the sheep were thinking "How come we always get stuck with the philosophy majors?"
From 1994 to 1999 (which served as the final five years of the comic strip's publication), the comic strip focused on entertaining its established audience with issues that they could relate to instead of dealing with the "problems of the young generation." It was possible that a second generation of Motley's Crew readers were starting to develop from young adults; the type of humor that keeps a person laughing frequently changes with age. However, they would receive a rude awakening by not being able to understand most of the issues that comic strip portrayed. Most of the issues in the comic strip series dealt more with the middle aged people and the elderly as opposed to the climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
that society was forcing them to deal with on an everyday basis.
Revitalization attempts
When the creators of Motley's Crew started to see older readers from the 1970s dying off, they introduced physical comedySlapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
in order to keep a younger audience interested. Things like underwear appearing in strange areas of the body (i.e., outside of a person's clothes, on a person's head, etc.) and Mabel getting revenge on her husband Mike by giving him a black eye once in a while were attempts to make the comic strip more relevant for the young generation. Items of dignity became objects of ridicule as a three-piece white tie outfit is partially shredded without any explanation other than visual due to the limitations of the comic strip medium. While the dinner jacket, tuxedo shirt, vest, and bow tie would remain relatively intact, the formal trousers were given a few shreds which revealed the white briefs (presumably cotton) of Mike Motley.
Pictures
Comics
- Arlo and JanisArlo and JanisArlo and Janis is a comic strip written and drawn by Jimmy Johnson. It is a leisurely-paced domestic situation comedy. It was first published in newspapers on July 29, 1985.- Cast :...
- Betsy and Me
- KudzuKudzu (comic strip)Kudzu was a daily comic strip by Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette about rural Southerners. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, the strip ran from 1981 to 2007...
- Moose & MollyMoose & MollyMoose & Molly is a long-running American comic strip, published by King Features Syndicate. Previously known simply as Moose or Moose Miller, the comic strip was started in 1965 as a creation of Bob Weber Sr., and is still running as of 2011....
- Winnie WinkleWinnie WinkleWinnie Winkle was an American comic strip which appeared over a 76-year span . Created by Martin Branner, who wrote the strip for over 40 years, Winnie Winkle was one of the first comic strips about working women. It was titled Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner until 1943...
Television series
- All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
- Married With Children
- The HoneymoonersThe HoneymoonersThe Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...