The Political Philosophy of Calvin and Hobbes
Вставка
- Опубліковано 23 гру 2024
- A project I made for a class.
Calvin & Hobbes is owned by Bill Watterson and Universal Press Syndicate. All images used in this video belong to their respective owners. I own nothing.
Go watch my other stuff. This was a low-effort group project for an intro to political philosophy class at university. A lot of what I say here I pulled out of my ass and doesn't really hold up, but it was enough to fool my professor into giving me an A. Now go away.
@Val Camus TBH I haven't thought about C&H since I made this video. I don't even have the books anymore. They're all with my parents in a closet somewhere.
so this video is like, a ponzi scheme?
@@takima504 only if you share this video with all your friends and your videos get more views because of it.
@@poprox101 but I think you make a good point that Calvin and Hobbes isn’t afraid to get philosophical and it has some really good thought provoking subjects in it, especially for younger kids
ok, I will
“This not a democracy, this is my classroom” -A funny poster from a teacher
That reminds me of a quote from a Drill Sgt.
“Men. The Army is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship that defends a democracy AND I’M THE DICTATOR!”
I always found that "this is not a democracy" line from teachers and the principal so weird. As if a school was a country or something.
I AM THE STATE, I AM THE LAW
If my teachers put that up I'd make a little sticker of a guillotine to decorate it.
@@JackPool-lq8ux Well... armies don't have a great track record of defending their democracies...
To this day, the greatest comic strip ever created, along with The Far Side.
Calvin&Hobbes..Far Side..Gahan Wilson -very catalyzing influences on me as a child ..Philosophy in the form of satire is just so delicious to a growing intellect!
Ikr my 2 favorite strips
I'd include Bloom County; and (for older generations) Pogo. All works of genius.
💯
Calvin and Hobbes Far Side Gang
One thing that I loved that was established very early was that while Calvin can act as a brat sometimes, he's by no means a jerk. He shows sympathy for others, such as when he finds the squirrel that he and his parents end up trying to help to no avail. He's concerned for it and laments how it was taken away so quickly after it was born.
Another point is his friendship with Susie. While they have their fights, I think much of their relationship outside of the strip is quite friendly. After all, he's invited to her birthday, invited to have a tea party with her, etc. In one series of strips where he ends up legitimately hurting her feelings, he shows empathy and ends up apologizing.
In the end, Calvin is a kid. And childhood is going to be full of mistakes. But if Calvin were a real individual, I get the feeling that he would grow up to be a wonderful individual.
W H E E Z E
His babysitter could argue about the 'no means a jerk' part. Not like his classmates besides Susie are that great. They don't call him a chowder head and he's called them that, but otherwise they're just collectivism in action. Recall the time Calvin tried out for a little league team?
Baby raccoon, not a squirrel
@@chumbucket3475 fuck, you're right, thanks for the clarification
The comics pretty real in that sense, there's no characters that are just bad. Everyone's got a fair perspective in one way or another.
Truly the real gift of Calvin and Hobbes is reading it as a child for fun, then returning to it as an adult with a totally different perspective on life.
For sure. Reading it now just feels different. The naive persective is gone.
Or reading it as a mom of adhd kids and recognize your kids on every page. My sister had that. There was even a strip which was a copy of her experience with one of her boys.
It hits similarly to watching A Goofy Movie as a kid versus watching it as an adult.
I think reading it as a kid influenced me in a lot of ways to be the person I grew up to be, I forgot about all this philosophical stuff and just remembered all the hilarious snowmen and other various visual gags.
We should make it a mandatory reading in schools. We will probably end up with a lot smarter children and smarter future adults if it becomes on a mandatory assigned reading list
There's that one panel where Calvin keeps accidentally throwing his ball into the gutter, and his dad gets grumpy about it, and he says "Relax, Dad, it's just a ball in the gutter. It's not as if I've been embezzling money or killing people, right?" and I always wanted to pull that line on someone when they lost their shit over something that wasn't that big of a deal, but I haven't yet found the right moment.
@@theKobus Huh. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I should stop stealing and murdering.
So you're a fan of plagiarism? LoL. LOL! I'M LAUGHING OUT LOUD BRO!
And I only had the courage to say that because you're going clean.
@@deviantartguy0 ?
@@deviantartguy0 yea they are totally plagiarizing some random phrase in a comic by using it in everyday life, rather than trying to pass it off in a medium of writing LOL!
One half of Calvin and Hobbes: discussing the meaning of life and the universe
The other half: OOGA BOOGA GIRLS SMELLY TEACHER BAD
I mean...yeah, basically
I don't think this is quite right. Calvin often thinks girls are smelly and his teacher is bad, but the comic is framed in a way where he's not necessarily right. Susie is a sympathetic character. And Ms. Wormwood is painted in a neutral light where she doesn't deeply care about her job, but she's not cruel to her students either - Calvin just has too much energy for her.
So... Watterson owes me money for ripping off my childhood, is that it?
The single frame of “help monarchs!” is unironically one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen
That and "Who wrote 'help I'm a bug' on my letter to grandma" are hilarious.
I still don’t get it
I didn't realize how maga Calvin was until this.
@@purpleblah2
The joke is that he's an American citizen who has the right to happiness. But the school makes him unhappy. Therefore he wishes to leave. But society (the teacher) doesn't let him escape so he yells monarchs.
You misspelled 'helllpp'. :p
I think the real reason we remember C&H so fondly is that Watterson had the wisdom and grace to stop drawing while he was ahead. Same reason he never let his characters be turned into a TV show or plushies. He didn't turn his work into a watered-down cash cow without a soul.
That's probably part of the reason, but it wouldn't even matter if the strip didn't have a soul to begin with. I think a lot of the credit should go to his writing.
My dad gave me a big book of Calvin and Hobbes strips when I was a kid and in the intro it pointed out that Calvin is a Hobbesian and Hobbes a Calvinist, and I always thought that that was interesting for it to be switched. Happy memories
I had no idea. Thanks!
They introduced me to those philosophers
"It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy... Let's go exploring!" :')
And now I’m crying again
Yep, that was a sad day.
fuuuuggggg right in my feels
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing that you want to do."
Wow, that is not at all how I imagined Calvin's voice sounding in my head. And that is exactly the reason Watterson didn't want the series turned into a TV show.
Nor did he allow C&H merch to be made and sold or their images to be reproduced outside of the strip.
Yes an awful voice choice, and bad speaking, no heart and soul put into it. The art in this comic strip was brilliant too. I have the complete collection and several loose paperbacks. I would read these to my kids as bedtime stories. Good stuff
@@recoveringsoul755
My dad bought them for me to read and I've read through all of them probably hundreds of times. I think my dad thought it would be good for me since I've always been really mature in my head. It's also how I was able to reason out that santa wasn't real. The comic showed his parents placing presents.
The creator stated above that this was for a school project, so they were likely just reading the text rather than trying to voice act. I doubt this is how they imagine his voice to sound either
And I cannot agree more.
"Why is the world never unfair in my favour" has been one of my mantras ever since I read this comic strip oh so many decades ago.
I read this stuff when I was a very little kid, it helped me to learn how to read. Jury's still out whether it had a good or bad influence on me.
There’s no jury, good influence.
I mean, who's to say what's good or not?
@@emilycaballero6052 a means justify the end, right?
@@captainpep3 squirrelturtle
Hol up
To this day, my favourite calvin and hobbes comic strip was the one about calvin waiting at the bus stop, and hobbes asks him why he always wear long pants and not shorts, and calvin says that he was wearing shorts, they’re just too big. There’s nothing complicated about it. It’s just funny that he’s that short.
I honestly thought the whole thing was just a big fun kids thing as a child.
O h m y g o o d n e s s
I mean, it very obviously was, but it was also something more.
It covered themes like death, philosophy, and doing the right thing, while also being a hilarious comedy series.
Probably one of the reasons why it’s still a legendary comic strip.
@@master0fthearts894 Indeed, it is.
It's one of those things you read as a child and then rediscover when you revisit them as an adult and understand all the references and wisdom that went over your head when you were a child. Disney movies are a lot like that, too.
The fact that this was made as a 'low effort group project' is very Calvin-esque 😌
It's crazy that this was a school project, this was so well made. You should make more UA-cam videos.
Now where the fun begins is when you realize that Hobbes affects Calvin in a way perceptible to others
Like the time he tied up Calvin, something that he cannot do alone without help.
Meaning that he is a o some extent real within his universe. And if he is real to some extent, makes you wonder what his true attachment to this world may be. Is his spirit connected to the stuffed animal, only viewable to those he deems worthy, like the little men from the show Hilda.
And if he does exist in this way, is he mentally independent from Calvin
Or are his thoughts from Calvin himself like you mentioned.
So many possibilities.
Something that always tickled me was how the line between reality and imaginary was blurred when Calvin made his transmogrifier make a good version of himself, and that version was thoughtful, clean, and engaged with class while exhibiting superior intelligence. Either Calvin imagined these scenarios, he actually acted like this just for fun, or it was real. If the latter, thn the fantastic elements of his world extend beyond Hobbes and imply that Calvin radiates actualizations of his imagination.
Brilliant comic series- have all of his books!! 😃🤸🙃
I don't even get it here in India, but I do buy whatever i can lay my hands on
Watterson, wherever you are, thank you for the best comic strip ever!!! if you ever get an urge to ink another Calvin and Hobbes strip, even just one panel, please go for it. the world will be eternally grateful.
I can still remember the first strip I read... “Go ahead. Make my bed...”
We need him more than ever...
I like to say that Calvin and Hobbes found me. We found the first book in a closet one day with neither of my parents knowing how it got there. My older brother wasn't one for comic books and even if he was, he never lived in that house. I read it out of curiosity and have been hooked since.
One of my favorite quotes from Calvin and hobbes has to be “when your staring into infinity it really makes all the everyday problems people have seem so small”
The final strip when they grab the sled and take off... man that still leaves lump in my throat
Calvin: "*Sighhh*... once it's too late, you appreciate what a miracle life is. You realize that nature is ruthless and our existence is very fragile, temporary, and precious. But to go on with your daily affairs, you can't really think about that...which is probably why everyone takes the world for granted and why we act so thoughtlessly. It's very confusing. I suppose it will all make sense when we grow up."
Hobbes: "...No doubt."
Edit: I opened my graduation speech with that quote.
I created my own comic strip back in 2009 about a teenage boy and a woolly mammoth that I want to publish. I'm excited to see how it gets received.
Good luck on your comic :)
I would definitely read that.
@@thenameyoushouldknowthekin8998 wtf, you dont know anything at all about him or his comic
Sounds cool!
I'm looking at these comics in a whole new light now. It's not just comical and creative... its sheer GENIUS
best comic strip ever. rip waterson
edit: just found out hes not dead, he just retired. thank god
Is he dead?
@@davidjones3165 oh i just found out that hes not, he just retired. i will edit my comment
oh geez don't scare me like that!! Bill is a class act. So glad he didn't cash in and ruin the strip.
@@jononpaper is he dead now?
@@seamussmyth1928 Still alive.
0:29 Holy crap, he looks just like Calvin's dad... except with a mustache.
So he looks like Uncle Max.
“Calvin and hobbes are based on a 16th century and 17th century philosopher”
God that alone explains so much
Also, Hobbes is a tiger because Watterson created early versions of these characters for his high school yearbook. Chagrin Falls OH where the mascot is... a tiger. Calvin's early design was "the typical high school first-year".
So glad I got to grow up reading my dad’s old Calvin and Hobbes books from his own childhood that he gave me when I was little.
Still come out on Calvin’s side more than Hobbes more often than not though. In my opinion half the time the “joke” seems to be that Calvin is on the right track, he’s just all too often derailed by his very human nature. Perhaps it’s no coincidence then, the panel at the end of the video pointing out that Hobbes is not a human being with all the flaws and subjectivity that entails, but a stuffed tiger possessed of a viewpoint that is itself detached from human reality?
This is such a wonderful video i hope whatever put this in my feed 7 yrs later help to get this boosted like crazy.
god, i loved these books. i had every single one and i mustve read each several times- my dad bought me for them when i was young.
I’ve never met a math teacher that wasn’t obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes.
I read this everyday day in the morning for most of elementary school.
I shouldn't have watched this. It just turned into a stinging reminder of how much I miss Calvin and Hobbes. An interesting sidenote: Watterson refused to license his characters for any type of toy, poster, memento, doll, or other monetized duplication. Always interesting to see a man turn his back on millions of dollars in royalties, on a principle.
I can commend him for it too. I never liked those cheap looking knock off stickers of Calvin peeing on everything! Anyone who read the comic knew that Calvin was above the act of peeing on something he didn’t like, he would have staged a protest and trampled a city of tiny snowmen!
This video very helps to understand Calvin and Hobbes. Thank you for making it.
Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, My Crowed, and Peanuts are my favorite comic strips
I am just curious about what you are doing now. It was such a good video. Cheers mate
Interesting video. You might want to make the volume louder, I had to turn the volume all the way to hear it.
What makes the strips even better is how it's aged in the school systems, parenting tactics, and technology, and yet Calvin is calling them out before we did in this new decade. In that sense, Calvin was ahead of his time.
At 68, I still consider Calvin + Hobbes a unique and quality cartoon strip. Many of the facial expressions are priceless - !
In 10th grade, I had English 1st period. Three of four of my classmates and I would always go in about 15 minutes early so we could talk to Mr. Billings about Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, and The Far side. That was definitely the best thing about 10th grade year. Almost 40 years ago now, still remember it like it was last week.
I don't have words to describe how intelligent, hilarious and sometimes, downright touching this comic strip was. I can read it over and over again, it never gets old, and I can see things from a different perspective almost everytime. A true treasure!
Damn, this was a nostalgia trip. Thanks for sharing this video! Also, didn't realize how philosophical this comic was.
As you grow up and discover that Santa was actually your parents, all along, the "Santa's watching you to see if you're good or bad" paradigm begins to makes sense.
It's my absolute favorite series of books
My favourite: -
Calvin: "THE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE IS THEY DON'T LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE."
Calvin: "EVENTUALLY, WE'RE EACH GOING TO DIE, OUR SPECIES WILL GO EXTINCT, THE SUN WILL EXPLODE, AND THE UNIVERSE WILL COLLAPSE."
Calvin: "EXISTENCE IS NOT ONLY TEMPORARY, IT'S POINTLESS! WE'RE ALL DOOMED, AND WORSE, NOTHING MATTERS!"
Hobbes: "I SEE WHY PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE."
Calvin: "WELL, IT PUTS A BAD DAY IN PERSPECTIVE."
02/03/96
Not sure why this was in my recommended but glad to see this got you an A.
Now I'm gonna check out your other stuff.
You have been blessed by the UA-cam algorithm, my friend.
Ugh by all accounts this shouldn't be. This was a low-effort group project for my intro to political philosophy class in my second semester at university.
Just cause it’s low effort doesn’t mean it dosent have value. You don’t need the best equipment or editing to bring out a good point, engage people, or tell a good story or idea. I honestly love this video and, damn I love this Calvin voice! ^^
@@poprox101 Low effort doesn't necessarily mean bad results. Lots of people end up having their most popular whatever be something that they thought was a throwaway effort. It's why a lot of creative types suggest to keep at creating things, because you don't really know what's going to work and what won't until you've tried it. Other than the voice of Calvin being a little off-putting, there's nothing really wrong with the video. You made the best use out of the resources you had available. It might not be flashy, but the content matters much more than the flashiness.
I graduated high school in 1981.
I didn't really notice the political philosophy in C and H until much later.
But I LOVE how your class project highlights and illuminates many principles.
LOL... If I were still teaching, I'd probably draft this into one of my courses... the upshot being that we all wish to rule the universe with strict rules... which, naturally, do not apply to us, personally.
Just read a few of your comments….yes, YOUR comments poprox101. Methinks there’s a little bit of Calvin and Hobbes in yourself. Thanks for the great video . I hope Bill Watterson gets to watch it. He’ll enjoy it also.
Calvin and Hobbes rules!
One thing I liked about Calvin & Hobbes is when Calvin's father would show some of his ornery side to Calvin.
He wasn't just the cliched "unhip" dad so common in comic strips.
You could often tell that his father was just as ornery as him when he was younger.
And in his own way, Calvin's Dad is every bit as clueless, egotistical and self-indulgent as his son. It's just Calvin has the excuse of being a kid. and his Dad... doesn't. Passive aggressive parents are such children.
I think a lot of Calvin and Hobbes strips have aged greatly in today's world.
I really like the voice acting for this video. And I think Calvins voice fits him perfectly.
This contained great insight and many nostalgic feelings. Thank you.
Great analysis, hats off to you sir
That was very nice. Beautifully done! Thanks
5:55 My character knows how you feel Calvin. His living teddy bear is always invading his personal space like that.
You did well! I hope your project grade reflected the project quality.
My favourite strip was the bug collecting project, because it reminds me of my life. I've done the same thing quite a few times. Forgetting we had a project to do, attempting to do it last minute, trying to copy off of friends in class but getting busted in front of everyone, getting yelled at by my mum and dad after when i get reported for it.
It's a strip that's extremely funny yet hits so close to home that it'll stick in my mind forever. And Calvin's line "I've been in hot water ever since I got up!" also shows the irony in the situation and reflects it back onto my own, because he and I both brought it on ourselves
"Calvin and Hobbes" was, by far, my favorite "comic" strip. So much so that I purchased the series of books way back when. Intuitive and entertaining at the same time...sure do miss it.
The snowman ones are the best.
Thanks for this - voicing the characters lowered its impact, as typically happens anytime an inanimate culture icon becomes animated and voiced.
Raised as a Calvanist Presbyterian, I struggled with the concepts of predestination and preordination; they seemed contrary to free will and also seemed most useful as an excuse for "sin".
Ultimately, after growing up and experiencing and witnessing the realities of war, oppression, racism and bigotry, hunger and want, i finally realized that religion held no answers -- only tea and sympathy to accompany the threats of eternal agony.
Calvin and Hobbes reflects my philosophical growth from childhood to maturity, and I think it is beyond brilliant.
That was really well done. Congratulations on getting an A.
I loved Calvin & Hobbes! It gave me an insight into my own kids, and brought me back to my own boyhood too. Miss it!.
Calvin and Hobbes has always been one of my favorite comics. When I was a kid, however, I somehow missed all the parts that showed Hobbes as the non-Calvin world saw him. I was surprised when, in my teens, I first got my hands on a Calvin and Hobbes book collection and saw him that way!
I remember that when I was around 9-11, my parents couldn't afford to pay for an internet connection, so my sister and I were stuck with very limited stuff to watch/read... One thing never failed to be around the house, a newspaper. I jumped straight to the comic seccion every time, and thus, read Calvin and Hobbes multiple times a week...
I didn't really get what they were talking at the time, I mostly just liked the drawings, but, I think subconsciously, this comic helped me grow into the person I am today.
So you know... That's kinda cool...
If only the volume was higher
My ABSOLUTE favorite comic of all time!!! I surely do miss him!!!!
The content of Calvin and Hobbes is way, way more about philosophy than politics.
I’ve read everything he’s done. Several times over. And yes politics does arise on occasion.
But it’s really about everything else other than politics.
I hope someday Bill Watterson sees this. It's REALLY insightful.
Calvin and Hobbes is honestly my favourite piece of philosophical media. It handles it's themes and topics so well.
I love C and H, but I sometimes think I'm the only person who appreciates the humour. It's very much descended from the Peanuts cartoons of Charles Schulz, but I know people who love Peanuts, but are left cold by Watterson. It's so strange.
7 years later, this video is recommended to me, and this video was tailored made for me
I can't say that Calvin's motivations are like mine, they're not, but I hate authority because I'm compelled to follow it. There's a paradox for you.
This is a very interesting analysis and I applaud you for how great it Is
Absolutely the most intelligent cartoon strip in history. I hope today's children get the chance to read and enjoy it in their old age, because today it would fly right over their heads.
I think this essay is pretty good, though you slightly misinterpreted what Hobbes is. Bill Watterson has stated that Hobbes isn’t supposed to be seen as the product of Calvin’s imagination. Both are supposed to be real, just that the tiger version is only real to Calvin. (Though admittedly, this viewpoint makes no sense to me because even the people who see Hobbes as a stuffed tiger can see the aftermath of Hobbes pouncing on Calvin.)
It basically implies that reality in Calvin's world is subjective, not objective. To everyone else, Hobbes >IS< just a stuffed animal. Tied down to the commonly accepted version of reality, everything they witness is subject to their own understanding of how reality works.
Calvin on the other hand quite literally 'rejects their reality and subtitutes his own'. When, for example, Hobbes pounces him out the front door, all the cuts and scratches and scrapes and scuffs he gets aren't a result of him rolling around in a thornbush 'for effect', but an actual result of being pounced by a sapient tiger out the front door and down the yard. Subjectively, that is what happened. His disdain for the reality he finds himself a part of is so strong, that he pretty much 'wills' small differences in the common reality to make it more bareable.
However, everyone else who perceives Hobbes under the perview of their own subjective, arguably shared reality, that makes literally no sense. Therefore, they justify it according to their own reality. Something happened on the way home, and he simply refuses to admit it. Even witnessing the event, they have to justify it according to their own subjective reality.
Both events are 'real', depending on your point of view. It's also why, relatively speaking, any impact Hobbes actually HAS needs to be something that CAN be justified in both realities. Events where Hobbes has any meaningful interaction with the world around them tend to happen when unobserved, as this allows both realities to be subjectively justified by all parties. This doesn't however mean it's just Calvin's imagination, as events do transpire that Calvin genuinely could not have managed on his own.
This even, on occasion, extends to experiments with things like his Duplicator. Making several hims that only get observed one at a time, or perhaps most informative, the time he made a 'good' version of himself to do everything for him. A 'him' that spent several days basically being the perfect little child while Calvin himself goofed off. Events like this are very difficult to justify as 'just being his imagination' given the tangible effects they have.
At least thats how I justify Watterson's reply.
@@Devonimp Yeah, that’s a good explanation and all, but the whole thing gives me a headache.
@@GatorOne-in7hk That is totally fair XD
@@Devonimp I think the problem is, I seem to see everything in terms of black and white. But as Calvin said, sometimes that’s the way things are.
Geez. This explains plenty.
5:46 That's clever.
KFC in Soviet Russia
I may have taken permanent damage from the picture of the snow chicken having beheaded the snowman.
I liked the strip where Calvin found a quarter. He celebrates, shouting about how he's rich now. He stops with a pensive look on his face, then shouts "Maybe there's more!" and starts searching the ground. Human nature at it's finest - lol!
Why all the repeat frames?
Volume is too low on video.
0:24 my brother got that scene tattooed on his back with his sons names next to it.
Aww man the days of childhood.our small problems then.were as big as now. But we had a stuffed dog and talking GI JOE to share them with.im starting to get up there in age. And sometimes I'd love to see them again.
The audio is too low! :(
I don't know what Calvin and Hobbes's voices sound like because I've only ever seen what they said written down, but I really don't think the voices in this video are it.
Agreed. I don't think any voice could ever be right for them. Still, good video!
The main problem for me is that Calvin’s voice sounds too obviously like a 15-18 year old girl.
Fix the bleeding audio. I can barely hear it at full volume.
What I fail to understand is why most newspaper and Sunday strips nowadays appeal to the lowest common denominator, not having much cleverness and thought-provoking messages within their comedy. Stuff like Garfield, Blondie, Dilbert, The Born Loser, The Wizard of Id, etc. have all become like this, regardless of what they did in their original runs. It is for this reason, in addition to actually being hilarious and having relevant commentary to this day, that Calvin and Hobbes remains the greatest Sunday comic of all time, despite how the newspapers apparently don't seem to think so.
Volume too low
I have ADD and at times I was a poor listener in my 30's and 40's. Frequently I would get asked, "What did I just say?" And straight from Calvin, I would reply, "You mean you weren't listening either?"
Wow, never knew how complex this comic is
Fix the volume!
No