the heideggerian disruptions of zippy the pinhead - …egrabiner.com/zippypub.pdf · ·...
Post on 01-Apr-2018
234 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 1
TheHeideggerianDisruptionsofZippythePinhead
©EllenGrabiner,PH.D.,2009
(Underconsiderationforpublicationbythemagazine,PhilosophyNow.)
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 2
TheHeideggerianDisruptionsofZippythePinhead
Z‐ManWithintherecentlysurfacedspateofanthologies,books,andmagazinearticlesinwhich
thephenomenonofthe“superhero”has
beenspotlighted,therehasbeenone
egregiousomission.Thereisnaryamention
ofZ‐Man,alteregoof“ZippythePinhead”
andcreationofBillGriffith,whohaspledged
to“appearcomprehensibletoonlyaselect
groupofsophisticated,enlightened
individuals.”1
Torectifythisperhapsunderstandableomission,IwouldliketobringZippyfrontand
center,ifonlytoappreciatethewaysinwhichheandhissuper‐powershave,forseveral
decades,de‐centeredthecomicworld.PayinghomagetotheZ‐man’ssuperability,Irisk
offeringajuxtapositionofmyown:MartinHeideggerandZippythePinhead.Sideby
side,thesethinkersbothquestionourhabitualapproachestoeverydaylifeandsuggest
weabandongestellen:thewaysinwhichwetendtoenframe,andconsequently
diminish,ourexperience.
1 Griffith, Bill, “Z-Man,” http://www.zippythepinhead.com , 1995
Figure1"Z‐Man"©BillGriffith
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 3
EncounteringHeidegger
WhenIfirsttriedtoreadHeidegger,Iwasinthethickofadoctoralprogram,
investigatingwhatIperceivedtobethehostilitydirectedatthevisualparadigms
rampantinWesternthought.Asalongtimepracticingvisualartist,Itookumbrage.I
wasdesperatelyseekingsomethinginsupportofavisualexperiencethatwasenriching
andopening,insteadoftheubiquitousreifyingandtotalizinggaze.WhenIstumbled
uponHeidegger’s,“TheAgeoftheWorldPicture,”IjumpedtowhatIthoughtwasthe
obviousconclusion:finally,herewassomeonewhowasextollingthevirtueofpicturing
andIapproachedhisessaywiththatexpectationinmind.
IwassosureofwhatIwouldfindinhisessaythatIwasblindedtotheactualwords
Heideggerhadwritten,blindedtothefactthathewasnotlaudingbutbemoaningthe
modernisttendencyto“picture.”
AsIread,Ihadthestrangestsensationofswimmingagainstthecurrent.While
Heideggerhasbeenaccusedofmanythings–beingreactionaryinhisattitudetowards
technology,beingaNazisympathizer–asfarasIamaware,hehasneverbeenaccused
ofbeingeasytoread.
Andiflikeme,youdon’treadGerman,youarereadingatranslation,forstarters.But
readingHeideggerbelievingheissayingonethingwhen,infact,heissayingquite
another,wasanimpossibleexperience.
AsIread,Ibecameawarethatmyforeheadwasallscrunchedupwitheffort;Iwas
workingincrediblyhardandunderstandingalmostnotatall.Iwastemptedtothrowmy
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 4
handsupandsimplysayuncle.Atthosemoments,inanefforttocalmmyself,Iwould
think:justreadthisaspoetry‐orperhapsasHeideggermighthaveencouraged,as
language.Justletthewordswashoveryou,Iwouldcoachmyself.Don’ttryto
understandinalinear,rationalway.Andsuddenly,remarkably,meaningwouldtake
shape.WhetheritwasHeidegger’sintendedmeaning,orevenameaningthata
Heideggerianscholarmightattributetohim,Ican’tknow.ButIreadthesentencesthat,
whenapproachedlogically,seemedatbest,closetogibberish:“Thenothingnothings,”2
[Dasnichtnichtet.]“TheWorldworlds,”3[DerWeltweltet]“Languageisthehouseof
Being,”4andatworst,seemedoxymoronic,“thesoundlessecho.”Suddenlythese
phrasesresonated;notinaprecise,linear,rationalway,andmaybenoteveninaway
thatIcouldarticulate,butinatacitlyvisceralway.Iwasforced,inreadingthesewords,
tosuspendwhatIalreadyknew.Infact,Iwasforcedtoreconsiderknowingatall;forced
torethinkhowitwasthatIwasapproachingHeidegger,forcedbythedeliberate
oddnessofhiswordstostoptryingtounderstandthemintheusual“everyday”wayand
toletthemeaningshowitselftome.
IbelievethatHeidegger’sexcessivelyparticularuseoflanguagewasrootedinahope
thathisout‐of‐the‐ordinaryconstructionswouldcauseustostopandabandonour
every‐day,habitualwayofreading,abandontheimpositionofwhatwealreadyknowso
thathismeaningcouldbeuncovered.
2 Martin Heidegger, "What Is Metaphysics?" in Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings, ed. David Farrell Krell (Harper Collins, 1077, 1993), 103. 3 Martin Heidegger, The Origin of the Work of Art, ed. Clive Cazeaux, trans. Albert Hofstadter, The Continental Aesthetics Reader (Routledge, 2000). 4 Martin Heidegger, Letter on Humanism, ed. Lawrence Cahoone, From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology (Blackwell, 2003).
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 5
InBeingandTime,Heideggerexamineswhathecallsour“everydayness.”5Hesuggests
thatbydiscoveringhowweare,everyday,wewillpreparethewaytowards
understandingBeing.“Bylookingatthefundamentalconstitutionoftheeverydayness
ofDaseinweshallbringoutinapreparatorywaytheBeingofthisbeing.”6
LovingtheBoxWhateveryoumaythinkaboutHeidegger,thisdisruptionofourhabitual,everyday
tendencytoencodeorshort‐cutourexperiencewashislegacy,andnonehastakenup
themantelofHeideggeriandisruptionwithasmuchverveasBillGriffith’sZippythe
Pinhead.7LikeHeidegger,Zippyconfuses,disrupts,redirectsandreturnsustoour
everydaynesssothatwemightseeitanew.
ToappreciateZippy,itisnecessarytounderstandthecontextinwhichhelives.As
Heideggerwillinsistthatyoucan’tknowthehammerwithoutknowingthewood,the
nail,theheftofitsweightasyouliftitintheair,thegravitythatpullsitdown–wecan’t
knowZippyunlessweknowthepanel–theboxinwhichhelivesandwhichhereveres,
thegutterwhichplaceshiminandoutoftime,thespeech/thoughtbubblesinwhichhis
utterancesreside,andtheworldsofhighartandpopculturewhich,injuxtaposition,
affordZippyamechanismforupendingourpreconceivednotionsaboutcomics,and
leadingustoZippy’sdeep,philosophicaltruths.
Whetherwechoosetoadmititornot,ourapproachtocomicsisgenerally,asHeidegger
wouldsay,“gestellen”orenframed.TheworksofArtSpiegelman,MarjaneSatrap,or
5 Heidegger, Martin, Being and Time, p. 15 6 Ibid. 7 All Zippy comic and text of Zippy comics referred to in this paper © Bill Griffith, World rights reserved. Distributed by King Features Syndicate. http://zippythepinhead.com
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 6
NeilGaimanandDaveMcKeanaregroundedinthedifficultsubjectmatterofthe
Holocaust,theattackonthetwintowers,oppressioninIran,andabuse.Thesegraphic
comicartistsnotwithstanding,ourexpectationofthefunniesistobejustthat.Zippyis
sometimesside‐splittinglyfunny.ButwhenweapproachZippyexpectingthe“usual‘set‐
upandpay‐off’typeofgaghumor,”8asGriffy,BillGriffith’scomicalteregoandZippy’s
foilwarns,wewillbesorelydisappointed.
Figure2Henry
AndinmuchthesamewaythatHeideggerreturnedagainandagaintotherootsof
philosophyinGreekthought,Zippyreturnstohisownpersonalfoundationintheroots
ofthecomicartofErnieBushmiller’sNancyandSluggo9andinCarlAnderson’s10comic
stripHenry,whichhasbeensyndicatedinternationallysincethe1930’s,andiswhat
mightcometomindwhenwethinkofthequintessential“comic.”
In“Henry”wefindanarrativeflowandtheutilizationofpantomimed,comicgestures:
Henrystrollscasually,handsclaspedbehindhisback,runs,kickingupconventional
cloudpuffs,expressesthenarrownessofhisescapebywipinghissweatingbrow.
8 Griffith, Bill, “How To Understand Zippy,” 1995, http://www.zippythepinhead.com 9 See “Charting the Known: The Geography of Ernie Bushmiller,” by Bill Griffith, http://www.zippythepinhead.com/pages/aabillgr.html 10 http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/henry/about.htm
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 7
If,however,weweretoapproachZippyexpectingacomictobelikethis,thinkingthat
wealreadyknowwhatacomicis,wewillbepulledoutofourcomplacency,inaway
reminiscentofmyapproachtoHeidegger’s,“AgeoftheWorldPicture.”
Zippy,likeHeidegger,isabigfanofseeingandsaying.AndlikeHeideggerheuses
languageaslanguage,tohelpupendourexpectationsofthecomicnarrative.By
highlightingover‐sized
landmarks,the
ubiquitousdiner,the
meditativesportof
bowling,orthe
transcendent
laundromat,hebringsus
rightbacktothepresent
moment.Thejarringjuxtapositionof“high”cultureandkitschbringsintofocuswhatwe
overlookinoureverydaywayofbeing,andbracketsZippy’sculturalcritique.
Zealouslyengagingideasthathaveprovokedthroughouttheagesaswellasthose
endemictoourpost‐postmodernlives—“po‐po‐mo”isawordthatIamsureZippy
wouldlove—Zippy’sessentialselfiscommentonidentitypolitics.Thepinheadwitha
bowedtopknot,aperennialfiveo’clockshadow,dressedinapolka‐dottedmuu‐muu,
makesastatementbyhisverybeing.
Itisn’tpossible,inthespaceallottedhere,toexperiencetheexpansivenatureofZippy’s
entireoeuvre.InsteadI’dliketozoomin,inordertoelucidatethePinhead’sthinking.
Figure3"SpeakEnglish"©BillGriffith
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 8
LikeHeidegger,BillGriffith–viaZippyandhispalGriffy,isnostrangertothebig
questions:fromaestheticstoexistentialismtothe“on‐going,non‐linear,exploration”11
ofourdualisticnature.
TheCartesianProjectAndlikeHeideggerbeforehim,Zippyhasmadeithismissiontoundonothingless
dauntingthantheCartesianproject.ButwhileHeideggerhademphasizedthestrife
entailedinBeing,Zippy’sapproachheremightbeconsideredclosertoGadamer’sidea
of“play.”Attimes,Zippysimplyprovidesuswithajuxtapositionthatflickersinits
randomabsurdity.Atothertimeshetacklesthenotionofdualityheadon.Herewesee
anexampleofboth!
Figure4"ZippythePinhead"©BillGriffith
WhencomicartistBillGriffithwantstogiveformtothe“opposingforcesofthe
universe”hechoosessomethingmonolithic,somethingwecouldn’tpossiblyoverlook:
enormousstoneheadsculptures.Byengagingtheminconversation,Zippyrendersthem
visible.Hisisaloud,persistent,andsillyvoicecheerfullyyellingaboutwhatishugeand
absurdinourcultureandwhat,aswewalk,headsdown,absorbedinourthoughts,
11 Griffith, Bill, “Understanding Zippy: Lesson Two, ” 1995, http://www.zippythepinhead.com/pages/lessontwo.html
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 9
comfortableinourknowledgeofwhatisallaroundus,wedon’teverreallysee.Could
hebecharacterizingtheseopposingforcesasrigid?Blockheads?Petrified?Couldhebe
commentingonthemind/bodysplitaswellascommentingonthenotionofopposing
forces?
WithZippy/Griffith,weneverknowforsure.Weseethestoneheads,notincidentally
modeledfromoneinaseriesofRobertArneson’ssculptures,entitledtheEgghead
series,attheUniversityofCaliforniaatDavis.
InArneson’sview,thesestoneheadsstandfortheintellectualintercourseofacademia.
ButforZippy,theysignifyallconceptualcouplingsandouringrainedexpectationthat
thesewillbeattheveryleast,hierarchicalandmorelikely,adversarial.Inthisstripwe
findtheopposingforcesinsistingthattobeanythingotherthanateachother’sthroats
is“unnatural.”ZippythePinhead,ontheotherhand,conformstonoone’s
preconceptions;embodies,inhismuu‐muu,arandomspontaneityanddelightinall
thingsfromthemundanetothesublime.Thehugerollingheadsarejustonemore
exampleofthefoilsthatresistZippy’sattempttomediate.Theypooh‐poohZippy’s
suggestionthattheycouldrelatetooneanotherinanyotherway,maintaining,“conflict
isnatural.”
(IwouldberemisshereifIdidn’tpointtotheobvious,albeitparadoxical,questions
raisedbythenatureofZippy’sintervention.Zippyorbyproxy,Griffith,isarguingforan
alternativeapproachtotheadversarialheads,isinconflictwiththem,andbyvirtueof
hisplea,positsan“either”totheir“or.”Ofcoursethisisalayerofwhatmakesthe
comicironicandfunny.Butdoesit,infact,provetheheadsareultimatelycorrect?Is
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 10
conflictnotonlynatural,butinevitable?AndifIamthenagreeingwithZippyand
implyingthatthosehissingheadsareinthewrong,amIalsofreezingthepolar
oppositesofthisparticularcontest?)
Zippyreframesthestoneheadhostility:eachheadismerelytheflipsideoftheother.
Theyareconnected,boundtooneanother,andnotjustbyvirtueoftheshared
attachmenttotheiropposition.InZippy’sworldthestrangeintermingle,fraternizein
waysthatundotheirpolarization.InZippy’sworldLesleyGoreprovidestheunexpected
swerveofnon‐sequitorthatmarkshisdiscourse.
WhatHeideggermightdescribeastheongoingunconcealingofanAletheictruth,
creatorGriffithcallsZ.O.W.L:Zippy’sOscillatingWaveLength.ZippycouplesThelonius
MonkandMyLittlePony,VintageDinerMenusandBob’sBigBoyHighDefinitionJpegs,
HelloKittyandCharlesBukowski.Theresultingshimmerofmeaningsisasintrinsicto
thePinhead’sphilosophicalmusingsasthejuxtapositionofcolorwastothe
Impressionists.
Byarticulatinganddecodingthenatureofcomicsingeneral,ZippythePinheadoften
functionsasametacomic:acomicthatcallsattentiontothecomicitself.Whilethisself‐
reflectiveandreflexivethreadrunsthroughmanyofBillGriffith’sdailysyndicatedstrips,
thereareseveraloftheseinwhichthisisaddressed
explicitly.
HereGriffithappropriatesHenryforjustthispurpose.
InfactthesimplicityofHenry’sconventionalcomic
Figure5"Oh,Henry!"©BillGriffith,2004
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 11
gesturesistheperfect“grrr”tothe“hiss”ofsomeheftyquestions:Whatisthenature
ofrepresentation?Isallexperienceencoded?Howdoweknowpreciselywhatitisthat
wethinkweknow?TransformingHenryintoaminipinhead,Griffithasksquestionsthat
areinpartseriousandimportantandinpartmakingfunofthoseofuswhoactuallydo
askthesequestionsandeventhinkthatturningtocomicstripslikeZippycangiveus
answers.Herewefindironycombinedwithridicule:asGriffithjuxtaposesthecomic
simplicityofHenrywithaself‐conscious,swipeatthequestionsthemselves,atthose
whoaskthem,andatthosewhocreatethecomicstripsinwhichtheyareasked.
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 12
ThePodofBeingFollowinginHeidegger’sfootsteps,makinghisown
“woodpaths,”Zippyappreciatesthatit’saboutthe
journey,notthedestination.Ashepusheshis
“pod”upahill,hereconsiders:“Maybeth’journey
isth’destination.”
LikeHeidegger’s“soundlessecho,”Zippylovesa
goodparadox,especiallywhenhedoesn’t
understandit.Hisconfusiondoesn’tkeephim
fromphilosophizingorwaxingpithy.Pontificatingaboutinternetaddiction,art,video
gaming,advertising,Google,orskeeball,languageisforZippy,asitwasforHeidegger,
thehouseofbeing.OrmaybeforZippy,itismoreaccurately,thepodofbeing.
Butinthisageofinstant,more,faster,better,itishearteningtoknowthereisasuper
heroamongus,whosesuperjuxtapositionsbringusupshort,undoourenframed
expectations,andreliablyreturnustooureverydaynessandourexperienceofthe
presentmoment.
Figure6"ZippythePinhead"©BillGriffith,2007
,2007
THEHEIDEGGERIANDISRUPTIONSOFZIPPYTHEPINHEADE.GRABINER 13
Figure7"FlowerChild"©BillGriffith,2009
top related