“Hard Drinkin’ Lincoln”

Kevin, I could swear I sent you these a year or two back and dared you to blog them. But my Gmail account has no record of this so I must have imagined it. This page has all the episodes: http://www.icebox.com/index.php?id=show&sho...

Awesomely irreverent. I liked the detachable exploding wart most of all.

Kevin:

These are humorous in that irreverent, SNL/MadTV kind of sophomoric strain.

Heroism, in the post-modern era, is vastly different that when you and I were younger. Look at a fictional character like Edward Cullen from Stephanie Meyers' _Twilight_ series. Even Christian Bale's portrayal and Christopher Nolan's vision of Batman in _Batman Begins_ and _Batman: The Dark Knight_ fall into this category. Each are hugely anti-hero in their nature. If this is what we see in fictional heroes, how then does it affect our perception of actual historical figures? It seems that we then look at them with their faults and say, "Yes, they did some great things, but they might not have been great people."

Sure, Icebox is a little over the top in its portrayal of Lincoln, but what will we see in regard to Lincoln's flaws in Steven Spielberg's upcoming movie. According to IMDb.com, Doris Kearns Godwin is a consultant on the film with the screenplay written by Tony Kushner, but his comments in Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s _Looking for Lincoln_ indicate he has struggled with this idea throughout the writing process. In Gates' documentary, even Goodwin stresses a flawed Lincoln might not be so bad in the end.

Everybody wants to hold presidents and popular people to a higher standard because we need heroes, but they are human beings. That we ever revered Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, or Kennedy is miraculous considering that. Wasn't it after Jefferson's death that his appeal diminished to the point that it was hard for admirers to find people who wanted to give funds to save Monticello in the early 20th century? Today, his appeal has surged back, somewhat. Lincoln's popularity may have lasted a little longer given his assassination, but he, too, could experience a resurgence in the future. Then, there's George W. Bush! I'll leave that alone! ;)

Please don't apologize or qualify your reaction in any way. One of the things that I am most interested is in the way individuals representing various demographics respond to what is posted. You do a better job than most in communicating your perspective as well as trying to better understand others. I value that.

Yes, in the end we all come around to seeing the artistic merit of "Confederate Cannibals." :)

Sherree,

It is "irreverent" and "over the top" which is exactly what Schwartz suggests in his analysis. This is an absolutely fascinating study of Lincoln in popular culture and memory. He argues that while Lincoln continues to make the top 5 lists in most important/popular presidents we have moved beyond a time when our overall attitude was one of reverence. In fact, Schwartz argues that his reputation has been in decline since WWII. No doubt, this is part of a general trend away from a heroic view of the past. The Icebox videos are just one example, but others come to mind such as the drunk history videos and the countless amateur YouTube videos that are currently available.

Whitman's Lincoln is clearly not our Lincoln any longer, but I am not convinced that his interpretation is necessarily superior to Icebox's.