The [Insert Country/Ideology] Dream

I'm talking more 'DREAM$' than 'dreams. If this Australian/NZ keyboard had a pound or Euro sign bound to it I could go to town with currency symbols but I think you get the point.

How does this relate to the thin veneer of literature my blog sort of has?

I've been reading a lot of 'Little Orphan Annie', that's why. Not the musical where the American President is the hero and everyone skips off into a brighter tomorrow. I'm talking about Harold Grey's comic strip where the President becomes a venomous unseen entity and every story ends with uncertainty, loss or tragedy. You know, that family-friendly kids comic that has stories like "Daddy" Warbucks and his employees getting massacred by machetes and gunfire, unsupervised kids blowing up Nazi submarines, characters dealing with the Great Depression - homeless, penniless and eating whatever they can find to survive. THAT wholesome family-friendly comic.

Part of the strip where Annie sees "Daddy" cut down by knives and bullets.

With Harold Grey's determination that no story in 'Little Orphan Annie' should have a complete resolution, characters are inevitably forced from one hardship to the next. Although dated (I recall one strip from the late 1920's that had characters enthralled to experience a radio broadcast - something we take for granted), 'Annie' deals with issues that still resonate today. While unsupervised children playing in the streets and the prohibition-era gangsters no longer exist in today's America, other issues still stand: communism and socialism versus capitalism, unions versus employers, American Presidents versus comic strip characters, etcetera and so forth. In the 80+ years of the comic strip there's more to Annie than her relationship with Warbucks, but I'm going to focus on the themes of their endearing partnership here. It would take an entire blog to cover everything.

Is this the face that sunk a hundred Nazis?

While I'm not a huge 'Annie' fan, the characters at the core of the strip - Annie and Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks interest me. Sometimes both are annoyingly naive and Grey's art style has me mistaking background figures for regular characters at times, but I'm willing to grind my way through the niggles to enjoy the stories that has Annie and Warbucks working together to thwart someone, win something or just survive another day.

"Daddy" and Annie homeless on Christmas Eve.

As I mentioned before, 'Annie' has some very not subtle messages woven into this kiddie comic strip. Oliver Warbucks is a 'self made' man, having clawed his way to being a billionaire from nothing. Grey is careful to stress that Warbucks isn't your average capitalist - Oh no. His employees love him too much to unionise, he knows how to rig explosives and handle a gun, and he'd watch his entire empire crumble to the ground if it meant he could spend the rest of his days with those he loves. 'Those' being Annie. Of course Warbucks' wholesome sinless upbringing is what assures readers god is on his side. And if you forget, you get reminded every time someone tries to take him down. This is a man who made a killing during the First World War, by the way. Picture an American Andrew Undershaft if you will, subtract the ambiguous philosophy, then add some Dick Tracy crime solving and we're there.

Where would we be without billionaires watching our backs?

Whilst I'm not entirely FOR capitalism (having been raised in a socialist family and living in a predominately socialist town), I can see why many people are. There's some redeeming qualities about it but not enough for me to exclaim 'Best. Idea. Ever.' And I can see the trouble it causes those struggling to make good while being told asking for help is wrong.

It gets more apparent when Warbucks is broke, homeless and jobless during the Depression. He constantly returns to Annie shattered having found no work. Annie even offers to help but the thought of being supported by a young girl nearly sickens him. Eventually he makes good but perhaps he would've made good sooner when his friends offered to support him financially as his businesses failed. This kind of philosophy: that things work out if you tough it out - is one of the themes that bothers me the most about the comics.

However, one of the most prominent and most important messages throughout 'Annie' is that money can't buy everything; it's who you are and how you treat others that gives you the rewards - not financial security. Annie and Warbucks only have one dream: to be together. Between them, Annie and Warbucks preach this message in every adventure they have together. That's the essential message I'm willing to get behind - soapbox not necessary.

I said soapbox NOT necessary.

PS: For those curious, the daily 'Annie' comics were ended in 2010 but you can read them here. The strip ends in true Grey style: unresolved. At time of writing it seems 'Annie' might have its conclusion via a crossover in the Dick Tracy dailies, so stay tuned to see if Annie will ever be reunited with her "Daddy".