I agree to what you're saying there, and I think I acknowledged that to some degree. I can't comment on the nostalgia angle, because I can categorically state that while SS might have some merchandise here in the UK, it sure as hell doesn't have a following or any kind of reputation. Nobody here has heard of it, including me, so I gladly take your comment on that for granted.
However I still reckon that it would be just as funny with any other popular children's fiction. I would have chosen Winnie the Pooh if Disney didn't own it. You might have chosen someone else, but I doubt that Strawberry Shortcake would be the first idea to form in the heads of most people, had they been forced to come up with that strip idea.
You seem to know a lot regarding this topic, and I won't make any judgements on that (it would be waaay too easy), but I doubt a lot of the strip's readers really know that, or would think as deeply on this as you or I. I look forward to this matter being resolved, whatever.
You misunderstand, I fear. The PA strip has nothing to do with Strawberry Shortcake (on a side note, how the hell can that get to be a registered trademark?).
I have no understanding of (or belief in, sadly) the USA's laws regarding free speech or copyright. What it is important to not is that the fact that Ms. Shortcake's appearance here (however modified) means nothing in itself. The idea is that should American McGee get it into his head to do a game about SS, it would probably look a lot like that, as shown by his 'interpretations' of Alice in Wonderland and, now, The Wizard of Oz.
American Greetings shouldn't take the PA strip to be unfavourable, but in fact acknowledge the obvious homage to what Messyrs Krahulik and Holkins clearly seem to think is some sort of epitome of sacharrine children's fiction. To anyone who understands the strip, the idea that SS is incorruptibly nice and sweet is reinforced, not diminished, by the comment of the strip (said comment being that American McGee is a conceptually unoriginal hack artist, little better than generational legions of bored teenagers sitting in Maths lessons, who would see the same depravities regardless of the subject matter he chose to defile).
American Greetings should see this as a kind of Blessing: Penny Arcade puts Strawberry Shortcake (which, frankly, no-one's heard of outside the US) right up there with Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz (both of which are widely known and highly popular outside the states)!
My main point is this. The way I see it, it would be just as funny (much more to non-americans) to use, say, Snow White (though Rammstein got there first) or Little Red Riding Hood (bestiality, hmm?). The equivalent in the UK would be to fuck with these early reading books which had characters such as "Roger Red Hat", "Billy Blue Hat", and "John and Jennifer Yellow Hat". They did nothing much more advanced than walk around saying hi to each other, but it would be soooo easy to make a schoolbook porno version.
Its a mystery why PA chose Strawberry Shortcake, when there are a heck of a lot more recognisable "wholesome" kids characters out there. Thats basically the joke. American McGee has no original talent above making wholesome kid's characters abuse themselves. My solution to this whole debacle? Just do another strip, just without this relatively obscure Strawberry Shortcake person, and with some nursery rhyme played out in bondage gear. Its the same strip, but American Greetings don't get the credit.
I would be sending this to them via email, but right now there's no point because I don't believe they are even going to check the inbox. She's probably already got a new inbox set up (unless the IT dudes are still trying to recover the server). Whatever happens, she won't see my message amongst the million others in there.
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Uh-huh. There's no such thing as BST (British Standard time, I assume). The name of the timezone is GMT (Greenwich Meridian Time).
Tsk, HONESTLY.
I agree to what you're saying there, and I think I acknowledged that to some degree. I can't comment on the nostalgia angle, because I can categorically state that while SS might have some merchandise here in the UK, it sure as hell doesn't have a following or any kind of reputation. Nobody here has heard of it, including me, so I gladly take your comment on that for granted.
However I still reckon that it would be just as funny with any other popular children's fiction. I would have chosen Winnie the Pooh if Disney didn't own it. You might have chosen someone else, but I doubt that Strawberry Shortcake would be the first idea to form in the heads of most people, had they been forced to come up with that strip idea.
You seem to know a lot regarding this topic, and I won't make any judgements on that (it would be waaay too easy), but I doubt a lot of the strip's readers really know that, or would think as deeply on this as you or I. I look forward to this matter being resolved, whatever.
You misunderstand, I fear. The PA strip has nothing to do with Strawberry Shortcake (on a side note, how the hell can that get to be a registered trademark?).
I have no understanding of (or belief in, sadly) the USA's laws regarding free speech or copyright. What it is important to not is that the fact that Ms. Shortcake's appearance here (however modified) means nothing in itself. The idea is that should American McGee get it into his head to do a game about SS, it would probably look a lot like that, as shown by his 'interpretations' of Alice in Wonderland and, now, The Wizard of Oz.
American Greetings shouldn't take the PA strip to be unfavourable, but in fact acknowledge the obvious homage to what Messyrs Krahulik and Holkins clearly seem to think is some sort of epitome of sacharrine children's fiction. To anyone who understands the strip, the idea that SS is incorruptibly nice and sweet is reinforced, not diminished, by the comment of the strip (said comment being that American McGee is a conceptually unoriginal hack artist, little better than generational legions of bored teenagers sitting in Maths lessons, who would see the same depravities regardless of the subject matter he chose to defile).
American Greetings should see this as a kind of Blessing: Penny Arcade puts Strawberry Shortcake (which, frankly, no-one's heard of outside the US) right up there with Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz (both of which are widely known and highly popular outside the states)!
My main point is this. The way I see it, it would be just as funny (much more to non-americans) to use, say, Snow White (though Rammstein got there first) or Little Red Riding Hood (bestiality, hmm?). The equivalent in the UK would be to fuck with these early reading books which had characters such as "Roger Red Hat", "Billy Blue Hat", and "John and Jennifer Yellow Hat". They did nothing much more advanced than walk around saying hi to each other, but it would be soooo easy to make a schoolbook porno version.
Its a mystery why PA chose Strawberry Shortcake, when there are a heck of a lot more recognisable "wholesome" kids characters out there. Thats basically the joke. American McGee has no original talent above making wholesome kid's characters abuse themselves. My solution to this whole debacle? Just do another strip, just without this relatively obscure Strawberry Shortcake person, and with some nursery rhyme played out in bondage gear. Its the same strip, but American Greetings don't get the credit.
I would be sending this to them via email, but right now there's no point because I don't believe they are even going to check the inbox. She's probably already got a new inbox set up (unless the IT dudes are still trying to recover the server). Whatever happens, she won't see my message amongst the million others in there.