At the Society for Creative Anachronism Thirty Year Celebration (think 10-day camping trip with other people in medieval clothing from all over the US, celebrating 30 years of doing this silly — and fun — thing) . . . OK, that’s too much sentence already. Let me start over:
At the SCA 3YC, while the Mother Superior was participating in the Knowne World Tablero Championship, she . . . you know what? This’ll never work. Let’s start in the middle: after the Mother Superior bought the Holy Order of Our Lady of Debauchery, she was told that the other orders had decided on Muppet Icons. When asked what the HOOLD’s would be, we immediately chose the Great Gonzo. After all, which other Muppet embodied what we were trying to do? Who had more fun, and in so many different ways? We love Gonzo; and he’s an integral part of the Order. We use Gonzo Pez dispensers for our communion. We quote him at every opportunity. We sniffle when he’s sad, and yell “ICON!” at the TV when he enjoys himself in a weird way. “We’re gonna blow you up, baby.”
What brought this up? Fanboy.com posted an article titled, “Gonzo for the Great Gonzo,” and he loves this guy almost as much as we do. “He’s very proud just to be himself . . . he represents the eternal optimist in all of us.” So true, so very true. Here’s what the Cat o’ 9 Tales has to say about the Icon:
The Icon
“What’s wrong?” Rizzo
“Well, it just feels so weird.” Gonzo
“What? You mean that Mr. Arrow is dead?”
“That . . . and my pants are full of starfish.”
“You and your hobbies!”
Gonzo the Great, eater of rubber tires and holder of 5 ton blocks, is the Holy Icon of the Order. He practices the Art of Debauchery to such an extent that only rarely do people understand Him–-or want to.
“Just leave it to me. TAXI!” Gonzo (Throws himself in front of a cab)
“That’s very effective.” Kermit
“Yeah, it’s great when it works.” Gonzo
He abides by the Rules and precepts of the Order; although He gets a tad weird at times, he stays Safe, Sane, and Consensual — Muppets just have a higher pain threshold than we do. He also tries to practice Courtesy and Compassion (Caution, Discretion, and Tact are things he’s still working on), and He also knows when to quit.
“How about you folks? Souvenir photograph?” Gonzo
“No pictures.” Restaurant Patron
“It’ll be a great momento for you and your wife.”
“My wife isn’t feeling very well.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. Maybe she should be at home.”
“My wife is at home!”
“Aba ba ba da. . . . Next table!”
We highly recommend looking at the Psayings of Gonzo elsewhere on this Web site, and seeing the occasional Muppet Movie. Looking at Gonzo as the Icon of Debauchery gives a whole new point of view for the movies, and they’re generally Good for the Soul.
September 17th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
A bit of historical trivia: The Muppet Show premise was that it was a vaudeville show in the American tradition. Gonzo was based on the “Closing Act.” Vaudeville shows would have several acts. The headliner was always shown second to the last, so people would stay through the other acts to see the star performance.
After that you wanted people to leave so you could then bring in new customers and have another show. They would hire an act so bad or so bizarre that people would walk out on it. By showing this act last, they emptied the theatre without having to bodily shoo customers out.
What sort of person would want to be a closing act? The managers probably didn’t need to hire someone purposely being bad for them. There are always those poor souls who want in show business so bad they will do anything. These closing acts probably were deluded into thinking they had talent and the audience just doesn’t get it.
I think that description fits Gonzo. He sees himself as an artist no one appreciates. He is optimistic enough to believe he will come up with a winning act some day that will make him a star. He is doomed to failure and yet he keeps doing what he loves. He throws himself with great enthusiasm in endeavors that are doomed before he begins. And in the end he would tell you it was all worth it. Gonzo would be a tragic figure if he wasn’t so dash-it-all happy.