The Issue With Alfred as Lt. Calley
Was Not a Mad Magazine...
It was from National Lampoon's August 1971 "Bummer Issue". Mad artist, Kelly Freas supplied the image of Alfred as Lieutenant William Calley. For those of you too young (or not willing) to remember, Calley was a fascinating figure associated with Vietnam's My Lai Massacre. He was found guilty but only served a few years for directing his troops to slaughter over 500 unarmed civilians in the village of My Lai. Calley's guilt or innocence has been the subject of much conjecture over the decades, but one fact remains solid; he could look like Alfred with a little ear-widening and tooth-gapping. National Lampoon's choice to use Alfred shows the extent to which people associate Alfred's image with all that is idiotic. As a political statement there is no better way to show the world out of control. It seemed eerily appropriate to bring this "ancient history" into 2004.
Thanks for the note, Larry.
--Doug
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Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site has more
information on this issue.
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information on Lt. Calley's trial and the My Lai massacre.
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And in June 2006, editorial cartoonist, John Branch, offended quite a few marines with his depiction of Marine Alfred investigating the alleged atrocity in Haditha, Iraq. The intent by Branch to show the similarity to My Lai is unmistakable. |
