12/10/2023 0 Comments Maxon crumb interview![]() ![]() Still, the movie lets him off a bit easy, its only flaw. But if you take into account Crumb's true love of black music (specifically, delta blues of 30's) it becomes harder to pin the "racist" label on him. Neither he, nor Terry Zwigoff (who made this movie), give a straight answer to the charge and leave other artists to answer for Crumb. His views on blacks and the never ending debate as to whether or not he is racist is not given nearly as much screentime.He denounces the critism he has garnered by saying "it all came from white liberals." That's not exactly an ideal way of defending yourself in a largely white liberal society. One that is defined by pure lust and no real affection for females for who they are except in the case of his daughter Sophie. It has led to lifelong love/hate relationship with the opposite sex. ![]() And he was equally frustrated at THEIR apparent inability to ignore those instincts and see him for the good person he felt he was. His unpopularity with girls as a teen is due to a result of his inability to fashion himself into something they wanted visually. His attitudes on women are far more complicated. The bulk of his material consists of two main topics:his family and women. He chose the format (comics) he knew best to make his point. Robert became the success perhaps because he, unlike Charles for instance, saw his talent as a way to define himself and not simply as a means of profit. When it came to encouragement or artistic development all five children had only each other and were left to their own devices. As Robert pointed out, when his father came home from work any blip of a happy man dissapeared as soon as he entered the door. You learn that the problems Robert and his siblings had stemmed from the fact that their house was dominated by a father who saw manhood in only one way and was not lenient in his views to accomodate any of his sons' artistic potential. It wasn't an overly violent family but it was a morbidly depressing one. The inspiration for R.Crumb's art comes from a deeply dysfunctional family. The old look of comics, Lil Abner or Little Orphan Annie for example, were considered passe. ![]() The comic book industry in the 60's was becoming increasingly progressive. No one else at the time had thought of drawing this way. Looking at his artwork you realize R.Crumb combined the look of innocent comic strips of the early 20th century with more explicit content common today. After reading several reviews and chats about what they observed in this film, it's obvious that many viewers took what they saw at face value. As you dig more into his backround (the film is NOT the last word on him) you realize that no one is exempt from his wrath. His comics read like an illustrated passage of a diary. It's an ability not confined to gender or color. He is an artist that details everything he sees with frightening clarity and no regard for diplomacy. And that includes every aspect and every class of people. But if you study this movie (as it is a film to be studied) you will realize the malice R.Crumb puts into his artwork is directed solely at the attitudes of society. Nothing about this man is as what it seems initially. "Crumb" is a movie where you must learn to read beneath the lines as to who this artist is. ![]()
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