Root of Corruption: Index / Table of Contents / Overview

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• Root of Corruption - Q 1: Follow the White Rabbit: Rick Rubin?
• Root of Corruption - Q 2: "Godfather III": Ruddy + Brando + Hamilton + Johnson?
• Root of Corruption - Q 3: Follow the White Rabbit 2: Purple rooftops?

ITT:

• Analyzing Alice & Wonderland: possible links between the following
• Popeye as a euphemism for Saud/Ottoman depravity; Alice
• Links between the above and the "debt of blood" and Harvey Weinstein
• Links between the above and the "Four on the Floor murders"; Wonderland

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Popeye

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Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.[3][4] [5]The character first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip, Thimble Theatre, on January 17, 1929, and Popeye became the strip's title in later years; Popeye has also appeared in theatrical and television animated cartoons.[4]

Segar's Thimble Theatre strip was in its 10th year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed (left) sailor quickly became the main focus of the strip, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. After Segar's death in 1938, Thimble Theatre was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments in its Sunday edition, written and drawn by Hy Eisman. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.[4]

In 1933, Max Fleischer adapted the Thimble Theatre characters into a series of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and Fleischer—and later Paramount's own Famous Studios—continued production through 1957. These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment, a subsidiary of Time Warner, and distributed by its sister company Warner Bros. Entertainment.[6]

Over the years, Popeye has also appeared in comic books, television cartoons, arcade and video games, hundreds of advertisements,[4] and peripheral products (ranging from spinach to candy cigarettes), and the 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman, starring comedian Robin Williams as Popeye.

In an interview, Charles Schulz said "Popeye was a great favorite of mine...I think Popeye was a perfect comic strip, consistent in drawing and humor". [7] In 2002, TV Guide ranked Popeye #20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.[8]

• Italics: What else do we know about 1929 and the 1930's? (early 1930's in particular)
• Bolded: the one-eyed theme has many plausible references, but, the context here is literally skullfucking - an ancient means of torture/dominance/punishment.
• Bolded italics: This is a perfect opportunity for funnelling extra money from commerce through to Hollywood via royalties, which then allows said money to be funnelled onwards to other parties.

Fictional character and story

Differences in Popeye's story and characterization vary depending on the medium. Originally, Popeye got his strength from rubbing the head of the Whiffle Hen, changing to spinach by 1932.[9] Swee'Pea is definitively Popeye's ward in the comic strips, but he is often depicted as belonging to Olive Oyl in cartoons. The cartoons also occasionally feature members of Popeye's family who have never appeared in the strip, notably his lookalike nephews Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye, and Poopeye.

There is no absolute sense of continuity in the stories, although certain plot and presentation elements remain mostly constant, including purposeful contradictions in Popeye's capabilities. Popeye seems bereft of manners and uneducated, yet he is often depicted as capable of coming up with solutions to problems that seem insurmountable to the police or, most importantly, the scientific community. Popeye has, alternatively, displayed Sherlock Holmes-like investigative prowess (determining, for instance, that his beloved Olive was abducted by estimating the depth of the villains' footprints in the sand), scientific ingenuity (as his construction, within a few hours, of a "spinach-drive" spacecraft), or oversimplified (yet successful) diplomatic arguments (by presenting his own existence—and superhuman strength—as the only true guarantee of world peace at diplomatic conferences). Popeye's pipe also proves to be highly versatile. Among other things, it has served as a cutting torch, jet engine, propeller, periscope, musical instrument, and, of course, a whistle with which he produces his trademark toot. Popeye also on occasion eats spinach through his pipe, sometimes sucking in the can itself along with the contents. Since the 1970s, Popeye is seldom depicted using his pipe to smoke tobacco.[4]

Popeye's exploits are also enhanced by a few recurring plot elements. One is the love triangle among Popeye, Olive, and Bluto, and the latter's endless machinations to claim Olive at Popeye's expense. Another is his near-saintly perseverance in overcoming any obstacle to please Olive, who often renounces Popeye for Bluto's dime-store advances. She is the only character that Popeye will permit to give him a thumping. Finally, Popeye usually uncovers villainous plots by accidentally sneaking up on the antagonists as they brag about or lay out their schemes.[citation needed]

Bluto & Popeye: both appear to represent victims of skullfucking(or some other form of corruption)

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Thimble Theatre and Popeye comic strips

Thimble Theatre's first main characters were the thin Olive Oyl and her boyfriend Harold Hamgravy. After the strip moved away from its initial focus, it settled into a comedy-adventure style featuring Olive, Ham Gravy, and Olive's enterprising brother Castor Oyl. Olive's parents Cole and Nana Oyl also made frequent appearances.

Popeye first appeared in the strip on January 17, 1929 as a minor character. He was initially hired by Castor Oyl and Ham to crew a ship for a voyage to Dice Island, the location of a casino owned by the crooked gambler Fadewell. Castor intended to break the bank at the casino using the unbeatable good luck conferred by stroking the hairs on the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen. Weeks later, on the trip back, Popeye was shot many times by Jack Snork, a stooge of Fadewell's, but survived by rubbing Bernice's head. After the adventure, Popeye left the strip but, due to reader reaction, he was quickly brought back.[4] [10]

In 1933, Popeye received a foundling baby in the mail, whom he adopted and named "Swee'Pea." Other regular characters in the strip were J. Wellington Wimpy, a hamburger-loving moocher who would "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" (he was also soft-spoken and cowardly; Vickers Wellington bombers were nicknamed "Wimpys" after the character); George W. Geezil, a local cobbler who spoke in a heavily affected accent and habitually attempted to murder or wish death upon Wimpy; and Eugene the Jeep, a yellow, vaguely dog-like animal from Africa with magical powers. In addition, the strip featured the Sea Hag, a terrible pirate, as well as the last witch on earth (her even more terrible sister excepted); Alice the Goon, a monstrous creature who entered the strip as the Sea Hag's henchwoman and continued as Swee'Pea's babysitter; and Toar, a caveman.

Alice the Goon: euphemism for hormone manipulation to create dumbed-down mercenaries.

Alice made her debut in the Sunday, December 10, 1933, Thimble Theatre strip, part of the "Plunder Island" storyline. Initially unnamed and of unspecified sex, she works as a guard for the Sea Hag, a vicious pirate and the last sorceress on Earth. Alice is portrayed as an Amazonian giantess (eight feet tall), bald, with a large nose (reminiscent of a proboscis monkey, or of Rastapopoulos from The Adventures of Tintin), no visible mouth, and extremely hairy forearms and legs. Her name and sex are given in the January 14, 1934, strip, after she captures Wimpy.

Alice first appears when the Sea Hag returns to Sweethaven searching for a former slave named Cringly, the only one who knows the location of her lair, Plunder Island. After capturing Wimpy and locking him in the deck of her ship, the Black Barnacle, the Sea Hag orders the goon, "Keep an eye on him, Alice!" The characters and readers now realize Alice is female. Upon arriving at Plunder Island, Popeye and Alice fight violently and Popeye threatens to throw Alice off a cliff, until her child (also of unspecified sex) appears and shouts, "Mama!" Realizing that he is fighting a woman, which goes against his principles, Popeye releases Alice and discovers that she became the Sea Hag's slave only because the Hag had threatened her baby. Alice is the leader of a race of goons enslaved by the Sea Hag; Popeye and Alice lead them in a successful Spartacus-like slave rebellion.

Continued in comments...