Tweedle dum - musings on the Ford brothers

About 15 years ago in Toronto there was a clown duo called Mump & Smoot who were very popular.   They would put on these amazing full length productions with a full story line about them getting into some kind of scrape then working their way out again, such as dying in a plane crash after setting out on vacation, and ending up in hell ("Inferno").    They managed all this with no real words, just a dialogue of gibberish, some great props and evocative sets, and of course some amazing clowning skills. 

I noticed after watching a couple of these that one character was the cunning, devious and  domineering, the other slow and sweet, but always faithful to his buddy, no matter what trouble the got into.  (Interestingly, if Mump was ever too mean to Smoot, the audience would groan and boo, Mump would look contrite and try to set things right.) 

I then started noticing this trope in other comedy duos.  You may remember tv's My Name is Earl, featuring the titular Earl and his brother Randy as Earl tried to make amends for years of selfish misdeeds against family, friends and the citizens of his county.  The flashbacks always showed Earl ruining people's lives by stealing cars, clothes, valuables, girlfriends, etc, while clueless Randy was mostly just along for the ride.  In one episode Randy moves home and their mother finally tells Earl he's a bad influence:"One of you is mean and the other's stupid. I won't say which."   Earl figures it out and realises he needs to make up to his own brother the most .

Glee presents a slight twist: while the pairing of Coach Sylvester and Down Syndrome cheerleader Becky started out as a similar dynamic, little Becky has now turned it on its head.  She may be developmentally challenged, but she's not clueless, and she's proving to be even meaner than Sue, if that's possible.

Anyway, I thought of this dynamic again recently in the midst of Toronto's recent mayoral woes. Rob Ford was a buffoon of a councillor, making a life in politics because he was pretty much unsuited to any other gainful employment, even at his father's company.  Meanwhile older brother Doug took the reins from their dad and successfully expanded the business, a classic ruthless entrepreneur.  When Rob made to a go for the mayor's seat, his political insider Nick Kouvalis knew instinctively Ford would not be able to manage actually running a city on his own, and convinced Doug to run for councillor and be a backup.  In three years he has became a "shadow mayor" doing most of the speaking for Rob and pushing a more nuanced agenda than the "gravy train" mantra Rob spouted during the election.  The only thing Rob seems good at is phoning and meeting with constituents; he has no head for numbers, policy or city building.  Doug has most recently spent his energy covering for Rob's indiscretions, blaming everyone but Rob for his troubles.  

They spend a lot of time insulting and threatening anyone who disagrees with them, telling councillors they will "get them" come election time or suing ex-staffers for answering police questions honestly.  But Doug also has a harsh spot for Rob, constantly belittling him for being overweight.  Rob acts like he's spent his life being bullied, and is just turning it on every else.

image by Chantel Leclerk for Spacing

A bully and a clown?  Absolutely.  Too bad the joke's on us.

For further analysis see Ed Keenan's excellent Grid article:
http://www.thegridto.com/city/politics/worst-brother-ever/

For awesome Ford-related paraphernalia, try the Spacing boutique:
http://spacing.ca/toronto/2013/11/22/new-store-schadenford-button-magnet-sets/

Tag This! pt II

Here at last is my delayed follow-up to my last graffiti post.  Just as I was writing it, I found a link to an interesting argument FOR graffiti.  Interestingly, it was not about freedom of expression, or an explanation of how it's the only way the disenfranchised can communicate with an uncaring world,  or how it's art in its own right.  Rather it was an aesthetic defence of tagging as a wake-up call to urban complacency.  And a load of BS.

Graffiti glossary necessary  to a vibrant city

Don't get me wrong - I love the unexpected.    A few years back there was a guerrilla crew called the City Beautification Ensemble spray-painting bike posts in a rainbow of colours, my favourite being gold, silver and bronze.   A few remnants remain, reminding us to look twice at a utilitarian object, while finding a way to beautify it.  I love yarn bombers, who also create a juxtaposition of soft and hard, decorative and practical, and always with a sense of humour. (For further thoughts on fighting urban greyness, check this awesome Projexity blog post by Calvin Kuo.) 

Still, I take exception to the idea that taggers are being creative or "improving" the blank slate out there, and that I, in finding it unsightly, am somehow hung up or that I'm somehow attached to a phone and not cognizant of my neighbourhood.  Sure, the author's Intstagram pics make everything look so shiny and hip, but that is not my reality.   I am very cognizant and I feel it's oppressive and yes, ugly.  Now, I grasp the irony of using the term oppressive as a privileged citizen - however, I do so not so much politically as viscerally.  When you are surrounded literally on all sides with what amounts to  people shouting rudely to mark "their" territory, it makes for an overwhelmingly negative sensory experience.  I normally enjoy walking my neighbourhood with my eyes looking up and around, noticing new things, clever ideas, the beauty of the everyday - artful window decorating, a wasp's nest in the snow, half hidden garden gnomes - but with relentless tagging, I actually have to block much of it out for my own sanity - the opposite of what the author espouses.  It feels endless and depressing and it makes me angry that there is no where for me to avert my eyes - I am constantly forced to confront someone else's self-centred need to make my city a worse place.

So, with that out of my system, here is a little Easter treat that appeared on the garage across from my back window.    At least one person around here has the right idea.

Go Donatello!

BTW Here's another online discussion of the issue, this one a bit  more attuned to  the actual purpose and intent of tagging.  Happy spring! 

One more update: Torontoist.ca has a weekly street art blog called Vandalist, featuring creative spray painting and postering around the city.  Here's a link to an entry about the "art" of graffiti coverup, which I'm well versed in.  I have to admit, wielding a spray can is quite therapeutic....