Calvin and Hobbes is the beloved comic book series that it is today because of its focus on characters rather than jokes, its ability to perfectly capture the world through a child's eyes, and its witty humor mixed with its iconic art style. Not only that, but Calvin and Hobbes also offered surprisingly insightful commentary on society from time to time, making the series even more interesting for readers.
The comics medium is filled with humor based on jokes and one-offs that are often nothing more than brief escapism for the reader. While Calvin and Hobbes occasionally follows this trend, it is also much more than that. The series takes time to flesh out the characters' personalities, allowing the jokes to flow naturally. Calvin and Hobbes It also doesn't shy away from social commentary, with jokes a little more substantial than one-off jokes. While there's no shortage of them, here are 10 times when Calvin and Hobbes made surprisingly insightful comments about society!
10
Calvin and Hobbes denounce society's tendency to reject life of the moment
As Calvin and Hobbes ride together in their red wagon, down a hill through the woods, Calvin starts talking to Hobbes about how people tend not to live in the moment, and as a result, their entire life just passes them by. The comic is a self-aware joke, as Calvin is literally not living in the moment, but it also speaks to a larger problem found in society.
As a society, people tend to allow their lives to go unnoticed for the sake of conformity. They work jobs they hate for most of their lives to buy things they don't need in order to present a level of sustainability they may not even care about. This doesn't apply to everyone, of course, but it's a big enough issue to address, and Calvin and Hobbes I did exactly that.
Calvin and Hobbes are walking through the woods one day – as they always do – and Calvin starts talking about how he wishes people were more like animals, specifically when it comes to friendships. Calvin says that animals don't care about things like money or status, they become friends just through a genuine connection, something Calvin doesn't see people do.
Often in society, people only become friends because there is something for them. They will see someone who is rich or popular and try to become their friend just for those reasons. No genuine connection or interest in real friendship, just superficiality. It's an interesting look at modern friendships, and Calvin and Hobbes articulates perfectly.
8
Calvin and Hobbes understands the nature of children's television
Calvin runs over to his television set, turns on his favorite channel, sits right in front of the screen and says, “Pander for me“. On the surface, this is just a simple comic that shows Calvin watching TV, which is a great representation of the childhood experience (especially in the 90s). However, this comic also touches on something interesting about modern society with specific reference to children.
Although Calvin is self-aware enough to understand that certain programs are created to target children for the sole purpose of selling them something (toys, junk food, etc.), most children are not. All they see is shiny, flashy content, and when they see the same brand in the store, of course they want their parents to buy it for them. Society has fully accepted advertisements targeting children through entertainment, and Calvin and Hobbes points this out.
7
“Enmity Sells”: Calvin and Hobbes Highlight One of Society's Greatest Shortcomings
Calvin is writing a fundraising letter to raise money through donations. The trick is to convince people to donate as much money as possible, and Calvin tells Hobbes he's found the perfect way to do just that. Calvin says: “The secret to getting donations is to portray everyone who disagrees with you as the enemy“before he says:”Our only hope is well-funded antagonism“, for that is the only way to 'win the fight'. Hobbes disagrees with Calvin's methods, but the six-year-old simply says, “Enmity sells“.
Portraying the opposition as the enemy in a “spiritual war” over the morals of society as a whole is a trick that politicians constantly use to raise money – and people always fall for it. Animosity over money has become a pillar of modern society and Calvin and Hobbes draws attention to this deficiency.
6
Calvin and Hobbes highlights the tiresome facts of life
Calvin yells at his father that he doesn't want to go, so Calvin's father tells him that it's okay and that he will go to school in Calvin's place, and Calvin can be responsible for going to work and supporting the family. In the end, Calvin decides that school is better than work (even if by a small margin), and while waiting for the bus, Calvin says, “It's good to know there are so many things to look forward to in life.”
As a child, you have to go to school until you are old enough (and educated enough) to enter the workforce, and then have a job until you are old enough (or financially stable) to retire. It's a vicious cycle that begins for everyone at age six and Calvin and Hobbes highlights this.
5
Calvin and Hobbes highlight the importance of social empathy
Calvin and Hobbes are walking through the woods together, and Calvin tells his best friend that he has decided to do away with empathy. He will throw ethics out the window to focus on purely selfish activities. In response, Hobbes pushes Calvin into the mud, saying he did it because Calvin was in his way, hoping to teach the boy a lesson.
Calvin's belief system in this comic is something that is rampant in modern society, as everyone seems to be competing with each other, each of them maintaining the mentality that they will do whatever it takes to get ahead, no matter what they have to do. to do. or who they will have to 'step over'. Calvin and Hobbes highlights the importance of social empathy by presenting this mentality as wrong, and does so in a hilarious way.
Calvin's father is wide awake in the middle of the night, having a minor existential crisis. When Calvin's mother catches him in this crisis, she asks him what's keeping him awake. Calvin's father says he can't stop thinking about the fact that adults don't automatically know how to deal with life just because they're older, lamenting how much he wanted to grow up when he was a kid.
The crisis that Calvin's father is facing in this strip is indicative of society's collective mindset. Everyone is always in a big hurry to grow up, and it can be seen everywhere. From children adopting more mature interests to young adults choosing security over experience, society's collective desire to “grow up” is rampant – and Calvin and Hobbes reveals that being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be.
3
Calvin and Hobbes perfectly captures the downside of being a child
In this Calvin and Hobbes comic book, readers receive “a day in the life of Calvino”. Calvin is woken up early for school, where he is scolded by his teachers and chased by the school bully until it's time to go home, where he is forced to do his homework before eating a dinner he doesn't like, followed by a shower and then right. go back to bed, only to start the vicious cycle again the next day.
Calvin's experience portrayed in this comic is something that millions of children can relate to, and it's very sad to see when it's presented in a single-page comic like this. Of course, children need structure to become productive adults, but it's also important for society to address the impact this can have on them – and Calvin and Hobbes captures this perfectly.
2
Calvin and Hobbes Point Out the Annoyances of Social Conformity
Calvin's father tells him he is proud of him for joining the softball team, but Calvin admits he only did it to stop being teased. Calvin's father explains that playing team sports is a good thing because it builds character and teaches the importance of teamwork. However, Calvin says he doesn't want to build character or learn about teamwork, he just wants to do his own thing while it's still socially acceptable to him.
The reason Calvin's father wants him to learn about teamwork is that when he becomes an adult, Calvin won't be able to just go out and “play alone.” And the only reason Calvin agreed to play a team sport is that he was pressured into it. Basically, this entire comic points out the annoyance of social conformity, a sentiment that many people certainly share.
In addition to Hobbes pointing out how absurd certain costumes can be in the comics, this Calvin and Hobbes the comic offers a meta-perspective on how comics actually deal with serious topics, despite seemingly being nothing more than children's entertainment. Obviously, Calvin and Hobbes In itself it is a comic book and, as all the strips on this list confirm, it is not strange to deal with serious themes, including and especially when it comes to society.
In fact, Calvin and Hobbes has made insightful social commentary many times throughout its publishing history, including in this very comic strip, where it points out how comics as a whole regularly offer meaningful commentary. By doing this, Calvin and Hobbes proves its own point, making this one of the 10 standout moments Calvin and Hobbes made surprisingly insightful comments about society.