Doonesbury and B.D.: a turning point, or am I just overanalzying?

[BloodyWilliam]

http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/2004/07/31



I might be a young'un, but I've read every Doonesbury strip ever written (my parents have some anthologies back from the 70's), and B.D. has ALWAYS had his helmet on. The last panel of this strip is striking.

Maybe it's just a punchline, making fun of the strip. But I have another theory.

Has B.D. become disillusioned? I mean, he's always been the most right-of-center main character in the strip, and he was always the most gung-ho when it came to military service. And now he's questioning always wearing that helmet. Is this a metaphor?

Or am I just really, reallllly overanalyzing?

[Mikimouse]

1. Finally, childhood's end maybe?

Good Doonesbury movie title would be: B.D.- The Awakening!

[roguevalley]

2. he's seen the light. poor guy. My interpretation too.

[BloodyWilliam]

3. I don't even know if it's "the light."

I mean, we're not always 100% right, and patriotism is laudable. B.D. might have been a right-of-center hawk, but he (in the universe of Doonesbury at least) walked the walk as well as talked the talk. He served in Vietnam and Desert Storm I, and he believed what he did was right. Maybe Iraq 2 is different?

[enigmatic]

4. "B.D". Is Based on 70's Yale QB Brian Dowling...

Dowling was a great QB for Yale, but had a mediocre career in the NFL.

I thought Trudeau would turn B.D.into a disilludioned soldier in Gulf War I, but his writing in B.D.'s injury and amputation this time has been outstanding..

[gmoney]

5. Some right-wing papers just dumped Doonesbury...

Continental's (?) 38 newspapers decided to drop Doonesbury for the usual bullshit censorship reasons, claiming complaints from readers...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000581723

[blackcat77]

6. Let me overanalize it for a minute...

I interpret it as meaning that he had been hiding behind one helmet or the other the whole time, but when he finally was confronted with a real crisis, he found out that he didn't need the helmet because he had the strength to deal with it, thus no more need to hide. I don't think he'll ever wear a helmet again, and that will be a GOOD thing for the emotional health of the character.

[Spinzonner]

7. I think they character has been a little more ambiguous than that

Remember Phred ?