Mad magazine has shaped generations of smart alecks. This cover was created by Norman Mingo in 1969.
Alfred E. Neuman turns 60 and what a life he’s led.
The smart-aleck looking mascot to Mad Magazine has mocked everyone from presidents to actresses to Sesame Street, prodding us into becoming contrarians and rabble rousers.
On this Election Day, it’s fitting to give Mr. Neuman a well-deserved nod for his irreverent ways.
As Mad editor John Ficarra tells
CNN, the magazine was founded at a time when no other publication told kids to question authority.
Assume you are being lied to and call them on it, he says.
But there is laughter with the punch.
Growing up, Mad was known as a “boys’ magazine.”
But I had an uncle – only four years my senior - who shared this treasure with me.
Some of the political satire was over my head, but the artwork and pop culture references were within my reach.
As I matured, so did my understanding of the magazine’s mission.
It’s like the smart, nerdy kids launching verbal assaults at the cool kids, who couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Some of those popular kids didn’t have enough self-awareness to take the joke.
In 1961, Irving Berlin got angry at the magazine publishing parody lyrics to sing along with well-known songs.
Several other songwriters joined in the suit, which they lost in a precedent-setting decision allowing for song satire.
So, thank Mad for “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Others benefiting from the magazine are The Onion, the Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, Spy magazine and the Colbert Report.
Spoof movie franchises including Airplane, Austin Powers, the Naked Gun, Monty Python and Scary Movie all owe a debt to Mad.
The Cartoon Network has an animated version of Mad, which my 8-year-old son discovered a year ago.
It’s déjà vu seeing him laugh hysterically at something then ask me to explain a different point being made.
Mad told us it’s OK and even healthy to poke fun at the beast of power.
There is no better legacy than that.
