Opus banned for the next two weeks
Twenty-five newspapers (and counting) have decided not to run the next two weeks of Berke Breathed’s Opus because of its content– Lola Granola is experimenting with alternate religions again, having decided that Amish nudism isn’t a viable lifestyle, and she tries… well, look to the right.
Luckily, this is the age of the Internet, so the strips will still be available online at Salon.
Joan Walsh, editor of Salon, comments: "I thought the strip satirized loopy American seekers who customize world religions for their own needs, not Islam. But either way, it’s cowardice to shun the strip. And newspapers wonder why they’re dying?"
Several years ago, a similar situation occured with the Bongo-produced Simpsons Sunday newspaper strip. Ultimately, it did not survive the purge.
FYI: The Hartford Currant ran today's Opus.
Part of the "problem" is that, as a general rule, things like newspapers (or traditional theology for that matter) do NOT wonder why they're dying – they continue to do what they always have done, and lament that they no longer get the same results. However, Joan Walsh misses a part of the point as well – for Islam to be presented by Lola Ganola implies that it HAS been "Customized to meet the need" both of Lola and pop culture.
But the NY Daily News didn't. Anybody have a list of infamy for those papers who caved?
If it matters, today's Hartford Currant DID run the other Opus strip today.