In case you didn't notice it before, Schroeder hates accordions. We'll see before long that, by extension, this means accordion players.
It is easy to place this opinion as part of Schroeder's character, but is it just me or does this strip also imply that Schulz himself doesn't care for the instrument? Might he be subtly letting us know about his opinion of popular art? What does that say about his own burgeoning career in cartooning? Please write your opinions down in the form of an eight-page essay and bring it to class next week.
I think the accordion gets a bad rap. It has some sort of odd stigma about being used for polkas or something. Some people have managed to use it for cool video game music (the accordion comes in around 2:00). Of course, the composer of that track is Japanese, so maybe he doesn't even know about the accordion's reputation.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started learning accordion (in St. Paul, MN, where Schulz lived), the most common reaction was "yuk yuk. I hope you like polkas!"
ReplyDeleteI rarely play polkas -- it's almost all French musette for me -- but here in the midwest, polka bands were a big thing at some time in the past. I'm not from here and I've never been to a polka fest, but they still have them.