You Re A Pop Culture Icon, Charlie Brown And The Peanuts

Rebecca Albertson

American Lit: 2nd Period

Pop Culture Paper

2 May 2014

You’re a Pop Culture Icon, Charlie Brown!

If a person is asked who their favorite character is, they can almost always give you an immediate answer. Favorite characters can come from books, movies, musicals, or even comic strips. Some characters have a stronger effect on their audience than others. For the past 64 years, audiences in America and almost a hundred other countries have enjoyed the adventures of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts. Charles Schulz’s dedication and sensitivity to current events and marketing opportunities allowed the Peanuts to become an American pop culture icon.

The Peanuts appeared in seven newspapers when it was first printed on October 2, 1950 (Friedman, Megan). World War II had just ended, and Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang provided a fun and uplifting escape from the devastation of war. Over the following years, the comic became a booming sensation. In 1965, only fifteen years after its first publication, the Peanuts gang was featured on the cover of Time. Even NASA thought that Schulz’s comic was out of this world; Charlie Brown and Snoopy travelled to the moon when the Apollo X crew named their command and lunar modules after them in 1969 (Friedman, Megan). The Peanuts made the Guinness World Records in 1984 for appearing in its 2000th newspaper. The easily recognizable characters have been spotted as balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade annually since 2002. The last Peanuts comic was published on January 3, 2000--but that wouldn’t be the last America would see of them.

The Peanuts are present in many different forms of entertainment. The original comics ran for fifty years. There have also been several motion pict...

... middle of paper ...

...rs and heart of America for over 60 years. After all, what would America be without pop culture? The level of success The Peanuts reached would not have been available if the comic had not been present in multiple facets of American culture. Comics, musicals, television specials and merchandising all attributed to The Peanuts’ success. Schulz’s timeless works have influenced multiple generations. The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Christmas specials are still aired yearly. The Snoopy amusement park is ever popular, and the comics are still featured in some newspapers. Charlie Brown and his friends provided hope and insight during the trying times of war. By keeping current trends central to his comics, Schulz allowed everyone in his audience to feel involved in the strip’s comedy. The Peanuts is a classic, and will forever be considered an American pop culture icon.