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Page A2 The Joan De Arc Crusader / Saturday, October 31, 2009 Front Page A1 / Nostalgia A3 / Crossword A4
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” – Voltaire
Keeping things gruesome, but tasteful, for trick-or-treat
This evening Joan De Arc
Avenue will once again come alive to the delightful spectacle of excited
youngsters traipsing about in fun and colorful costumes in their yearly pursuit
of free sugary consumables. We rejoice in the annual renewal of this timeless
and imperishable custom. But oh how things have changed since the early days of trick-or-treat on the street. The most popular costumes 40 years ago were such classic ensembles as Frankenstein monsters, Cinderellas, cowboys, astronauts, nurses, and of course, the time-honored bed-sheet ghosts. While we still occasionally see such traditional accoutrements on Halloween night, recent trends have taken a rather disturbing turn. Far be it from the Crusader editorial board to dictate trick-or-treat fashion to Avenue eight-year-olds. But quite frankly we’ve been seeing some fairly sickening Halloween apparel in recent years. Masks that spurt bright red blood and feature rotting eyeballs hanging by threads outside their respective sockets do tend to give us some pause. We’re all for spooky and scary, but such explicit mayhem seems a bit much. Or so it seems to us. To take another example, is it really necessary to display realistically rendered human brain matter seeping out of a crushed (if smiling) human skull? Think of the little ones, out trick-or-treating for the very first time, innocently padding down the Avenue in their fluffy pink bunny costumes. Do we really want to subject them to sight of a severed head vomiting blood whilst singing a bawdy barroom refrain? This could be quite demoralizing, if not downright traumatizing, for young children. (Although we must confess, that particular get-up is our personal favorite). To some extent, we can thank Hollywood and the proliferation of dreadfully explicit slasher movies in recent decades for this ugly phenomenon. There was a time not so long ago when one could be thoroughly scared to the point of peeing oneself without all this ghastly gore. We are reminded of the classic 1963 film “The Haunting,” a marvelously chilling ghost story in which we never actually see a single ghost or monster of any kind. The palpable terror of the piece is generated entirely through the creepy setting, well-conceived plot, first rate acting, and deeply disturbing sound effects. We would argue that precisely this kind of subtlety and restraint still make for the most effective spookiness, and these methods can certainly be applied to well thought-out Halloween costumes and decorations. A return to some semblance of this approach would be most welcome. Compulsively reliving the past is what we do here at the Joan De Arc Crusader, and yet we know full well there will be no returning to those wholesome halcyon Halloweens of cowboy hats and fairy princess costumes. However, these repulsive high-tech atrocities now in vogue seem well beyond the pale. It’s pretty disturbing stuff. Yes, there are those who will argue that “disturbing” is what Halloween is all about. And admittedly, it’s a fine line. Halloween costumes should indeed be scary and disturbing, but within some bounds of civilized decorum. We believe that trick-or-treat can be gruesome and frightening and fun without crossing the line into sadistically disgusting. Let’s save those outrageously revolting costumes for the drunken adult Halloween parties on the street. That’s a win-win we can all agree upon. So please, let’s try to keep things a little more tasteful for the kiddies. And let’s stay safe out there tonight!
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LETTERS
We were already feeling pretty weird, but thanks Hello, I was doing some research on Chris-Town mall today and I came across your website, the “Joan de Arc Crusader.” It’s so fascinating! I am not a Phoenix native, only here since 1990, but am enthralled by its history, and try to soak up as much as I can about Phoenix in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. All the pages on your site really got my historical imagination going. And the funny thing is, we just moved on June 1st to a new home on – Joan de Arc Ave! 34th Ave.and Joan de Arc, to be exact, which I gather from your Moon Valley high records is just down the road from where you grew up. Having gone through all the pictures and whatnot I feel like I am living next to where a historical figure used to live. It is so awesome that you made that newspaper for your neighborhood and kept it after all those years. Well, I hope I didn’t make you feel weird or anything, I just wanted to acknowledge your website. Oh and I think I saw you on the KAET special on Legend City. Have a great day! Nicolas Locher
The Crusader welcomes your letters at jdacrusader@aol.com
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A bit of the old “This ’n’ That” With 2009 coming in for the home stretch, there certainly is a whole lot going on in the world that is worthy of serious discussion. The U.S. is busily engaged in two wars overseas, members of the two major political parties are nipping at each other’s throats, and every facet of our economy is sputtering and stalling (unless of course you’re in one of the financial firms engaged in sopping up bailout money). Well, I say to hell with all of that! A responsible journalist should at this point rely on random bits of unrelated trivia to fill column-inches, and so I present a little something I call “Chuck’s This ‘n’ That.”
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Elsewhere in this edition you have no doubt read about the exploits of the amazing Miss Frank, my fourth grade teacher. She is and was a remarkable instructor, and genuinely worthy of all of the acclaim that she has received and more. She also flunked me in math one grade period, an honor I definitely deserved and a wake up call I probably needed. Thanks for everything, Miss Frank! Seriously!
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The year 2010: first year of the next decade, or last year of the current decade? Discuss.
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While we were living on Joan De Arc Avenue, the nearby streets on the other side of 33rd Avenue were sparsely populated, as the neighborhood was unfinished and that side of the development was mostly a big empty field. Following Halloween one year, rumor spread through the school that the few houses there had so little traffic, and so much candy to give away, that they were giving out handfuls of FULL SIZE candy bars. The next year everyone naturally made a beeline to those houses, only to find huge crowds of kids and “out of candy” signs on all of the doors. There’s an analogy to something important in this somewhere, I’m sure of it.
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Since this issue of the “Crusader” will cover the upcoming holiday season, a few timely reminders: Don’t drink and drive, and keep a careful watch out for the crazy people who might. Be thankful for what you have, and take the time to help out someone you might know who isn’t quite so fortunate. Lastly, pray to all that is holy that Chuck can do better than this in the next issue. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA
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