Elephanteria Gallery 5 How Elephants are used in Media Content
Comic Strip - Hagar The Horrible

Media Type: Newspaper Content Type: Syndicated Comic Strip Name: "Hagar The Horrible" by Dik Browne ©1990 King Features Syndicate world rights reserved Publication date: 1990 February 27 Description: Main character Hagar has elephant in tow as he arrives home. Wife Helga states, "Sure, You Always say that, and then I end up taking care of them." Analysis: Why not come home with a dog or a crocodile to make the very same point about Hagar being childlike and irresponsible? Because there is something special in the way humans perceive elephants. It is fairly reasonable to think no one would bring home, or be followed home, by a crocodile, moose, etc. A dog, certainly. It appears an elephant is an acceptable figure for illustrating a proposition in the extreme. An elephant is an extreme example of the animal kingdom. Additionally, elephants are regarded as capable of being lovable by humans just as dogs are. This same cartoon strip used an elephant in another cartoon in which Hagar enters a shop offering "Trunks of all kinds" on its sign. Once inside we see a collection of travel trunks and part of an elephant with trunk showing. The elephant's trunk has been employed in many situations to elicit human interest or response.

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