Point the Finger

In the 1980s, American cartoonist Robert Crumb continued to satirize the culture of the United States in his work, but his style of underground art changed and became more refined as he studied older work like the 16th century Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569).[2] The Crumbs were living in Winters, California, but were unhappy with the rise of Ronald Reagan, his cuts to education, and the resurgence of the Christian right, members of which were attacking Crumb for his art. Reagan's cuts to education had eliminated art and music classes at their daughter's school, so the Crumbs began volunteering their time teaching drawing, but students stopped showing up after a Christian minister told members of their community that the Crumb family were "agents of the devil".[3] Unsatisfied with the transformation the United States had undergone from the counterculture of the 1960s to the culture of the 1980s, Crumb and his family left California two years after "Point the Finger" was first published and moved to a village in Southern France.[4]

In 1987, Donald Trump's book Trump: The Art of the Deal became a bestseller. American cartoonist Robert Crumb read Trump's book and was offended. He thought Trump came off as an "arrogant, reprehensible, total dick"; this inspired him to develop the story for "Point the Finger".[5] Crumb created the story during the late 1980s, when Trump was known for his real estate business ventures, not his politics; the story is therefore not, as Romain Becker of the Ecole Normale Supérieure notes, about the politics of the United States, but rather a commentary on its financial system.[1] Years later, Crumb rethought the framing of the original story, thinking that he gave "too much credit [to Trump] for possessing a bit of class and sophistication"; Crumb came to believe Trump was more of a thug instead.[6]

Crumb addresses the reader to explain that he is "going to point that merciless finger at one of the more visible of the big-time predators who feed on this society..one of the most evil men alive...real estate tycoon Donald Trump". Trump is brought into the panel by two women, Tracy and Marny, while Trump and Crumb trade barbs. Crumb brings up Trump's history of controversial evictions, while Trump defends himself by claiming he donated millions to the homeless. Crumb loses to Trump, as the then 42-year-old real estate developer, uses his wiles and charisma to attract the two women into his orbit and invites them to a party at Mar-a-Lago. Crumb suddenly realizes that Trump is the living, modern-day embodiment of Trimalchio, a character from the Roman work of fiction Satyricon by Petronius (c. AD 27 – 66). The women happily leave with Trump just as the police arrive to arrest Crumb, guns drawn, leaving the reader with a sad quote from Laozi about the difference between the ways of nature and man. But just as the story has finished, Stan-the-Man Shnooter (a metafictional character parody of comic book editors Stan Lee and Jim Shooter) appears, encouraging Crumb to change the ending. The reader demands, Shnooter tells Crumb, "justice, retribution, [and] blood". Crumb gives in to his editor and a new ending is shown; this time, Crumb wins, as Trump is escorted to the restroom by the two women and given a swirlie in the toilet.[7][8]

Daniel Worden notes that in both endings, male figures assert dominance over each other as well as the females, lessening the difference of both endings. "Crumb projects himself as a countercultural, outsider hero who does not conform to traditional standards of masculinity," writes Worden, but this image is an illusion.[8] Edward Shannon writes that "Crumb positions himself as a lone (and often impotent) defender of the oppressed—a victim of the fascists he just as often wishes to emulate".[8] This image is described as an example of "geek masculinity" by Anastasia Salter and Bridget Blodgett, where "relationships between men and women within geek media are defined according to deeply gendered beliefs despite existing as a response to traditional masculinity".[8] Seen in this light, Worden notes that the nontraditional masculinity espoused by Crumb is based on regressive gender norms which can't escape its traditional masculinity.[8]

The comic received additional attention in 2016, when Trump was elected president of the United States.[9] Cory Doctorow describes the story as "weird, self-deprecating, sexist, and before its time. Long before 'Make America Great Again,'" writes Doctorow, "Crumb had Trump's number."[10]

• "Hup #3". Grand Comics Database.