Bankruptcy barrel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The bankruptcy barrel is a visual symbol, primarily of the 20th century, used in cartoons and other media as a token of destitution. Not intended to be realistic, it consists of a suit made of only a wooden
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
held on by suspenders, indicating that the subject is so poor that he is unable to afford even clothes. It was a common representation of
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, appearing in many animated shorts, political cartoons, comedies, and other media.


Origins and examples

Will Johnstone's editorial-cartoon character "the Tax Payer", first published in the ''
New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...
'' in 1933 and regularly thereafter, showed the
taxpayer A taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an Taxpayer Identification Number, identification number, a reference number issued by a government to Citizenship, citizens or Company, f ...
reduced to wearing a barrel for clothing. Other cartoonists then copied this theme. Canadian cartoonist John Collins, editorial cartoonist of the ''
Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'' from 1939 to 1982, commonly used the character "Uno Who" in his editorial cartoons. Uno Who was almost always shown wearing a bankruptcy barrel, and for much the same reason (high taxes) as Johnstone's taxpayer. The bankruptcy barrel has been used for other meanings such as the January 1989 edition of ''Esquire'' magazine which featured
Robin Givens Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest ro ...
on the cover wearing the barrel in a somewhat seductive manner, showing her cleavage partially covered by the barrel and commenting that she was aiming at either going for broke or ending up a millionaire. It was also used in a 1999
Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the ...
commercial referring to the
dot com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
where a destitute dot com magnate is left only with a barrel but can still afford a discounted Wendy's hamburger. However, Wendy's founder
Dave Thomas Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital ...
(out of desire not to see him remove the barrel to fish for change) offers to pay for the man's meal. However, the use of a barrel as clothing for comedic effect (rather than to necessarily show penury) goes back further; the hapless character is reduced to wearing a barrel for modesty because his clothes have been stolen or some other putatively amusing circumstance has arisen.
George Etherege Sir George Etherege (c. 1636, Maidenhead, Berkshire – c. 10 May 1692, Paris) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' in 1664, ''She Would If She Could'' in 1668, and '' The Man of Mode or, ...
's 1664 comedy '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' included a barrel-wearing character. The 1921 film ''
Tol'able David ''Tol'able David'' is a 1921 American silent film based on the 1917 Joseph Hergesheimer short story of the same name. It was adapted to the screen by Edmund Goulding and directed by Henry King for Inspiration Pictures. A rustic tale of violenc ...
'' contains a scene with a character wearing a barrel.
Moon Mullins ''Moon Mullins'' is an American comic strip which had a run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characte ...
was occasionally seen wearing a barrel after losing at cards. A 1987 episode of ''
The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...
'' used it to denote debt, where the villain
Gargamel Gargamel is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Smurfs'' show and comic books. He is a wizard and the sworn enemy of the Smurfs. His main goals are to destroy the Smurfs, eat them, or transform them into gold. Appearance an ...
had all his possessions seized to satisfy a debt, only for the collector to remark "I will be back for the barrel!" In "
Hollywood Steps Out ''Hollywood Steps Out'' is a 1941 short ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon by Warner Bros., directed by Tex Avery. The short was released on May 24, 1941. The cartoon features caricatures of over 40 Hollywood celebrities. Plot A bird's-eye view of Los ...
" and the first
Captain Underpants ''Captain Underpants'' is an illustrated children's novel series by American author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. The series revolves around two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, living in Piqua, Ohio, and Captain Underpants, a ...
book, the barrel is used as a visual euphemism implying that the character is actually naked.


Drunkard's cloak

The bankruptcy barrel is similar to a
drunkard's cloak A drunkard's cloak was a type of pillory used in various jurisdictions to punish miscreants. Description The drunkard's cloak was actually a barrel, into the top of which a hole was made for the head to pass through. Two smaller holes in the ...
, an actual punishment seen from medieval times forward (but now obsolete) as a sort of
pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stocks ...
to punish drunkards and other offenders. Depictions of the drunkard's cloak usually show a barrel with a hole cut into the top for the head to pass through at the neck and two small holes cut in the sides for the arms (or just the hands) to pass through. This differs in detail from bankruptcy barrel, which is almost always shown with the top of the barrel at the armpits, the arms free above that, and the barrel held up by two straps passing over the shoulders.


References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , last=Dewey , first=Donald , title=The Art of Ill Will: The Story of American Political Cartoons , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNI9046BaRAC&pg=PA20 , access-date=April 12, 2015 , year=2008 , publisher=
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
Press , isbn=978-0814720158
{{cite web , url=http://beachpackagingdesign.com/boxvox/package-design-for-losers , title=Package Design for Losers , date=April 4, 2012 , work=Box Vox , access-date=April 12, 2015 {{cite web , url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BankruptcyBarrel , title=Bankruptcy Barrel , work=TV Tropes , access-date=April 12, 2015 {{cite web , url=http://chiseler.org/post/55398919095/the-bankruptcy-barrel-a-historical-debate , title=THE BANKRUPTCY BARREL: A Historical Debate , author=Jim Knipfel , work=The Chisler , access-date=April 12, 2015 {{cite journal , last1=Addison , first1=Joseph , date=April 20, 1711 , title= ntitled, journal=The Spectator , issue=44 , pages=295 collected in {{cite book , last1=Addison , first1=Joseph , last2=Steele , first2=Richard , editor-first=Henry , editor-last=Morley , title=The Spectator, Volume 1 , publisher=D. Appleton and Company , url=https://archive.org/details/spectator22unkngoog , access-date=April 12, 2015 , year=1891 , pag
295
}
{{cite web , url=http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/taxpayer.htm , title=Will B. Johnstone - The taxpayer , author=Mikael Uhlin , work=Marxology , access-date=April 12, 2015 {{cite web , url=http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/tax_payer_will_b_johnstone_cartoon_character , title=Tax Payer (Will B. Johnstone cartoon character) , author=Barry Popik , date=February 9, 2006 , work=The Big Apple , access-date=April 12, 2015 {{cite web, url=http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/caricatures/page.php?Lang=1&file=156_12_3.xml , title=Six Editorial Cartoonists and their Favourite Subjects , author=Sophie Gosselin , publisher=McCord Museum , access-date=April 12, 2015 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413003203/http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/caricatures/page.php?Lang=1&file=156_12_3.xml , archive-date=April 13, 2015 {{cite book , last=Coull , first=Clifford S. , title=Are You Wearing A Barrel? , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7GaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 , access-date=April 12, 2015 , year=2006 , publisher=AuthorHouse , isbn=978-1425912567 , page=37 Homelessness in popular culture Visual motifs