Charles Schulz: An American Master

On Monday night, PBS premiered its American Master series with the life story of Charles Schulz, the creator of the famous comic strip Peanuts. This factual and touching tribute was crafted within a set of interviews and biographical information about Schulz, from childhood, throughout his beginnings as a cartoonist, married life, family and ultimately his final days.

What was most fascinating about this biography was the depth in which it unfolded, from Schulz's humble beginnings as a Midwestern boy with immigrant parents who emerged from farm life into the "new" modern world of the early 1900s, which they did not easily acclimate to. Schulz was an only child, and was very close to his mother, though outward affection within the household was not encouraged, thus feelings in those times were often not discussed. This led to Schulz's deep introspective analysis of himself, and the way he perceived others and the world around him, which resonated greatly within the scope of his work and the psychological and philosophical musings and life experiences of the Peanuts Gang. In effect, Charlie Brown, though originally based on an art colleague, was actually the inner workings of Schulz himself, throughout his youth and into adulthood, especially after his mother died from cancer.

From early childhood, Schulz was recognized as being gifted, from his early drawings, taken seriously by his teachers that noticed his raw talent, to his art colleagues that at first were not impressed by his simplistic style and linear characters, till a comic strip picked up Peanuts, which was originally called "Lil' Folks".

Peanuts came onto the comic scene around the time when boldness and chaos were all the norm within the comic world, and Peanuts was the calm in-between the storm. As noted in the documentary, Peanuts would be on the same page under Dick Tracy and its bold use of colors, to reveal some powerful, never before seen philosophical and in depth childhood musings, that everyone could relate to, at any age, yet in the most simplistic of forms.

The comic strip became an instant hit from the first year in 1950, and as the decades wore on, the characters grew in regard to Schulz past experiences and current take on life. Snoopy became more prominent in the 1960's, and as pop culture embraced the Peanuts, the Peanuts rolled with the times, yet maintained that innocent childhood message and style that lasted throughout each decade, regardless of additional characters not seen in earlier works, like shaggy-haired Peppermint Patty or Woodstock, which ironically was not named after the music festival, as rumor has it.

What was most interesting, aside from the wondrous step into Schulz's inner psyche to explore the Peanuts Gang and his process of creativity, was the glimpse into how these characters came to being from real people within his life, and the role they played in developing the character's strong personalities. The elusive little red haired girl was Schulz's first love, who married someone else. Lucy was his first wife, who was a driving force behind their beautiful lifestyle as Schulz became successful, in regard to raising their children as Schulz worked, and designing fabulous architectural and recreational adornments to their property. Their children grew up with their own private pond, a golf course, tennis court and more, their life style being described by the kid's themselves as their "own private Disneyland". Schulz had in fact recreated the farm life in which he grew up in isolation, yet had his children around him, which in fact were his gang.

Schulz was a gentle, kind man and very generous to his wife and children, but he was a true artist, and spent quite a bit of time working on the comic strip. Peanuts was his life, his passion and part of his soul. He worked out every aspect of his inner demons through the work, and it was so popular because these are the demons that we all relate to and have experienced, at some time in our lives. His lovable characters are part of the American lexicon, from Linus' security blanket, to Charlie Brown's fallibleness, yet ability to throw his fist in the air in the long run and stand up for himself, righteousness overruling complacency.

Schulz was respected, loved, misunderstood, taken for granted at times, yet emerged at the end as the same sensitive being who created a better world through something as simple as a comic strip, and he will always be remembered and respected for the joy he has brought to people, myself included.