From buddy Thu Jan 13 11:29:59 1994
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1993 14:03:20
From:  buddy
Subject: Indignities done to Professor and Mary Ann 
 
As if it weren't bad enough that The Professor never got a real name.
But let's face it, neither did the Skipper.
I haven't seen a lot of Gilligan's Island, but it seems that the Skipper
and the Professor having technical names instead of personal ones means
that artificial hierarchies based on ability (although I'm not sure the
Skipper was that competent) lead to the relegation of individuals to
impersonal positions, whereas the movie star and the rich people had names
(even though the Howls (sp) only had genus names, not personal ones)
and the dispossessed millionaire (Mr. Howl) still commanded a great deal
of respect and freedom from work despite the fact that he no longer held
all the capital.  I guess this means that monopolies of non-essential
skills, such as beauty and the possession of capital, are natural
hierarchies, even though the character of the Howls was collective, and
not inherently alienating.  Still, there's some hope for us all in the
fact that Gilligan and the Skipper seemed to get along so well even though
the Skipper kind of bossed poor Gilligan around and bullied him.  Seems
like Mary Anne was the only proletariat in the bunch.  Maybe she should
have taken over the island and given everybody technical titles.
Oh, well it doesn't make any sense anyhow.
 
No No No.  You've got it all wrong.  Gilligan's Island was a MORALITY
PLAY in which each of the characters symbolized one of the seven
deadly sins or cardinal virtues, depending on the episode:
 
          Character         Deadly Sin        Cardinal Virtue
          ---------         ----------        ---------------
          Gilligan          Sloth             Courage
          The Skipper       Gluttony          Justice
          Ginger            Lust              Hope
          The Professor     Pride             Wisdom
          Mr. Howell        Avarice           Temperance
          Mrs. Howell       Jealousy          Charity
          Mary Anne         Anger             Faith
 
Each episode dealt with one of the characters coming to terms with his
or her specific sin and virtue.  Of course, I still can't analyze the
episode with the monkey and the plastic explosives in these terms, but
you must admit that this interpretation has a certain feeling of
"rightness" about it.  That the women each symbolize one of the
Christian theological virtues while the men symbolize the Platonic
cardinal virtues is a subltlety that should not be left unmentioned.
Surely the show was a work of genius.
 
       From the Uncharted Desert Isle,
           --Dan
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