"Here we have a self-made entertainer with very little education creating really original, ironic material. To get an insight into someone like that from this period is incredibly rare and exciting."
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Dr. Wade says, "Killer rabbit jokes have a long tradition in medieval literature.>>>
There could be more evidence to be found but Wade emphasizes that minstrel writing is unlikely to have survived and that we should look for other kinds of evidence...
It's the kind of humor that can really destroy a temple (I never know when this stuff will come in handy):
A Wild Hare is a 1940 American animated comedy short film directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and distributed by Warner Bros. as part of the Merrie Melodies series. The film was released on July 27, 1940, and features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance.[2][3]
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The line, "What's up, Doc?", was added by director Tex Avery for this film. Avery explained later that it was a common expression in Texas where he was from, and he did not think much of the phrase. But when this short was screened in theaters, the scene of Bugs calmly chewing a carrot, followed by the nonchalant "What's Up, Doc?", went against any 1940s audience's expectation of how a rabbit might react to a hunter and caused complete pandemonium in the audience, bringing down the house in every theater.
Bugs' Hebrew Wiki page (horrible place!) provides the Hebrew translation:
"?מה המצב, דוק"
What's the status [המצב], Doc?
מַצָב
situation, state, status, condition, position, occasion
Which is a short hop from:
מַצֵבָה
gravestone, monument, tombstone, stone, pillar, column
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What's Up, Doc? What's the status?
Still Not Dead (Official Video)
Thanks, Willie, for providing evidence that anything in this mundane, corrupted physical world can be lifted right back Up. That really irritates the crypt keepers.
"Don't bury me I've got a show to play."
Tombstone (typography) (מצבה)Where have all the LEVites gone, anyway? They're the ones supposed to be in charge of the LEVity, and they don't even know where the hare it is...Q.E.D. It's a veritable mashal [מש"ל].
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He pondered our world from every side and every angle, and he realized something must have gone wrong. Something at the very beginning. Something before Time had begun and there were moments to count; before the laws of nature had been established and matter had yet a chance to form. Something at the very core of reality, and if he could find it, all the cosmos could be healed.
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Who invited *that* guy? There goes the neighborhood.
Worse yet, will be the realization that "What's up, Doc" is an extension of the "Who's on 1st" skit (out of the park, the PaRDeS). Someone obviously lost a vowel, just for starters.
"Observe my statues!"
Interesting; thanks for posting all of that!