14 JunGarfield goes Metal!

A lot of Garfield’s charm comes from the fact that it’s a comic that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even though it is a revered series with a very esteemed pedigree, Garfield never fails to remind its audience that life is just as silly as the situations Garfield finds himself thrust into. It is, at times, aware that it is just a comic strip, and herein lies the brilliance of it all!

Any story that calls attention to itself as a form of media can be called metafiction, “meta” meaning “beyond.” Garfield is aware that, as a comic strip, it is intellectual property that is protected from plagiarism. It is aware that comic strips come out regularly, and it is even aware of all the stereotypes associated with comics. This self-awareness is what makes works of fiction “so meta!”

It was Socrates who said that the unexamined life is not worth living. After all, what’s life if you can’t laugh at yourself from time to time?