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Why do some people throw pies at public figures?
Question
#95184. Asked by lilacmay4. (Apr 29 08 9:49 PM)
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McGruff
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The pie in the face is a classic comedy device, so classic that you might think it's of ancient origin. While it may have a precusor somewhere in the past, in reality it only dates back to 1911. It originated not with Max Sennett or Charlie Chaplin, but with William Hammerstein (son of Oscar Hammerstein). When Chaplin was with the Fred Karno troupe, he would play the part of a rowdy drunk in the audience, employing the physical comedy he would become famous for. During the act, he would knock over a boy, another actor in the troupe. Hammerstein suggested knocking the boy over with a pie. The audience loved it, and a cliché was born. Chaplin later worked for Max Sennett, who took the pie bit and made it a comedy fixture.
Not only has a pie in the face become a staple of what user Gamaliel describes as a classic comedy device, as the years have gone by it has grown into an art form to make certain political statements.
Foregoing the likes of Bugs Bunny, Charlie Chaplin, Soupy Sales and The Three Stooges who relied on the pie as part of a slapstick routine, a Yippie by the name of Aron Kay stepped to the pie hurling forefront when he nailed anti gay activist and former Miss America Anita Bryant in the kisser in Des Moines, Iowa way back in 1977. In an attempt to diffuse the heated situation and take further aim at her gay rivals, Ms. Bryant later declared that at least she had been hit by a "fruit" pie.
 http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=657105
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McGruff
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For those who cheer pie-throwing, here's an interview with an avowed pie-thrower:
Q: How did the idea of pie-throwing originate in the history of remonstrations?
A: In my consciousness, pie-throwing was something that was done in the movies to bring someone down off of their high horse. The pie had universal visual meaning. With an understanding of the situationist's idea of disrupting the spectacle and using the disruption to point out the cracks in the official reality, the power of the pie was given whole new opportunities to cast light on shadowy figures. Tasteful entertainment at protest prices.
Q: The splashy approach seems to be a trifle too hard on the egos of your beneficiaries. Is pie-throwing as soft as it looks, going by the media splash you have generated?
A: Pieing is not so much a personal attack, as it is an attack on authority, secrecy, corruption, and greed. If the ego of the person pied is bruised, that is not the intent. But shame can be a powerful motivator, and persuade people to change their behaviour. This, of course, is an unintended result, for the goal is to disrupt the spectacle and expose the lies official reality requires for its existence. In my case, State Representative Carol Flynn, whom I pied, said the only thing that hurt was her self-esteem. No physical injury, when a pastry projectile took her down a notch, and exposed her violation of the law and her racist lies.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/7/18654/18921
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billythebrit
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As a little extra, eggs work too. See here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRQDnGTcc4A
But then as the Deputy Prime Minister shows, a fist can work too.
The practice of throwing eggs has a long and speckled history: unhappy citizens would throw eggs as protest against opposing religious or political views; some would throw rotten eggs at petty criminals; and, in 19th century America, audiences would throw eggs in theaters to embarrass bad actors. Today, eggs are still thrown to express dissatisfaction, and so the act is more popular as a form of mischief the night before Halloween than it is a form of play at Easter time - this egg throw is completely legal, engagingly challenging, and surprisingly exciting!
http://www.celebratingeaster.com/kids-stuff/egg-throw.aspx
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