Do social media users wearing his profile picture really know his heart?
By MADISON SEEMAN— meseeman@ucdavis.edu
Snoopy is everywhere. He’s on the face of chocolate bars, the front of fashionable tote bags, the shelves of CVS and all over my X feed. At 84 years old, Snoopy might just be the hippest boomer around. But as Snoopy thrives at icon status, it’s become clear that some social media users are flattening his character into something that can fit picture perfect into their profile pictures. These new Snoopy stans simply don’t know him like I do.
On Oct. 4, 1950, Snoopy made his debut — perfectly friend-shaped. He took some time to grow into the traits that became his trademarks: his doghouse and his friendship with Charlie Brown. He didn’t even achieve bipedal status until 1957, but it was clear that he was loveable from day one.
Today, he’s all over my social media timelines. My feeds are full of Snoopy wrapped in his iconic red puffer or tucked snuggly into bed. He’s happy-dancing in profile pictures, DJing in Charli XCX memes and dancing to ABBA — always innocent-looking, docile and cutesy. And hey, I’m not complaining. But as I scroll through my feed, I wonder if these so-called “Snoopy stans” are looking any deeper than floppy ears and silly smiles. Have they even watched the Charlie Brown holiday specials?
There’s something missing in this modern portrait of the most iconic beagle on the planet. He’s too cute, too perfect. His X presence lacks key traits — a rejection of his mischievous heart.
The real Snoopy is no perfect angel. While undeniably adorable, he’s a complicated dog! And, like an onion (or like Shrek), there are layers that reveal, at the center, a healthy amount of mischief in Snoopy’s heart. Hidden inside that iconic red puffer are evil plans. Real fans know but love him anyway.
He’s a blue blanket stealer, a prankster and a little stinker. He steals kisses from Lucy and he tortures his companions with his cold, cold nose. He’s a tickle monster, even. He’s a maniacal laugh in very, very cute packaging.
He’s not always as peaceful as those his fair-weather fans might portray either. Snoopy is plagued by a philosopher’s mind. Existential thoughts, like, “I search the sky and find no meaning,” hide behind those misleadingly simple eyes.
He’s ambitious, too, as booked and busy as Barbie. Are those social media users hiding behind his face even familiar with his career as an astronaut? A surgeon? A writer? An attorney? I hope they at least know of his service in the First World War, but with these new-gen fans, who can tell?
He’s smug, he’s impish and evidence points to the fact that he may not even know Charlie Brown’s name. That’s his best friend!
But real Snoopy fans — myself included — support Snoopy’s rights and wrongs. We’ve sat through the holiday specials, we’ve met his family, his first owner. We know that behind that cute face is a whole lot of mischief, and behind that mischief is a heart of gold.
Can we really blame casual Snoopy enjoyers for their ignorance? Snoopy is loveable at every level and it’s impossible not to be charmed. Maybe there’s no crime in being a surface-level Snoopy lover.
But maybe there is. To my fellow (real) Snoopy fans: Stay strong and spread the good word. May Snoopy be with you.
Written by: Madison Seeman— meseeman@ucdavis@ucdavis.edu
Disclaimer: (This article is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and the names of “sources” are fictionalized.)
