What's in Popeye's pipe - really?

When I was a kid growing up in a Connecticut suburb outside of New York City even in those pre-cable days we were able to receive a large number of television stations based in Manhattan. You could pretty much find cartoons or other kids' programming like Soupy Sales to watch all day long. I watched a lot of TV then and Popeye in his many incarnations was one of my favorites.

I never really considered the allegorical implications of the cartoon but Dana Larsen, posting at Alternet makes a compelling case that the "spinach" known to give the sailor man his remarkable strength is an metaphor for marijuana and/or hemp. Read it all for yourself but here's one very interesting theory.


"Popeye characterizes the natural cycle going back through the ages to the ancient mariners ... books, [B]ibles, logs, maps, pennants, sails, ropes, paints, varnishes, lamp oil and sealants were all derived from hemp. Bluto represents the greedy toxic corporations, dependent industries and landowners.

"Both characters try to swoon the premier oil source, Olive Oyl. Bluto begins to understand Popeye is too competitive so he decides to eliminate him. He chains Popeye down, captures Olive Oyl, and approaches the point of rape. But in the end Popeye manages to suck the 'spinach' through his pipe, grows strong with hemp, breaks free and defeats the evil corporations, saving her from industrial pollution and oppression.

"Relieved and happy, she gives herself back to the natural cycle, then Popeye smiles, winks and toots his pipe."