The Unbearable Absence of Garfield

Another tip from Russell Etchen, Garfield Minus Garfield photoshops out the titular character in the series and leaves its human protagonist in an existential, schizoid crisis. As any cat person can attest, this is not too far to fall. This interpretation would have been helpful when casting the movie - Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle misses the desperation that would have been great for Jeff Goldblum to take it to in terms of neurotic physical comedy.
What is it with Garfield as this generational icon? I don't know what he represents to Generation Y other than sloth and solipsism, or as just a stand in for '80s nostalgia. He is all over the PaperRad DVD on Load, and I have seen semi-ironic love for Garfield on oversized Tshirts in Portland and in the Bay. As a youth, Garfield was one character that i loved to draw because he fit such an easy formula of repetitive circles. If forced to draw something spontaneously on the spot, the pattern for early '80s Garfield is hardwired into my neurons and unfurls through my hand with less thought than my written Chinese name.