I remeber going to sleep only to wake up early and watch those early morning cartoons: Gumby, Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life. All are classics; to this day, I can still enjoy these shows. A cute little green guy running from and/or fighting a group of square hoodlums. the only one he can truly trust is his faithful sidekick (pony) Pokey. The premises are in undenyably what cartoons are at heart: imaginative. I often felt like I was the rugrat that was not in the pen. There were legitimate connections formed to these shows. I would not miss an episode.
A bowl of cereal and a quiet house at six in the morning was the perfect backdrop for this early morning imaginative interaction. It was my time to be a kid. No restrictions and nothing to worry about I could enjoy these worlds of wonder. Nowadays, it happens more along the mines of three or four in the morning and plopping down on the couch. Drunk and recovering from a long night out and my savior is reminiscing on and watching these fantasical forms of childhood entertainment.
The cartoons of today are nothing in comparison. A bunch af guys singing and preaching to kids about who knows what. Oh, how far we have fallen. What happened to a qwerky wallaby struggling to be accepted in his toonish world? I know I would not let my kids watch these overgrown teenie-boppers sing about sharing and cleaning up.
Something I feel that could really strengthen and complicate your piece would be to mention how nostalgia effects your watching the classic cartoons. Are the new cartoons really worse or do they just not hold the same memories of your childhood?
ReplyDeleteI both like and totally agree with this piece especially the part about new cartoons being crap. I think you could turn this into to a sort of social critique of what kids valued in our childhood and what they valued today.
ReplyDeleteSome hints of the old cartoons still exist, but they exist in twisted (if amusing) forms that are rarely around for kids to watch, but rather for adults to laugh at. Now, it's live-action with music and other gahk. It's certainly true that the lessons being taught - if there are any to see - in modern-day kid's shows aren't as (and I hesitate to use this word) deep as those from a decade past. I want to see more on this - it's definitely something I agree with, and it's nice to see other similar thoughts on the topic.
ReplyDeleteThis is better. Good details. Still need to proofread before you post (along "the mines of three" ;"salvation" not "saviour".
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