Last updated 6/18/09



Saturday, June 28, 2008

Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

You know, it occurs to me that TV has degenerated over the years. Reality TV thrives and gone are the days of quality cartoons. Back when I little, before the time of remote controls (anyone else remember the brown clicker box for cable?), my young imagination was nurished by shows like David the Gnome, Under the Umbrella Tree (I know, not a cartoon), Gummi Bears, then later the likes of GI Joe and He-Man. TV movies were better back then, too: The Hobbit, The Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn...
And of course there were some gems that I missed, being too young - like Defenders of the Earth.

Looking back I can see that they're kind of nerdy, yeah. But for children they're imagination builders. I'm glad I was exposed to that kind of stuff as a kid - I definitely feel like it's made me more inquisitive and imginative. What do kids watch these days? Stuff like this and this. I'm sure they try to emphasize important values like friendship, honestly, loyalty, etc. But they're so one-dimensional: pop-music, contemporary clothing and language...shows are trying to relate to children more than educate them or expand their horizons these days. I don't know if it's a bad thing, but I lament the kind of TV my kids will have missed out on someday.

10 comments:

Gobbler said...

do not put under the umbrella tree or the last unicorn in a category with the likes of he-man and the hobbit. I should smite you.

Anonymous said...

Well perhaps there are shows with some good values but let's think of a show that has come out that straight up sucks and teaches you nothing...I speak of none other than Ed Edd and Eddy. Anyone who knows anything at all about this show or has sat and watched it for 5 minutes know more than anyone else in this world the reason why cartoon network is beyond terrible these days.
Another thing that I find deeply disturbing is the death of the hero age of cartoons. Yeah people have attempted to resurrect some hero shows such as batman by making the new version of the show The Batman. Asside from changing some villians around a bit and making the concept behind the show suck beyond belief verses its superior elderly counterpart it just seems that nothing good of that nature exists anymore.
Don't even get me started no these other crap hero attempts either with like Ben 10 and whatever the hell else WB and fox try to throw at kids these days, it's shows like these that make the former gloried cartoon world crubble in this day in age.
In any case it is good to see that the movie industry has been successful in glorifying the heroes of our days lately, for it is things like Batman Begins that give these heroes a chance to shine the way they should.

Gobbler said...

Yeah! What Anonymous said.

Anonymous said...

Though I love the cartoons of my youth, and will defend them to the death, you and I both know, Mr. Shoe, that G.I. Joe and He-Man were nothing more than 30 minute commercials for action figures and playsets.

There is some good out there nowadays...we're just too old to enjoy it now. My parents weren't fond of the Ninja Turtles, but I ate it up.

The only "kiddie cartoon" I watch nowadays is Spongebob Squarepants, and I warn you -- diss the sponge, and I will destroy you. I love that friggin' show; and if you look beyond the silliness, there are lessons being taught. Friendship, equality, sharing, imagination...umm...the fact that sponges dry out when exposed to air. It's all there.

And you know my thoughts on Batman, in any form. Batman is a punk, and his character needs to be wiped off the face of our Earth. Stupid, stupid Batman.

Blue Shoe said...

Careful, Jeff - don't let Emmanuel see you say that about Batman.

Gobbler said...

Jeff. You shall burn. And I will stand next to with a bucket of water and proceed to water the bushes laughing at how the smell resembles a barbecue.

Anonymous said...

Well Well Well someone who promotes Spongebob but dares to make a mockery of The Dark Knight. Behold the true identity of Anonymous, Emmanuel Estrella a well to do advocate of Batman himself. Now that there is no need to hide behind this mask I call anonymous I can dish out pain just like the hero I worship with no fear of having to hold back. Let me propose this to you "Jeff," let's associate a percent worthy of each of these "values" Spongebob promotes, by being fair and rounding each one up to one percent. Lets do some math and add them all together "Friendship, equality, sharing, imagination...umm...the fact that sponges dry out when exposed to air" Well lets see that's 5% values so that would be +5% positive values for children but oh wait we forgot to add the value of injustice that spongebob promotes, with a value of -105% well that leaves us with -100% good values. It is no suprise that these will be the children who will only know a life of imprisonment...how sad. But let's look at the amount of positive value found in Batman...well lets see Batman's show only has one value and justice and seeing as how justice is the very opposite of injustice that would make a total of 105% good values... that's more than most kids can handle but just enough to set society into a Eutopia for the future. So in conclusion it is clear that the future of the world lies in the hands of a man that dresses up in a Bat costume administering justice every saturday morning.

-Emmanuel

Anonymous said...

And yes that is one giant paragraph, the english language holds no bars over any discussion of Batman.

-Emmanuel

Gobbler said...

Emmanuel. That argument made no sense. How does spongebob = injustice? I am all for destroying spongebob and elevating the black knight, but at least make a legit argument. Or i shall burn you too.

Emmanuel said...

True enough Ben...the simple fact that you promote Batman over spongebob makes you a worthy adversary. It's not often that evil works together with evil, but to destroy the greater good we may need to work together on this one. On the other hand I work with no one and feel more joy at having that sword I wished for during our game of loaded questions, so I can bring you the suffering you truly deserve.