Ghosts of past TV

Hello out there in internet land. How are you today? I'm good, besides my work filled schedule my week looks pretty good.

So with myself finding this lovely vacation home in happy-good-time-land I'm thinking about what it was like as a little kid. More specifically i am thinking about what i watched as a little kid. Ya that's right, I'm thinking about TV and movies.

Why would that be where my mind goes? Cause i love cartoons. I mean come on, its like a romantic comedy where everything works out in the end, but without all of the unnecessary drama(though there are misunderstanding between friends, how else could they make conflict?).

But i gotta say the cartoons i have been finding on TV now can't compare to the old school ones like Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers (not to be confused with Chippendales), Darkwing Duck, and FernGully. What makes these cartoons so awesome to me?

Well with the first 2 it would be that they were made by Disney and as we all know, anything made by Disney is like crack to little children. But beyond that they had unique characters who all fit their stereotype (yep,
the good part is the stereotype). Before you get offend or shocked allow me to explain.

Now i have a problem with multiculturalism. My problem is with people who say they are Canadian and therefore multicultural and love every other culture out there. Or that by making a certain ethnic food at home they are appreciating a culture. Now this idea is ludicrous. Insane. Or just plane old bonkers.

There is no understanding of a culture in that. At all. In that situation a person is being singularly cultural and intellectually arrogant. This is the point where you should be saying "but what the hell does this have to do with stereotypes in cartoons?".

Glad you asked. See in the modern day cartoons (or at least the majority of the ones i have seen) there will be a mixture of ethnicities on the show, but they all will share the same culture (my family would be so proud, they are all just being "Canadian", or "American").

Meanwhile look at the older cartoons, there maybe some stereotypes supported but rather than get rid of this idea altogether why not make some of the other characters who fall on the "good guy" side of the fence ethnic in some way, and use their culture to make them unique, so that rather than planning one episode a season where they explore a culture each episode does a little.

(and side note, in Darkwing duck one villain named Bushroot is a professor, what better way to teach kids being smart doesn't mean being a good person?)

But i guess the main thing here is the old episodes had a meaning, and not just a little one. They had a big meaning, and that meaning, even if it wasn't fully understood, helps out a little bit. But those are gone now... And we are left with cartoons without morals to the story, and those with tiny morals which parents should have already taught.

(final shout out, original power rangers Rocked! new ones i watched this past Saturday... so sad)