Posted on 07/23/2017 2:02:30 AM PDT by iowamark
I recently picked up Mark Twains A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court for the first time. Finding the plot rather amusing, I began relaying it to my father over the weekend. Because he had never read the book, I was rather surprised when he began asking informed questions about the story. In no time at all, he was the one schooling me on plot elements I had not yet reached.
Wait a minute, I asked. Are you sure youve never read this book?
No, never have, he replied, but I saw a cartoon version of the story when I was younger and everything I know comes from that.
His revelation was intriguing, and to be honest, not the first of its kind. Like many in the Boomer generation, my father grew up watching classic cartoons, numbers of which were produced by the likes of Warner Bros.
But those cartoons did more than mind-numbingly entertain a generation of children. They also introduced millions of young people to key facets of cultural literacy, particularly in the realm of literature and music.
Beyond the aforementioned case of Mark Twains novel, these cartoons introduced children to stories such as Robert Louis Stevensons Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde through the medium of Bugs Bunny. Key quotations and scenes from William Shakespeares works were the main theme in a Goofy Gophers cartoon known as A Ham in a Role. And Henry Wadsworth Longfellows epic poem The Song of Hiawatha was placed front and center in a Walt Disney short called Little Hiawatha.
Perhaps even more famous than the literature references are the many ways in which cartoons introduced children to the world of classical music, including both instrumental and operatic selections, one of which is the famous Rabbit of Saville. American film critic Leonard Maltin describes the situation well:
An enormous amount of my musical education came at the hands of [Warner Bros. composer] Carl Stalling, only I didnt realize it, I wasnt aware, it just seeped into my brain all those years I was watching Warners cartoons day after day after day. I learned Liszts Second Hungarian Rhapsody because of the Warner Bros. cartoons, they used it so often, famously when Friz Freleng had a skyscraper built to it in Rhapsody and Rivets.
But Maltin wasnt the only one learning from these classical music forays. In fact, as the famous pianist Lang Lang testifies, it was Tom and Jerrys rendition of Liszts Hungarian Rhapsody in The Cat Concerto which first inspired him to start piano at age two.
Tom and Jerry - 029 - The Cat Concerto [1947] by milagrosalease
These examples just brush the surface of the cultural literacy lessons which the old cartoons taught our parents and grandparents. Even if they never learned these elements in school, they at least had some frame of reference upon which they could build their understanding of the books and music and even ideas which have impacted culture and the world we live in today.
But can the same be said of the current generation? Admittedly, Im not very well-versed in current cartoon offerings, but a quick search of popular titles seems to suggest that the answer is no. A majority of the time they seem to offer fluff, fantasy, and a focus on the here and now.
In short, neither schools, nor Saturday morning cartoons seem to be passing on the torch of cultural knowledge and literacy. Could such a scenario be one reason why we see an increased apathy and lack of substance in the current generation?
Very true. Today’s military simply cannot take the average taught-to-hate-America, dumbed down to 2nd grade level, sexually/gender perverted public school high school “graduate.”
Practically every kid nowadays is “Autistic Spectrum.” I believe the crap they watch has a lot to do with it. I tried to wean my stepkids off of Spongebob and Icarly, but by then it was too late. Their mom (who is her kids FRIEND and makes them her “mini spouses”) and my husband who became overly permissive for fear of his ex and the court system had already done the damage.
Today they are teen academic failures with”learning disabilities” They have no problem expressing themselves, however, in “texting language” on social media.
My own kids are grown and productive citizens—I raised them on classic cartoons for entertainment, but mostly educational games and viewing.
ThanKs for the tip.
“Be vewy vewy qwiet. I’m hunting wabbits.”
And whatever you do.....don’t look down!
Sherman, Mr. Peabody & the Way-Back Machine!
You raise a point I have never considered.
Great article! We can’t forget comic books, In my day everyone could read pretty well by 4 because of Comic Books.
They honed the wit of two generations with quips and sight gags such as, and I quote: “ I tot I taw a puddy tat! I’d did! I did taw a puddy tat!”
I feel so fortunate to have grown up with these cartoons. Early shorts of flowers growing set to a catchy tune, the Bugs Bunny cartoons, Fantasia. Daffy duck and the Taz mania devil that could n I nly be soothed by music..hahaha...and Bugs always won. There were US vs. Russia aspects (Bruno, the stupid Russian bear in the circus is a favorite) as well as WWII references in the older ones. Just a better quality overall...and funny as heck.
You won’t get this from the likes of paw patrol..while some had a good vs. Bad aspect in them, they strike me more as coaching socially acceptable behavior. The kids aren’t laughing at these cartoons the way we did Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck..
Xoxoxoxoxox. THANK YOU!!!!!
I do remember classic comics, we had them along with the Illustrated Classics. These books and magazines allowed cultural information to be transmitted to all at whatever level... for example the term “great white whale” was understood throughout the spectrum of the populace.
The one classic movie that is never shown? Gunga Din. Maybe occasionally on TCM, but when you consider it was one of the Oscar nominees in the year of Stagecoach and Gone with the Wind, it reeks of political correctness.
Cartoons are also a great way to learn basics of a foreign language.
Simple sentence structure, pictures to help, situational context etc . . .
“Kindersprache” makes for simple translations.
AND if you’ve seen the same episode in English, you’re miles ahead already.
May not be a “classic” but I can still recite those Multiplication Rock songs rolling around in my head.
Wasn’t that supposed to be the original “Gift of Television”, a tool to educate the world?
Guess generations have missed that episode.
ACME.....the cartoon equivalent of Amazon. You can get anything from a giant slingshot to a pair of atomic powered roller skates.
Are you talking about the deaths of committed conservative Christian men in the military?
I see it all around me.
And get it delivered in mere seconds
Annie...would you like some cheese with that WHINE?
Grow the F*** up, people. I’ll bet she’s one of those who objected to the “Road Runner” because “Wylie Coyote” was being “abused”.
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