If you're looking for any really deep thoughts, then you've come to the wrong place. However, if you're looking for simple opinions on ordinary, mundane things, then you've come to the right place.
I remember the years when I forced myself to wake up early on Saturday mornings just to beat my father to the television. I'd settle myself in front of it and watch hours of cartoons. I'd pout whenever something happened to keep me from my weekly ritual, and I'd complain bitterly when the stations decided to preempt the cartoons for something else. Those were the days.
So, where are the Saturday morning cartoons now?
I don't know what things are like where you live, but here in Honolulu the only channels that air cartoons on Saturday mornings are FOX, FOX Family, Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel (sometimes), and ABC. In the eighties we didn't have these stations at all, so the only ones that aired cartoons were the national companies, like ABC, CBS, and NBC. Of these three only ABC continues to broadcast cartoons, and that's probably because Disney owns the station. CBS and NBC now show news programs, infomercials, and sporting events.
Why did CBS and NBC stop airing cartoons? Who knows? I suppose they consulted demographics and discovered something troubling, so they changed their weekend lineups to exclude cartoons. I'll say this in NBC's favor: at least the powers-that-be chose to offer sitcoms that appealed to "younger" viewers (teenagers). These programs offer real-to-life situations with fictional but real-to-life solutions, thereby educating viewers. I guess the cartoons just weren't fulfilling that function. They existed simply to entertain.
Hold on! Only to entertain? Perhaps they didn't warn us about substance abuse, drunk driving, or earning money, but they did teach us the difference between good and evil, right? There were also lessons to be learned in every episode. Let's take the Smurfs for example. I remember episodes that dealt with conquering fears, making and breaking promises, and greed. There was also an episode where the Smurfs received a baby Smurf they weren't supposed to receive and how heartbroken they were when they had to return it to the stork that delivered it. How is that any less informative than a news broadcast about adoptive parents being forced to relinquish foster children because the real parents want it back, or about child custody battles? The Smurfs had formed bonds of love with the infant, just as parents--real or adoptive--form bonds with the children in their care.
Okay, maybe it was the fantasy elements--magic, embodiments of concepts (like Mother Nature), and the like--that prevented viewers from picking up on these lessons. Perhaps it was the childish nature of the cartoons (but remember who they were geared to) that prevented viewers from realizing that there were real values to be learned. Maybe there were other reasons--parent objections, viewer apathy, etc.--that resulted in the termination of Saturday morning cartoons. I say, however, that the loss of these weekend broadcasts has marked the end of an American cultural tradition.
Maybe that's going too far. I'm still racing to wake up early so I can watch various programs. Where before it was something like Smurfs that dragged me from bed, now it's Godzilla. I know this new show has lessons to teach its viewers--I can feel the knowledge swirling in my mind--but I don't know yet exactly what lessons it's teaching...except maybe "look before you leap" or "better the evil you know than the evil you don't" or "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." FOX Family's broadcasts of older cartoons allows viewers another chance to understand the lessons they were taught before. Still, I wonder how much more enlightened the American public would be today if there were still Saturday cartoons available to teach younger viewers about life.
I don't know if this has prompted any deep or interesting thoughts in you, but if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to send me an e-mail. I'm generally up for any debate and maybe--just maybe--we can start some sort of regular exchange of thoughts.
Comments? Suggestions? E-mail me with your words of wisdom. I'm up for a hearty e-mail debate if you are!
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