Life Lessons Learned from 80’s Cartoons
by Parker Timothy
As hip-hop artist, DJ Z-Trip, so perfectly described in the lyrics of his song, Breakfast Club, the Saturday morning ritual of many young children throughout the entire modern world, “I love eatin’ cereal, when I’m watchin’ my cartoons.” [i] I remember on multiple occasions, my father yelling to me to turn off the cartoons because, “They’re going to rot your brain!” Are cartoons really so devoid of merit like my father suggested, or, like the Transformers, is there, “More than meets the eye?”
When I watched cartoons as a kid, I tried to learn how radioactive ooze could turn me into an awesome, pizza-loving turtle with an apprenticeship to a ninja master rat. But after having watched cartoons for years and years, it became apparent to me that many cartoons had underlying lessons and principles to their story, rather than just showing a time line of action.
At times, the educational parts are made fairly explicit like in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, but more often than not they are implicitly taught. At the close of every episode of He-man, there is a very specific lesson to be learned, such as how to take the responsibility of caring and loving pets and other animals,[ii] or to not take unknown drugs that make you feel outstanding and perform very well.[iii]
He-Man was a bit extra special, in that they had an education and psychological consultant, Donald F. Roberts, PhD. Most of the cartoons that I encountered, that weren’t specifically for educational purposes, like Schoolhouse Rock, had no such staff position in the credits of the cartoon.
These lessons were important to us as children in a way that we didn’t entirely understand. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with other cartoons with a group of heroes, were very influential in my development of learning the importance of teamwork. And in a team, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, but together they would cover those weaknesses.
Some of the lessons aren’t things that one can detect just from observing every episode. Rather they are little blips just a few seconds long. Though the series is more for entertainment, than educational purposes, the importance of mental health is displayed, in a single phrase from the Ninja Turtles’ Master Splinter, “it is well known, that physical exertion often serves to relieve the pressures of mental stress.”[iv] In many instances throughout all of the various series, one may find that there are lessons to be learned in subtle ways like this.
Still, there are many cartoons that are made specifically for the education due to the FCC’s Children’s Television Act of 1990, which was updated in 1996.[v]
Additional Sources:
Breakfast Club song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP4u4I96DVQ
He-Man etc.: The Dragon Invasion: http://www.hulu.com/watch/48621/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-dragon-invasion
He-Man etc.: http://www.hulu.com/watch/48629/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-a-friend-in-need#s-p1-so-i0
[i] DJ Z-Trip. “Breakfast Club (feat. Murs and Supernatural).” Shifting Gears. Hollywood Records, 1995.
[ii] Reaves, Michael. “The Dragon Invasion.” He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Season 1, Episode 4. Filmation Associates, 1983.
[iii] Friedman, Ed. “A Friend in Need.” He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Season 1, Episode 16. Filmation Associates, 1983.
[iv] Mendelsohn, Jack and Mendelsohn, Carole. “Too Hot to Handle.” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Season 6, Disc 1: Episode 8. Fred Wolf Films, 1992.
[v] Children’s Educational Television. FCC. Updated 10/21/08. Accessed 9/30/09.
