Just as Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive
the ten commands, the following are the ten laws that govern my most
interesting place. 1. Any body suspended
in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation. 2. Any body in motion will tend to remain in
motion until solid matter intervenes suddenly.
3. Any body passing through solid matter will leave a perforation
conforming to its perimeter. 4. The time
required for an object to fall twenty stories is greater than or equal to the
time it takes for whoever knocked it off the ledge to spiral down twenty
flights to attempt to capture it unbroken.
5. All principles of gravity are negated by fear. 6. As speed increases, objects can be in
several places at once. 7. Certain
bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances;
others cannot. 8. Any violent
rearrangement of feline matter is impermanent.
9. Everything falls faster than an anvil. 10. For every vengeance there is an equal and
opposite revengeance. These laws are the
laws of the Cartoon Universe.
The Cartoon Universe is not a tangible
substance, rather an exploration into imagination. It is this facet that makes this universe
more appealing than our own. One is free
to create and manipulate not only the physical actions of a character, but the
mental behavior as well. If my
recollection serves me correct, aside from hypnosis, there is nowhere else that
this is possible. In the cartoon world,
"anything goes." There are no
boundaries to which one is confined.
With a little ingenuity and imagination one can create a place or being
that has never existed before.
Scribble, scribble, squeak, squeak, the colored
pencils glide effortlessly over the white canvas. A dab of golden yellow, a speck of sky
blue. Within several minutes I have
create my ideal woman. Blond hair, blue
eyes, wearing a tight fitting black mini-skirt.
Perfect in appearance and poise, and nothing but words of encouragement
and love linger in her black caption.
For a raging hormonal man of eighteen, this scenario is a dream come
true. Cartoons, however are not just a
group of characters jumping off cliffs, and getting shot out of cannons. On the contrary, cartoons often have
incredible meaning.
With the recent presidential elections, many
cartoons have been invented representing the two current candidates: Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Political satire, although often humorous, is
meant to convey a message to the reader.
The cartoonist has cleverly transposed his own thoughts, into that of
his characters. Many environmental
issues have been tackled as well.
"Captain Planet," is an environmental
superhero with supernatural powers, the combination of the Planeteer's powers
magnified. Each character represents a
different force of nature: earth, fire,
wind, water, and heart. He also can
become any one of these forces. However,
if Captain Planet is exposed to pollutants:
acid rain, toxic, waste, smog, etc., his powers are temporarily
weakened, and he must return to Earth to "recharge". Each episode is designed to confront an
environmental problem. The five
characters, each equipped with a ring, bane together in times of trouble. By placing their rings next to each other,
"Captain Planet" appears. Captain
Planet, using the powers of the five individuals, swarms around the earth
correcting problems when needed.
Although, this is a far fetch from reality, there is truth to it. What this cartoon represents is, aside from
the fact that we must keep out environment sound for everything living, is that
it is very difficult to solve a problem alone, but with team-work often it is
easy. Just as "Captain Planet"
represents the evils inflicted by selfish human beings, the Jetsons explore
this in a different manner.
The Jetsons a futuristic cartoon, represent
what life may be like. In the cartoon,
families live above the stratosphere of the earth due to enormous pollution
created by thousands of years of human habitation. Houses are built on long high rise poles with
platforms at the top. The surface of the
earth is no longer used for any practical purpose. Shopping centers, restaurants, schools,
offices, etc., are left free floating in the sky.
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" starred
one of the longest-running cartoon characters in TV cartoon history. What we remember are four teenagers and their
trusted dog galloping across the country in their purple and green van solving
mysteries of all sort - and in the process, meeting all kinds of interesting
people. The truth, however, is that they
were four high-school dropouts, who with their sentient dog ride around the
country in their psychedelic love machine, earning their way by selling drugs. Occasionally, they solve a mystery. Shaggy for example, is obviously a marijuana
smoker. He constantly has the
"munchies." Scooby, on the
other hand does not smoke marijuana, but gets his "high" from
Scooby-Snacks, which are in fact hash brownies.
This is a small glimpse into the counter-culture of the 1960's.
Another cartoon
that ventures into American lifestyle is the Simpsons. The Simpsons, a modern age family live in
Springfield. The Simpsons are an in
depth look at the breakdown in family as well as family values. Homer Simpson, the father, is an unmotivated
drunkard who favors Lisa over the rest of his children. Homer, too involved in himself, rarely pays
attention to his wife Marge. Bart, is a
pre-teenage misfit, constantly causing trouble.
Maggie, the baby of the family is approximately three years old, and can
neither talk or walk. Homer, works at a
nuclear power plant, where he often causes "melt-downs." There is drug overtone in the Simpsons as
well. Several times, if close attention
is paid, drug paraphernalia can be seen in the background.
Cartoons are often made for the purpose of
enjoyment. Many adults believe that they
were formed for the amusement of children.
This cannot be further from the truth.
In almost every cartoon, there is an underlying meaning. Often the message is so strong that a cartoon
is the only way it can be addressed.
Sometimes, there is dramatic symbolism or a subtle message. Cartoons provide people with a way to speak
their mind freely with little risk of being criticized. It is much harder to point a finger at an
imaginary person than it is a real one.
The cartoon world and the physical world, although on opposite sides of
the spectrum, are actually parallel. The
cartoon world is influenced by the ten laws of "Cartoon
Universe." Whereas we are governed
by the ten commandments. The ten
commandments are biblical rules, by which most humans follow. Cartoons address the ten commandments in
their own way. They show us how and why
we should be following them. The real
reason, so we do not end up like "Shaggy," or "Homer".
* Source of
Cartoon Laws: The Institute, October
1994; Volume 18, Number 7, page 12.
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