Cartoons vs. Video Games

Last night I woke up thinking about old black and white cartoons.  Something must have pulled my mind into the deep, dark recesses of my oldest memories.  I don't recall when we first had color television, but I know I wasn't very old.

One of the best things about many of those old cartoons was the music.  I didn't know at the time, but found out later that most of the musical score was from famous classical compositions by composers such as Beethoven, Bach and others.  We were being educated as we were being entertained.

There was a lot of slapstick humor in those old cartoons.  Often, the punchline was literally that, a punch, or getting "whacked" over the head, or something similar.  It was a sure-fire way to get a laugh.

Later on, Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote took that theme to an extreme when the entire cartoon was about coyote's failed attempts to catch roadrunner and his being blown up, or crushed, or otherwise maimed by his own failed inventions.  It was funny because he was clearly the bad guy and the good guy always won.  He always came back for more.

As we had children and they watched cartoons, I was dismayed by the fact that the ones I had enjoyed as a kid were no longer considered acceptable because of the "violence" they portrayed.  They were replaced by lessons in how to treat each other and all about "feelings" while violence was condemned.  Children of that age and now, their children, have been taught, through cartoons and other children's programs, that violence is unacceptable, yet they have been freely allowed to play video games that portray graphic violence.

I don't know what caused me to wake up thinking about those old cartoons, but I enjoyed the memories.  Our generation has a healthy understanding of violence and its proper place in the world.  Younger generations struggle to separate reality from the fantasy of a video game.

Many people think banning weapons is the answer.  I suspect banning violent video games would be much more effective.  We need to go back to portraying the struggle between good and evil in a way that causes children to want to be the hero -- the good guy.  Instead, they are taught to have "feelings" that don't match reality.  It is a sad state we have fallen into.