Looney Toons; more than laughs.
Sunday, November 15 by Katherine V
So, last week my childhood Disney movies were ruined by watching, Mickey Mouse Monopoly. It was rather upsetting. However, I was babysitting earlier today and as we were sitting there, watching old-school Looney Toons cartoons, I started picking up on the terrible stereotypes that were on the screen.
It started with Yosemite Sam; the short-tempered cowboy who's all about hunting with his big 'ole guns. Way to go Looney Toons. Good job on depicting the southern cowboy as a trigger-happy, pigeion-toed, verbally-challenged fella with distinct southern twang. Do we want to show our kids that it's okay to wave around two big guns and chase after bunnies? No, guns don't need to be waved around the salon as we hoot n' holler. Guns shouldn't be fired around to scare people (or bunnies) into doing what we want them to.
Oh, and then there was Speedy Gonzales "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico", who was the real inspiration for tonight's blog. He has his oversized yellow sombrero, a white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief. (stereotype much?) Apparently, Speedy can't speak proper english either. He talks in broken english and is called stupid. He runs around at his speedy pace yelling the classic, "Arriba!" and his mice buddies are lazy and hard-drinking. He lives in the town of Tamales, and speaks often about his desire to "eat a burrito!"
So, then I started thinking a little. Monsieur Pepé Le Pew came to mind. He is constantly going after a cat who he thinks is a skunk and simply will not take no for an answer. He is constantly manipulative, aggressive, and apparently believes "no" means "yes". This clip that I found below is a perfect example of the crazy stuff that is on the boob tube where kids are seeing Pepé Le Pew manipulate miss Pussycat into getting what his wants, her attention.
So you see, it is by no means just Disney giving kids all the wrong ideas about people, and relationships. It's in other classic tales in cartoon form. Let's just hope there are good parents there to help them sort out good from bad and right from wrong.
It started with Yosemite Sam; the short-tempered cowboy who's all about hunting with his big 'ole guns. Way to go Looney Toons. Good job on depicting the southern cowboy as a trigger-happy, pigeion-toed, verbally-challenged fella with distinct southern twang. Do we want to show our kids that it's okay to wave around two big guns and chase after bunnies? No, guns don't need to be waved around the salon as we hoot n' holler. Guns shouldn't be fired around to scare people (or bunnies) into doing what we want them to.
Oh, and then there was Speedy Gonzales "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico", who was the real inspiration for tonight's blog. He has his oversized yellow sombrero, a white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief. (stereotype much?) Apparently, Speedy can't speak proper english either. He talks in broken english and is called stupid. He runs around at his speedy pace yelling the classic, "Arriba!" and his mice buddies are lazy and hard-drinking. He lives in the town of Tamales, and speaks often about his desire to "eat a burrito!"
So, then I started thinking a little. Monsieur Pepé Le Pew came to mind. He is constantly going after a cat who he thinks is a skunk and simply will not take no for an answer. He is constantly manipulative, aggressive, and apparently believes "no" means "yes". This clip that I found below is a perfect example of the crazy stuff that is on the boob tube where kids are seeing Pepé Le Pew manipulate miss Pussycat into getting what his wants, her attention.
So you see, it is by no means just Disney giving kids all the wrong ideas about people, and relationships. It's in other classic tales in cartoon form. Let's just hope there are good parents there to help them sort out good from bad and right from wrong.
