Sesame Street and the Generation of Wimps

[KilgoreTrout]

re: death

My mom used pets to teach me about life. Starting in kindergarten, I can't recall a time when I didn't have pets. First there were goldfish, for which I was responsible to feed and keep the tank clean. I bawled my eyes out when I found the first one floating one morning. Then came a hampster, followed by a couple of very smart pet rats, and a dog. The dog lived for 13 years before she had to be put down (I was in HS). Along the way I learned that death is part of life. Imagine that.

[daveT]

Over-protective parents put their kids on a leash. They don't see their kids as human. Why would you want to listen to them or let them influence you?

[tuq]

Gah, this PC entertainment for kids is ridiculous. My generation watched Tom & Jerry, and the Roadrunner, two cartoons whose implied goals were for the villain to catch and eat the prey. Ooh, probably too violent today, it sends the wrong message! Right.

I don't know if the stuff for the younger kids like Barney and Teletubbies is also stupider now than when I was growing up, but I don't remember what entertained me at that age. I'm sure it is though.

[Blarg]

It's imbecilic. I grew up watching Bugs Bunny -- and not a cutified "baby Bugs Bunny" type version, and watching those cartoons never hurt anybody. The teletubbies/Barney type stuff was the stuff that had me rolling my eyes in horror even as a really young kid. It's kinda terrifying realizing adults are so out of touch that they're speaking to you as if you have the brains of a parakeet or something.

The stuff out now is way, way worse that Bugs Bunny or the old Hanna-Barbera stuff, and truly drained of life. It's about as stimulating as a Maoist forced reeudcation camp.

[daveT]

I grew up watching GIJoe, ThunderCats, Transformers, and Popeye, to name a few of the violent shows. I didn't walk into a school with a gun, nor did any of the kids my age. Ironic, isn't it? Repression creates criminal emotions. Simple sociology.

[niss]

Yeah ... I think I'm slightly older, and my cartoons were Popeye (where he ate spinach so he could kick the crap out of Bluto) and Bugs Bunny. I think we turned out OK.

"Would I throw a lighted match in that oven if my pal Mugsy was in there?"

"You might rabbit, you might."

[mshalen]

Where is Speedy Gonzales when you need him?

[Blarg]

He went the way of the Frito Bandito, but I don't know if Ricardo Montalban was involved in that directly.