I believe in the power of animation.
Yes, animation—clay animation (“claymation”), digital animation, cutout animation, or the unsurpassed paper-and-pencil animation that brought the classic Disney movies to life. Anything not filmed live actors! Tie together animations and cartoons together, and you’ve got a life-changing influence just waiting to be unleashed.
Animation isn’t just for kids anymore; all sorts of adult animated shows have become popular, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park. Such shows have created the automatic link between some people’s definition of animation—as comedy. Lounging around and watching similar shows, the viewers don’t realize that a powerful force is actually influencing them. Sensitive topics and issues, such as war, religion, and sexuality can be addressed on such shows in comical ways that allow for people to form their own opinions. In fact, even Vatican City’s newspaper applauds The Simpsons’ addressing of religion (while scolding the excess of violence and language). Perhaps not extremely powerful, the addresses still exist, making animation a bridge in our society. Viewers can also empathize if characters are experiencing life issues that they themselves have gone through. All the other wacky, crazy plot points give us a chance to laugh, relax, and unwind. Laughter is considered the best medicine.
Of course, animation is especially influential in the lives of children. Thinking back to my childhood days, the vast majority was spent staring at the television enjoying animation, animation, and just a bit more animation. At best, I can recall only three or four shows I ever watched as a kid that didn’t involve some type of animation. Three or four out of all the other shows I watched as a kid? Animation is the obvious winner for my TV time. Those shows not involving animation were often considered “baby-ish” and “stupid” by the time we reached age five—how are Barney and Mr. Rodgers’ Neighborhood thought of as “cool” once you hit five? We avoided those shows like the plague, least the names be somehow attached to us. Animation was popular, animation was cool.
Reflecting on the animated shows I watched, nearly all left me with lessons that have impacted me even until today. I learned my ABCs, how to count, new vocabulary, how to be a good friend, different cultures, the basics of foreign languages, how to use deductive reasoning, how to dream, how to be a team player, how to be self confident, and how to rock out to almost any Disney song instantaneously. Kids today still learn the same things that we did ten, or even more, years ago. They may get little Spanish explorers with boot-clad primate friends, singing giant monsters, and the eight hundredth season of Pokémon, but we had our own heroes. The tag team of canines—Scooby Doo and Blue—helped me hone my detective skills by being able to identify who committed the crime before the villain is ever unmasked and how to figure out what the day’s “fun activity” would be based on a set of paw print marked clues. The original Pokémon, Yu-gi-oh! and Digimon taught us to strive to be the very best (“that no one ever was!”) and that teamwork was always important to succeed. Creativity was bursting out of every show to spread to us, and each Disney movie had a heart-felt life lesson for us to learn.
Call them cartoons; call them childish. But wouldn’t you like to go back to those cartoon-living childhood days? Maybe that’s why animation is so popular even into our adult years—it taught us much of what we know today and brings back happier memories.
Is animation a mighty, powerful, inspiring tool? This I believe.
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Paper written for English based off of the format of the "This I Believe" essays. Find examples online, or listen to NPR's weekly readings of similar essays.
(P.S. If there is anyone online who spots any mistakes, would you point them out? This is due tomorrow and I don't usually find my own mistakes very easily.)
