Every now and then the soft glow of visual media makes an inexorable pull upon my attention. I'm not big into TV or movie rentals, but this Netflix streaming stuff is turning out to be damned convenient. What started out as a search for Simpsons episodes (streaming unavailable through Netflix, as it turns out) led me to season 1 of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Rocky and Bullwinkle. Did anyone actually like that show as a kid? I remember despising it. Rocky's voice reminded me of a nun I knew, and it grated on me. Hell, Rocky's voice still bothers me, but I seem to overcome the irritation these days through some strange, cosmic self-control that has developed with age. As a kid I couldn't wait for the Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to break into Fractured Fairy Tales and Mr. Peabody's Improbable Histories. As an adult now, I relish the entirety of the show. Who knew the show was that damned smart?
Seriously, Rocky and Bullwinkle pack enough word plays, satire, and il/logic puzzles into a 23 minute show that Lewis Carroll would be proud. And as if the punchy writing weren't enough for you, the stories are narrated with flawless execution.
While it may have been marketed for children, Rocky and Bullwinkle share with other classics like The Muppets the fact that they have undeniable appeal for adults as well. Why aren't all kids' shows built with such dual appeal? Many adults may enjoy Sesame Street, but let's face it, The Teletubbies have nothing going for them and don't even get me started on Dora. Spongebob Squarepants, you're actually okay, but you stand alone and well below the bar set by Rocky and Bullwinkle. But again, the question is, why?
Let's run through a few thoughts:
1.) Educational TV isn't as educational as it used to be. For all of those who think their kids need to spend their entire day counting to ten with Dora, I tell you that some part of their day should also be spent immersed in political satire, whether they understand it or not. An important part of learning is being exposed to ideas that don't normally come about during discussions involving the colors of various fruits.
2.) Maybe adults are getting dumber. Maybe you can't make a show with the adult appeal of Rocky and Bullwinkle anymore because the adults won't understand it. Yikes. Does the over 30 crowd need to count to ten with Dora as well?
2.5) Rocky and Bullwinkle works so well because it does have that classic cartoon silliness to it along with the sophisticated humor that attracts adult viewers. But what is adult humor these days? Is it only the low-brow, vulgar junk that you could never mix into kids' programming? Do we have to keep separate spheres because adult humor has become so wildly inappropriate? Where is the adult humor, sans innuendo? Is such a thing not funny anymore?
I don't have an answer, though I'm thinking that the jokes about the Cold War that play so well on Rocky and Bullwinkle wouldn't be understood (or be understood as funny) today if you attempted to translate them into, say, the current debate on nuclear disarmament. That's sad. I don't know if it's that people aren't aware enough of current events to keep this sort of humor afloat or if it's because of a void within our cartoon programming that is causing adults to lose track of modern policy issues.
Ron White Live at the Old National Centre
2 hours ago
1 Come Hithers:
Hah -- Rocky and Bullwinkle was a mainstay for us as kids... I was especially fond of Col. Blimp and Aesop's Fables. South Park and the Simpsons are its Bullwinkle's heirs and arguably more sophisticated but they lack the original's charm and engage more in irony than in innuendo for laughs, which often is the cheaper and easier way to go. The point of Buillwinkle was that kids weren't supposed to get all of the humor. Now that would be regarded as subversive.
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