Cartoons, a child's favorite pass time. Why are most children's shows cartoons anyway? Is it because of their amazing imaginations and ability to believe that which adults know is not possible? Could it be because they are made to deceive the mind of a child? Either way cartoons are very popular among the children of America. Just what could the real purpose of these cartoons truly be? It seems to be that the real purpose of cartoons is to instill values in the youth, while gaining many viewers.
From SpongeBob to Dora and Uncle Grandpa, the same universal values appear. One of these major values is friendship. For example in Uncle Grandpa, the main character; a man who has a weirdly shaped head and a voice like that of a mental person goes looking for his best friend the giant realistic flying tiger. The giant realistic flying tiger is finally found stuck in a tree in the pet cemetery and she comes to the rescue of Uncle Grandpa. The tiger fights off the zombie animals and brings Uncle Grandpa back home. This reflected the value that friendship is stronger than anything, and that helping others is reciprocal. When the tiger beat the zombie animals it portrayed the value that good always beats evil. This supports the idea that there is always a happy ending, which is not always true in real life.
In Dora the explorer, the main character Dora went on a journey to go visit her cousin Diego. She asked where the map is and as the audience you have to help her by pointing out where it is. Obviously to an adult it seems completely ridiculous to think that you can talk back to the TV, but for many kids it seems that she is actually listening to you. This showed the value of helping others, which the creators of the show want to instill in young American children. The most shocking thing is that by doing this cartoons like Dora the explorer gain many viewers because they are teaching children to be helpful. What parent doesn't want their children to be helpful? This enforces the idea of raising children to be good, moral people.
Watching American cartoons as a teenager makes me view cartoons as stupid, because they are made specifically for children. The fact that a short stubby fat cartoon man can save other people seems quite ridiculous and the fact that Uncle Grandpa's friend is a tiger named the giant realistic flying tiger is completely insane. This is providing a an image of the world to American children that is very much a lie about the real world. Who can possibly be friends with a real tiger and what sponge can speak? When will we start valuing to teach kids about the real world instead of an imaginary one?
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