It is Saturday morning, I would wake up, grab some cereal and turn on the TV to watch my favorite Saturday morning cartoons. I would watch Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Bravestar, Smurfs, Snorks, Darkwing Duck, Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters, TMNT, Dungeons and Dragons, MASK, He-Man, even She-Ra and Care Bears. There were way too many to mention here.
There were so many good cartoons to watch until the afternoon and I would watch them all. After watching this bountiful helping of programming I would go outside to play. Yes, I said it, go outside and play with my friends in real life until the sun went down.
What ever happened to Saturday mornings and after school? Now it is Doodle Bops, Busy Town Mysteries, and news. There are no cartoons, nothing for our kids to watch. I want to understand why the cartoons went away and when it happened. Fox used to show them as Fox Kids and one weekend they were gone, no notice. I know this was a while ago but it is still a shame.
I am thankful for RTV because I still get to see some of what made Saturday morning great. Bravestar, He-Man, and Ghostbusters (unfortunately not The Real Ghostbusters) are on. You do need to suffer through bits of Archie and the racist Mr. Magoo show, and Gumby, but it is worth it for a taste of classic Saturday mornings.
In the age of smart phones and internet, do kids not care about cartoons anymore? Do they just watch Cartoon Network and the trash they show on there? Why did the networks give up on quality Children's programming?
I wonder, do our children even know what it is like to play outside anymore?
My kids may never know what it is like to look forward to Saturday morning cartoons ( I have seasons on DVD they can watch though), but they will know what it is like to go out and play and not stay inside all day.
I truly believe those of us born in the 70's and early 80's were the greatest TV generation.
I truly believe those of us born in the 70's and early 80's were the greatest TV generation.
What are your thoughts on this as children and now parents of this generation?
Cartoon Network was cool at first and seemed like a great idea, but then it ruined cartoons. I don't know if they'll ever recover. The trash they show isn't even appropriate for kids anyway in most cases.
ReplyDeleteI miss it too, cartoons like many things(comics, video games, etc.) seem to have aged and matured right alongside our generation and has left out the generations behind us. Parents bring their kids into the comic book store I work part time at almost every week and ask me what is appropriate for kids their age. Sadly, there isn't much of anything I can recommend to them. Video games now carry a ratings system, just like movies do. It's a scary time to be a parent of small children, it's like the world has completely forgotten what innocence is.
I still have my entire collection of Action Comics, Superman, X-Men, Ghost Rider, even Punisher and just about every other comic I could buy back when I was growing up and none are too violent or dirty that a kid now couldn't read them. Well, maybe not my Faust:) But, even the Fright Night comics I have aren't that bad.
ReplyDeleteKids are being forced to grow up way too fast, watch Toddlers and Tiaras or Jersey Shore (I watch neither but have seen clips) and it also scares me to think what it will be like for my kids in twelve years.
Music isn't fun like it used to be either. Sure it used to be filled with innuendo but we were too innocent to understand it.
I am no prude, I watched horror movies and listened to heavy metal (the games weren't violent though) growing up and I still do, but I had my parents there and they taught me right from wrong and real from fake. They also were there to ground me when needed, something parents do not do anymore. This causes some rude and self-centered children of today, I see them around everyday and yes, it worries me that my kids' friends will be like that.