What You See Is What You Perceive

Welcome to the world of cartoons - a quintessential part of most childhood experiences and a source of entertainment for many teenagers and young adults .

The power that cartoons have over young minds can never be overstated . Its impact can be understood by the sheer commercial success of clothing ,accessories , bags, school supplies and every possible article that a child uses , which contain images of popular cartoon characters . This branding also extends to products used by teens and young adults .

It is therefore important to sit back and give a thought to the kind of messages that cartoons , especially those targeted at really young children give out  and here's my analysis of the messages that some of the popular cartoons may be unintentionally giving out 

Let us begin with a popular one created by Walt Disney himself - Mickey Mouse . Intended to be representing the quintessential American boy next door , the character aims to extol the virtues of enterprise and smart thinking . To be honest, the character succeeds in this . It has taught many generations of young children the virtues of hard work and thinking out of the box . But what about the women in the show ? Are Minnie , Daisy and Claire Bell created to represent the cliché ideal of girls who  love to dress up , talk , cook , bake but rely on the men to do the thinking ? This is a cliché that fairy tales and their animated Disney counterparts have long promoted ! Think Snow White, Rapunzel and Cinderella -the ones who needed a prince charming to rescue them from their unfortunate fate to lead them to a better life .

Things are looking a little up in the world of Disney with the introduction of ‘newer princesses’ like Merida, Sofia and Pocahontas who are not just independent ‘girls of substance’ but are also far more representative of human diversity . I do hope that Disney creates female characters who are astronomers , race car drivers or even scientists ! I believe that no little girl should aspire to look like Barbie and be called a princess for that sure is not a compliment to her intelligence .

Another cartoon that is hugely popular among little children is Peppa Pig. I have been forced to watch a few episodes of this series , all thanks to my little sister who is a huge fan of the series and to be honest the series is entertaining and age appropriate . There are a few tongue in cheek references to the adult world at large , like the episode where International day is celebrated in school . The humour in that will be lost on little children though. I suppose that is targeted at older population like me who are forced to watch it for some reason!

Talking of tongue in cheek humour , Calvin and Hobbes, a cartoon strip created by the cartoonist Bill Waterson is the favourite of  many young adults including yours truly . Calvin, the precocious five year old with a penchant to call out the double standards of the adult world will surely go down the annals of history as the most loveable five year old ever !

Animations have an audience reach beyond kids and teenagers to include young adults and this is a segment that Pixar was able to reach out to with brilliant and sensitive movies like Finding Nemo and Finding Dory . Inside Out is another impactful movie from Disney that explores the conflict of emotions in the mind of a young girl in the face of  change .

The story of Archie Andrews and his pals and gals are immensely popular the world over and have been so for generations . The series extolls the American way of life and the syndicate has tried to keep it relevant by introducing homosexual characters but what stands out as a sore thumb is the lack of Afro American characters or characters belonging to other races . For a series that is as American as apple pie , not taking into account the multiracial character of the American society is a huge lapse .

No discussion about cartoons will be complete without talking about the contribution of Japanese manga and anime .. As per some estimates , the Japanese anime accounts for nearly sixty percent of all the animation production the world over . Manga is essentially a comic book with an extended storyline that is the length of a novel . The distinctive features of manga include the use of big and expressive eyes to denote emotions . Mangas are read from right to left and they are created in many different genres like action , historical , romance and science fiction and these are targeted at different age groups .

Anime is basically manga that is made into an animated movie . The Japanese anime industry boasts of production houses like Studio Ghibli famous for the 2001 movie Spirited Away, the largest grossing animated movie the world over . I believe that the reason for the immense success of Spirited Away, besides the super expressive animation, is the storyline itself that brings to fore oriental values and a way of life that rejects the western world’s idea of socially acceptable normal .

Many people claim that Spirited Away is a movie of many layers with covert  references to Shintoism, spirituality and even the dark world of Geisha and child prostitution, for many Japanese public bathhouses were indeed a foil for such activities . The makers of this film have neither accepted nor refuted these claims , thus keeping the debate and the interest in the movie alive . Incidentally , Spirited Away is one of my favourite animated movies, one that unravels some new meaning every time that I watch it .

The medium of cartoons and animation has a wide reach and deep impact across age groups and this reach can be used to deliver positive messages besides the much needed entertainment .

Image collage created by Aditi Sowmyanarayan