By KAREN MADORIN
One of my favorite aspects of TV streaming is rewatching beloved childhood TV shows. What a jaunt across decades to revisit Andy Griffith, Gunsmoke, Paladin, and Bonanza.
I recently discovered I can also enjoy vintage Saturday morning cartoons and share them with grandkids. Re-experiencing beloved favorites with kiddoes in our living room is a reason to celebrate. An added bonus is decades of teaching and reading that multiplies my appreciation for those early cartoonists.
Early movie technology of the 1920s inspired animated media. Folks with music scores wanted to sell more sheet music leading to the creation of short animated films showcasing tunes and sharing them before theater main attractions. This concept birthed Merry Melodies and Looney Tunes, creating beloved characters Americans still watch.
Now and then, we flip to the Cartoon Channel to enjoy one or two golden oldies.
You’d think I couldn’t recollect so many cwazy cwitters, but their names pop into my brain like they’re family. Wile E. Coyote, Roadrunner, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweetie, Bettie Boop, Popeye, and Daffy Duck are easy. However, after so many years, I never imagined I’d instantaneously recognize Baby Huey, Speedy Gonzales, and Yosemite Sam. I remembered the rooster but had to research his name — Foghorn Leghorn. Obviously, I spent more Saturday mornings in front of our old black and white TV than I realized.
Recently, it occurred to me that these cartoons inspired me to teach English. Yes, the number of literary devices, references to literary characters and events, sophisticated language, and the clever incorporation of pun after pun (I’m a pun addict) inclined this word lover to study English and share her knowledge.
Until that moment shared with Daffy, Bugs, Baby Huey, and Porky, I didn’t realize these animated characters and their stories seeped into my brain and guided my career choice.
Dr. Jennings, a favorite professor and great mentor, encouraged me to connect students to Aesop’s Fables, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales because modern media so frequently references them. After considering, his recommendation was spot on. From then on, I incorporated social connections into lessons so students might better understand text.
Knowing what I know now, all of us would have benefitted from watching a daily Looney Tune. Those weren’t available on streaming all the years I taught, but they were during part of my career. After four years of cartoon exposure, students would have built a diverse background knowledge bank to help them understand such references.
While I recently watched Daffy, the quacker delivered a nursery rhyme my mom and grandma recited every time I delighted in unexpected discovery. Little Jack Horner with his plummy thumb and celebration that he was a good boy enchanted a little girl who loved exploring new information. In the same cartoon, Daffy pursued a doer of evil deeds.
Nobody dumbed down language for pre-school viewers. Daffy called the dirty, rotten rat a vicious scoundrel, clarifying exactly how dastardly that character was. Not only did these cartoons connect youngsters to western culture, they built excellent vocabularies based on Anglo-Saxon and Latinate roots.
After stumbling into this treasured memory hoard, I may continue to share plums I pluck. What a good way to travel through time!
Karen Madorin is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and sixth-generation Kansan.