Hello bulldogs! Welcome to Student Media’s first installment of November which we are unofficially referring to as “throwback month”. During this month we will be exploring topics that we hope ignites a sense of nostalgia within you. And the topic for this article is cartoons!
We grew up with a lot of pop-culturally impactful and iconic cartoons. If I wanted to compile a list of every single one I would probably be here for a good while. But today I would like to highlight three cartoons in particular: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Blues Clues.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) offered many unique qualities. From the stunning animation, beautifully choreographed combat scenes, and emotional character development. This series gave more than we could probably genuinely appreciate at our younger age. But as I and other fans of the show have grown up, we can actually acknowledge all the admirable aspects of this show.
The aspect that I personally love the most about this show is the characters. As many of us are probably familiar with, ATLA follows the story of elemental benders (water, earth, fire, & air), and the Avatar who can bend all four elements. Throughout the story we are introduced to a variety of different characters, benders and non-benders alike, of all ages and genders. But what this show impressively did was portray women characters in an empowering light. Erica Bahrenburg wrote in her article on Film School Rejects, “Soldiers in armies are male and female, the Avatar is not restricted to one gender, and princesses and highborn ladies are not damsels in distress. Regardless of gender, each character is given equal attention to develop organically and realistically.” From Katara the water-bender, Toph the earth-bender, the Kyoshi warriors, Avatar Kyoshi, and many more, this show has an abundance of awesome women.
I remember feeling a sense of admiration for many of the women characters of ATLA when I was little. Notable scenes that initiated such emotions included Katara challenging sexist traditions, Toph proving herself to arguably be one of the most powerful benders in the series despite some people questioning her due to her disability, and Suki (the leader of the Kyoshi warriors) showing Sokka that women can be powerful warriors.
I’m glad to know that I grew up watching a show that offered such uniquely written and amazing women characters that I could look to. And to know that ATLA has recently gained popularity again in younger generations makes me even more happy the kids will get to see these characters and feel a sense of empowerment as well.
Now let’s discuss one of the more darker series some of us grew up watching, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. If you are a Star Wars fan of any age, this series really outdid itself when it came to contributing more depth to the storylines that took place before the original Star Wars trilogy. We got to follow familiar characters such as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they continued on their adventures throughout the galaxy. Then we were introduced to a new character by the name of Ahsoka Tano. She ended up being Anakin’s student/padawan who trained under him through many of the series’ seasons. This trio along with many other characters helped give a more indepth look at the war that unfolded across the galaxy before the rain of Darth Vader.
But as I mentioned, this was one of the darker series we had while growing up, and war is not an easy subject to portray and discuss with younger audiences. “While the show doesn’t have anything that would push it into an R or PG-13 rating, it doesn’t shy away from exploring the horrors of war,” wrote Emily Hannemann at TV Insider. We got storylines that discussed enslavement, soldier exploitation, government corruption, and human trafficking. The list could go on, but this series had a way of discussing heavier topics through characters that many of us grew up loving. From the jedi, clone soldiers, and even the siths, some wicked stories and messages came out of this series.
Fans of this show waited 6 years to receive the final season of this original series, but we are still receiving Clone Wars related projects in recent years. With series such as Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021) exploring more clone soldier based story lines after the events of Clone Wars, and we just got Star Wars: Tales of The Jedi (2022) that explores and continues the stories of many of the jedi we were previously introduced to. So needless to say, Clone Wars may have officially wrapped up, but we are still getting similar content that relates back to this series that many loved.
Now let’s really throw it back to a show that many of us are probably familiar with from our early childhood years. I’m talking about the one and only Blue’s Clues. Many of us have probably not been watching Blue’s Clues as of recently, but I feel it is safe to say that those of us who grew-up watching this show have fond memories. We all remember Steve and Blue as they sang about getting the mail, finding clues, and we sat in our big red thinking chair. Like I said, lots of fond memories!
When we look back on Blue’s Clues now we can actually take a moment to appreciate what it did for us. It taught problem solving skills, numbers, colors, etc. Steve and Blue helped to teach us a good amount of basic knowledge and learning skills. If we want to get really specific, this show did a lot more in its own meaningful way. This kids cartoon made an effort to be inclusive and tackle social issues in its own subtle ways. “Since the show’s premiere, it’s also been praised for its inclusion of real-world topics, the incorporation of sign language and breaking social stigmas. For example, though Blue and her friend Magenta are girl dogs, their color does not signify a gender, which helps teach kids that color can be for anyone,” wrote Alexandra Cortez at Study Breaks.
It’s nice to know that this show has recently gotten a 2019 reboot, Blue’s Clues and You!, that continues to promote inclusivity while simultaneously educating its younger audience. This reboot has offered Filipino representation through its newest host Joshua Dela Cruz, and even promotes LGBTQ+ equality and acceptance. In 2021, Blues Clues and You! created a song-along video which featured drag queen Nina West singing as an animated pride parade strolled behind her. A variety of different pride flags were displayed as the adorable song promoted positivity and pride.
It’s also nice when you think about how much the original Blue’s Clues still holds value with its original viewers. Last year Steve Burns, the original host of Blue’s Clues, posted a heartwarming message to original fans of the show 19 years after he originally left the show. He was yet again in his signature green striped shirt addressing how he abruptly left all those years ago and recognizing just how far we’ve all come since we last saw each other. How beautifully ironic that Steve left to go to college all those years ago and then we got to see him again as we ourselves are in college. I’m sure I’m not the only one that openly teared up as our ol’ pal Steve was back once again, reminiscing on the past and acknowledging just how much we’ve all grown as people.
And for all of you that haven’t emotionally recovered from Steve’s sincere message, I’m glad to say that our own school will be welcoming Steve Burns on February 21st. So grab your handy dandy notebooks and prepare to enjoy an evening with a familiar face!
We’ve undoubtedly had many incredible cartoons to watch as kids. Each one offered unique characters, storylines, and messages. It’s even nice to know that some of these cartoons are still being continued in different ways in the present. Whether it’s the past or the present, these cartoons continue to present us with admirable qualities.
References:
The Ambitious Equality of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Official Website of Texas Lutheran University's Student Media 