Popular Culture Topic Written Analysis 1

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The theory that could be applied to my popular culture topic of cartoons was the theory of them being icons.  For generations children have spent most of their childhood idolizing one cartoon character after another.  At a young age it starts with Elmo or Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh, and then gradually moves forward to Dora the Explorer or Disney Princesses, all the way until they are teenagers and their interests’ turns to more adult tone characters like Stewie from Family Guy or Bart off The Simpsons.  The reasoning behind cartoons airing at prime time is so adults can have their own cartoons to watch. 

Cartoon characters that are considered icons also contribute to the huge amount of retail sales of merchandise every year.  If you ever really sit and watch the Cartoon Network for a day and count how many toy commercials air, you would see why the toy industry is huge now days with figurines, video games, clothes, and accessories kids see each day on TV. 

The theory of cartoons being icons describes how they have evolved over the decades into a wide variety of chooses to watch and buy merchandise for the children.  What I want to know is what happened to the classic cartoons like Looney Toons, Popeye, Betty Bop, and Mickey Mouse?  At least the classic cartoons contained an understanding of morals in their story lines like would be seen on Smurfs and My Little Pony. 

The insight gained from this theory of icons in my popular culture of cartoons gives me an understanding in how cartoons change through the decades but there is still lessons that can be taught to the younger generation in cartoons they watch like Dora the Explorer teaches Spanish to kids at a young age.  But I still enjoy watching Looney Tunes every day at lunchtime because it reminds me of my childhood when my grandfather would sit and watch Saturday morning cartoons with me after chores were done.  It was the only day out of the week that cartoons were on, so it was considered a treat to be able to enjoy at least two to three hours’ worth of cartoons.