Who is really the bad guy? The 80's, the hair, the colors, the end of
an era. With the inauguration of Gorbachev into the U.S.S.R tensions
between the Soviets and Americans began to decrease, but leading up to that
dissent was as strong as ever. Rules for counter insurgency (Defined as weeding out violent dissent with in a foreign nations civilian population) is winning over the youngest generation so that when they reach young adulthood sentiment can swing in favor of the force being targeted (As in American soldiers seen giving candy to kids in the Iraq conflict). America has taken a proactive approach to U.S. Youth by using cartoons to influence young kids behavior. Things like cigarettes and alcohol are strictly forbidden to be advertised to kids, as in the example with Joe Cool for Camel cigarettes. On the other hand to sway public opinion cartoons have been used to influence kids since TV was created. I have three examples
demonstrating villains as being from nations at odds,at the time,with
the U.S. Focusing mostly on the Soviet Union,but also an example of Iran.
First is Hulk Hogan's Rock 'N' Wrestling cartoon episode named Driving Me Crazy. The two main bad guys are a Russian named Nicholi, and an Iranian named the Iron Sheik. The cartoon is based around the the Sheiks in-ability to drive. Thick accents ,rule breaking, and in what America views as the traditional clothing categorizes these villains(I mean it is the middle of summer does Nicholi really need to be in his winter clothes?!). Also notice the aggressiveness of the vehicle they drive compared to Hulk Hogan. There vehicle of choice is an over sized monster truck,that crushes and pushes everything in and out of its way.Hulk Hogan, on the other hand, drives a smooth looking Cadillac(Demonstrating enemies of the state's inherent aggressivness). Nicholi and the Sheik, unable to solve their driving woes themselves , inlist help from a white American for help. He has all the right tips, but the "stupid" villains cannot possibly learn the correct way to drive, so insted they cheat to pass the driving test. Which of course proves unsuccessful,because???Yep you guessed it,the stupidity of the Russian Nicholi.
The next cartoon is based of the popular movie franchise RAMBO. The name of the cartoon is Rambo and the Forces of Freedom and the episode name is Snow Kill. This might be the biggest lopsided adaption I have ever seen. The Rambo series was a hyper violent series with an emotionally challenged Vietnam veteran, alone, doing the only thing he was ever good at,killing lots and lots of people. In this series Rambo is no longer a lone soldier. He has a team of diverse allies who go around the world to stop a force of mercenaries and Neo-nazis. The head mercenary of the the bad guys is categorized by being European,but he is clearly of Soviet descent. His name is Griper because his metal claw,he has an eye patch,and wears a red beret. The series was made in 1986 so they do not call anyone overtly Soviet,but it is still implied. He is hyper violent,he leads or is part of all the attacks against civilian populations, and is ruthless. While on the other side you have Rambo,who kills literally hundreds through out the movie series is a friendly and emotionally stable guy in the cartoon. He is willing, at a moments notice, to jump into combat, and in this episode is actually seen talking to a family of whales about their kids.
The third clip is called "The Rescue",watch the beginning how the opposing force invades and captures a South American nation. The leader in the tank is clearly Soviet ,and again Gripper is seen busting in on a family taking them prisoner. It is important to note that during the 80's was the top secret Operation Condor in which the U.S. government supported dictators and government coups in Latin and South American countries to protect against those nations becoming communist(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor). The way in which we manipulated the rest of the Americas for our own portection is spun here to look like a reactive(As opposed to the Soviets aggresive approaches) response to cries of help from a small bullied South American nation. In the movies Rambo would have probaly been forced or tricked into the role of savior,going in alone and leaving bodies in his wake.Not in this RAMBO! In this episode the U.S. government sends a group of their best,with Rambo, to save the nation of Tiara Libre of Northern South America,and free them from the tranny of this invading foreign force.
In Closing-
It is hard to say how I feel about these cartoons or cartoons from the 80’s in general. Cartoons from G.I. Joe to Rambo have aggressive Soviet stereotypes, and these are, most likely, the first exposure to American Soviet politics kids actually paid attention to in the 1980’s. The real question is the painting a false reality a bad thing? The countries paint America as a truly courageous and righteous hero, responding only to soviet or other U.S. enemy aggression. Even in the Hulk Hogan cartoon intended to be a comedy, the villains are shown to be big stupid brutes, and though this is not reality, I am not totally sure that by distorting reality a little bit for children to love their country is a bad thing. If we look at elementary school education many negative aspects of history are left out. Things like our founding fathers racism, extra martial affairs, or war crimes are not taught to children. Kids in third grade do not learn about American settlers in-humane treatment of native Americans giving them blankets infected with small pox’s , or that the U.S only won the Revolutionary war through a series of British errors coupled with the King’s decision that the conflict was not worth the economic burden it was causing the crown. Censoring this material gives children a sense of pride, and I am not sure whether that is bad or good. All I know is my dad always told me you only get one first impression. The first thing we show children is something that could have a lifetime of implications. We teach and show kids the most positive awe inspiring information and media early in child hood, and through out there lifetime they can decide if their original pro-American thoughts are a reality ,or just a cloud covering the truth. Of course we could do the opposite and air realistic cartoons showing U.S. faults. This could cause kids grow up pessimistic, and spectacle of U.S. policies and international affairs. I do not think that they will riot or protest, but is a little American nationalism a bad thing? Or is it bad that we need to teach nationalism through skewed media?
~Jason Suhy
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