Lessons from Professor Tom & Crew
We
all used to love watching cartoons, didn't we? At times, in the right frame of
mind, we still like doing it. These days, if and when I watch a cartoon, the
thing that draws me is how unblemished a world it is. There are no dark shades
even in the villain of the story. There is a constant undercurrent of Love. Most
of the time, it depicts the triumph of goodness.
Remember Tom & Jerry? If that
cartoon hasn't taught you to not take hatred seriously, I don’t think anything
ever will!
One concern was that in those days,
cartoons were on paper (2D) and hence there was a disconnect from the real
world - both in the depiction & the story lines. Today’s cartoons are much
more evolved - again both in the medium of portrayal and the messages they
give.
A child these days is much more
aware of epic novels and the religious texts, thanks again to the toons and
animation movies. The stories are beautifully portrayed and the best part, the
characters talk and conduct in today’s language and context. At the same time,
it doesn't lose out on the ethos and the core values.
Look at the animation movie, 'Finding
Nemo'. The theme is a child – parent conflict. It is about how a paranoid parent doesn't want to let go of an over enthusiastic youngster who is dying to follow
his own destiny. The beauty of it is that not for a moment during the movie it
puts the theme upfront and thus it makes sure the entertainment quotient is not
lost.
These movies are taking on complex
themes too. Look at Despicable Me 2. A villain wants to turn in to a do-gooder owing
to societal and familial situations. He is lured by his past and compelled by
his present. How more real can it get than this?
I would say the best such movie that
came out in recent times was ‘Kungfu Panda’. I do not know how many sermons I
would have had to listen, how many volumes of self help books I would have had
to read through to get that message – that the secret ingredient in life is
nothing but Inner Peace! How beautifully that message was conveyed through the
movie. Again, not even for a second did it sound preachy. There are many more
movies – Rio, Madagascar; the list is quite long.
At times, we tend to take our lives
way too seriously. We make it more complex than is needed. Certain situations
make us doubt the power of goodness. It might do wonders if we take time out
and catch a cartoon or a movie to get the right perspective.
Arun Babu
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