Lessons Learned from TV

TV taught me to be a good person, hopefully I can impart some of those same lessons to my children

[lessonslearnedfromtv]

On Taking a Break - OK KO: Lets be Heroes - A Heroes Fate

If you want your kids to watch a cartoon that is full of 90s - 00s references, look no further than OK KO. This show can entertain your little ones about a young boy's journey to becoming a hero, with references to captain planet, video game culture, vblogging, and countless other jokes for the parents. One story does resonate for me regarding a character who resembles Cloud from Final Fantasy VII.

After a long robot battle, KO (the main hero) is excited to see if he finally leveled up. To his chagrin, he missed the mark by one experience point. His friends Rad and Enid decide to take a break after the long battle and unwind with some pool time. KO is aggravated that his level didn't increase and decides to join a "Hero" (essentially Cloud) on his quest to level his way to the top and defeat the evil Galgarion (generic bad guy). The two fight horde after horde, with KO drinking potions to regain his strength. They keep grinding, even though KO looks pretty exhausted. They grind through Galgarion's tower, and to the evil boss himself. The duo tried to attack Galgarion, to no avail. It seems Galgarion also leveled up. KO is fed up, and decides he NEEDS to take a break. He launches back to his friends.

Often in video games there's this idea of grinding (working until you achieve your goal, in case you didn't understand what I was saying earlier), until you reach that level. This can be similar to life, working at a goal non stop with no breaks to relax is really unhealthy. Everyone needs a break to unwind and hangout with your friends. I hope my children don't just grind away their life.

[lessonslearnedfromtv]

On Redemption - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Something I really appreciate is the change in direction for villans in recent television history. No longer do we have two dimensional characters that are hero fodder every week. We have complex characters that have motivations that change over time, usually to be heroes in their own right. I saw this a lot while watching Dragonball Z when I was a kid. A lot of television shows have villanous characters who switch sides, but no show has done this better than Avatar: The Last Airbender.

This post cannot focus on just one episode for the main antagonist, Zuko, since the change was slow over the course of three seasons. We intially are introduced to Zuko as the alienated prince, who vowed to redeem his honor by finding the avatar. Slowly over the course of three seasons, the audience sees his motivation, his fractured relationships with his family, and him questioning what we he really wants. The writers of Avatar: The Last Airbender did a great job knowing they wanted to tell this villan's story this way. Zuko is the best example of a villan turned hero. I purposely did not give too many details as to not ruin you watching the series.

I hope my children can see that a person is not just black and white, that everyone has motivations to act this way and that and can be eventually redeemed. They can be the hero that they know they can be. Do yourself a favor and watch Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Other great villans turned heroes:

Peridot - Steven Universe

Dinobot - Beast Wars

Razer - Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Most villans in My Little Pony

Every Dragonball Z chatacter

[lessonslearnedfromtv]

On Human Potential - One Punch Man: The Obsessive Scientist

What if you were the strongest hero on the planet? What if you could stop any villan with a single blow? What if having that power made you extremely bored with your life. This is the premise of the hilariously executed One Punch Man, but what is more interesting is the lesson he tells on how he gets his immense power.

A trembling defeated foe tells the protagonist the story of the man that sent to kill him. An obsessive scientist who realized that the only way to have a perfect world was to evolve his creations to test the limit of the human genome. This scientist created an immsensely powerful, but mentally unstable creation called Carnage Kubuto. He tells this creation to capture the hero, Saitama, dead or alive. The evovled creation and Saitama square off, but the creation realizes the One Punch Man has immense power. The bald headed hero decides to give away the secret to his great power: hard work. Doing push ups, situps, squats, and running for 3 years made the hero the one hit bruiser he was today. Saitama said it best: human beings are strong because we can change ourselves.

In stories such as these, it is often a mystical hammer, a radioactive bug bite, or a combination of science fiction that leads to a person to be a super hero. It is inspiring to see that the most powerful beings in this show, got to where he is with just hard, consistent work. Nothing special is needed but to work so hard you go bald. I can get behind that kind of hero.

[lessonslearnedfromtv]

On Loss of a Loved One - Rugrats: Mother's Day

I recently watched through a bunch of nostalgic Nickelodeon cartoons for the benefit of my son. Exposing him to the joys of my childhood is something I always planned on doing. Only one of these episodes made me she a tear for those I have lost.

Mother's day is a tribute to moms, unfortunately for the bespecled red head known as Charles Finster the III (Chuckie for short) he realizes he doesn't have one. The gang of toddlers decide to find Chuckie a mom so they would be able to search for mother's day gifts together. Early on in the episode, Chuckie's father left a box of his wife's mementos at the Pickles Residence for safe keeping. The gang tries several choice for moms including Angelica, the Queen Bee of the babies. None seem like a right fit for Chuckie. After messing up Angelica's present to her mom, she puts the babies in a time-out in the same closet that the mementos are stored. Chuckie realizes that his dad is the best example of a mom in his life. He finds a photo of his mom among the mementos, and decides to share this with his dad. His father decides to grieve the loss of his wife and share that loss with his son.

There is a special reason why this episode makes me emotional. I too lost a mother too soon, and I empathiszed with Chuckie's dad with sharing the grief with his loved ones. The lesson to be learned here is that the memory of lost loved ones lives forever as long as we choose to remember them. My mom (grandma to my kids), will fondly be remembered through the stories I tell my children and the many mementos we have that represents her impact on my life.

[lessonslearnedfromtv]

On Bailing Out - Steven Universe: Space Race

Most TV shows often exclaim perserverence, never giving up on your mission. Rarely do you see a TV show say it's all right to change direction. Steven Universe has a plethora of great messages, but one stands out personally.

Space Race highlights Pearl (an alien sentient rock) forlorned need to go back to her home world and to show Steven (a half-alien sentient protagonist) his galactic roots. She decided to build a rocketship with Steven and his earthly father, Greg. For laughs they make a flying machine worthy of domestic flights, but Pearl's aspiration goes farther than that, she wants to show Steven the stars. They attempt to break through our atmosphere, but the materials used to make their rocketship cannot withstand interatellar travel. Steven convinces Pearl that she has to know when to bail.

This resonates and parallels my life so we'll after much reflection of my 20s. I spent most of that decade studying for a test and a designation that was just out of reach. After many years of putting myself through undue stress I convinced myself to bail and change direction. I hope my kids will take this lesson from Steven Universe and know when to bail a goal that doesn't fit.