"I learnt everything from... cartoons"

I have a night shirt that says this:

(Of course, I wouldn't go back in time). But this is what I perceive is people's perception of me. 

The date a cartoon character part got me thinking - what cartoon character would I date? Kermit? Roger Rabbit? Tintin? (Personally I'd pick Richard Feynman, but he's technically not a cartoon). Maybe Mickey Mouse. I don't know why, but I have always found him fascinating.

I love watching cartoons. I still watch them and contrary to popular belief I don't think watching TV kills your imagination. I mean, without Discovery Channel, how are you going to dream of visiting all those amazing and exotic places you have never seen? And it lets you know that there is so much more than you think and that it's okay to open your mind and go wild.

One of my earliest famous quotes was, "I learnt everything from cartoons". This was when I was about three-and-a-half years old and my sister just came back home on vacation from boarding school. I'm told she was extremely surprised and wondered where I learnt to speak so much English and I apparently said, "I learnt everything from cartoons". This may not be untrue.

I had the advantage of spending my very early years in a foreign country - in Oman, in addition to having "hip" parents. Being in the the "Gulf", in the days when TV programming in general was very limited, gave us huge exposure to a variety of children's shows. We got shows from all over the world - American, British, French cartoons, Arabic children's shows, educational cartoons, war cartoons (lots of American war cartoons from the 40s) - in Arabic (original and dubbed) and in English.

I never learnt any Arabic, but I certainly did learn most of my English from there. These cartoons were our first exposure to "western" culture. And music. I'm not a huge fan of Tom and Jerry, but I must give it credit for not only our early education in Western Classical music but also to exposure to jazz. Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Bizet - all the greats. I learnt every Beatles song I know (well, almost) from The Beatles cartoons. Taught my niece and nephew to rock to Bohemian Rhapsody by The Muppets (watch the video here). Taught them rock (the good music from my days) in general through both The Muppets and Alvin and the Chipmunks and pop through Sesame Street.

The Beatles

We learnt random facts: Apples contain Arsenic (GI Joe) (actually it contains a cyanide compound, but now you know to believe those grandma's tales about apple seeds being poisonous); the scientific name for a platypus used to be ornithorhynchus paradoxus; how a phonograph works; omelette du fromage.

Cartoons are your first exposure to stereotypes, politics, war. We've watched so many American war shorts, learnt those songs, sang along - all without specifically thinking it was propaganda. (Personally, I just thought they were just being patriotic!) And as you grow up, you learn to appreciate social/political satire. Not just language, you learn nuances, word plays. You learn to read between the lines of the caricature.

Oh, Apu!

Everything I know in Spanish, I learnt from Dora. I learnt practical jokes from Woody Woodpecker. I learnt to envy the mind so brilliant, that which came up with Meet The Beat Alls. And I learnt that cats are the coolest (ThunderCats. Swat Kats. Top Cat. KlondaikeKat (he always gets his mouse) ). 

So boys and girls, the next time you see your kids watching cartoons and you want to join them, give in. And always remember Garfield's words, "If it's on television, it must be true".