Past Opinion Articles

Article for the week of 4/14/09

Thoughts from Nevada

What happens when you take away the rose-colored glasses....
By Puns McKenna

A lot of people have no idea what the phrase, “seeing life through rose-colored glasses”, means. These are the people, I believe, that have no clue what life is truly about. They walk through life looking at the “positive” side to everything, and studiously ignoring the negativity that flows around them every day. Now, is it wrong to look for the positive in everything? Heck no! In truth it is by far better to look for the good in all things. However, it is never wise to ignore the negative aspects of life.

Let me cite an example here to sort of explain what I mean. Say you’re walking in the jungle and suddenly you see this gorgeous Bengal Tiger. Now, you’re awed by the magnificence of this great animal. So much so that you don’t see the gaping jaws full of razor-sharp teeth waiting to tear you apart. Is it right to admire the beauty of the large predator? Of course it is, that’s a no brainer, but here’s something that the watcher should be aware of. The beauty holds a very real, very lethal threat. The beautiful coat hides a well-oiled killing machine, which has more muscle mass than the average human. The soft, fuzzy face holds a set of powerful jaws with enough power to crush the femur of a grown man in one chomp. And don’t let those four large sleek feet fool you. Encased inside those soft furry sheaths are the deadliest sets of honed talons imaginable.

Now, you wouldn’t have expected that because Jack Hannah showed you how easy it was to pet one of these lovely beasts, right? How about another example to illustrate my point? Now, the above mentioned scenario is about that soft, docile looking jungle cat that you saw on the television. Do we believe everything that we see on TV? Let me ask this, it may seem silly, but bear with me, please! Do we believe that everything we see on television is either real or safe? Do you believe that just because something is animated it should automatically be appropriate for children?

Well, let me just say this about that. If we believed that everything we ever saw on TV was ever as truly easy as they show it, there’d be a lot fewer people in this world. There is a reason why we have the Darwin Awards, afterall. Oh yeah, I’m gonna tell my friends, “Hey y’all watch this!”, and go out there to try and catch me a Bengal Tiger with a hunk of steak I bought at the store last week. What on earth is supposed to make me believe that good old Tigey-wigey is going to stop with said meat? That is well and truly the perfect way to remove yourself from the gene pool permanently.

As to animation and it’s viability for young viewers. I’m sure that we all can agree on a couple of shows that were billed to be kid friendly, but were decidedly not. We all remember Beavis and Butthead, don’t we? How about South Park? Do any of y’all remember that being billed as okay for the entire family, because it was animated? To be perfectly honest, this isn’t just limited to television shows. There are several movies out there that have been made animated that are in no way shape or form appropriate for young viewers. Heck, they aren’t even appropriate for some adult viewers.

Normally I would say most to that last statement, but I felt it better to be more general that specific. The point is, you can’t be sure whether a show is good enough for certain age groups to watch until you’ve personally seen the movie/show. Sure there are lots of movies out there that tout a G or PG rating that is totally bogus. Just why is it bogus, you ask? The answer to that is simple. Sex, violence, death, and animation sell, in that order. That doesn’t mean that you can trust the observations and opinions of everyone else above your own.

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