During the glory days of my youth I was blessed with the presence of the countless cartoons that came on our television every Saturday afternoon.
It did not take me long to acknowledge the faces and voices of the most popular cartoons, such as Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. These guys, they got all kinds of hype.
I will admit at times, I was a victim of the overwhelming charm of these stars. As important as these characters have been in the development of the cartoon world, I think it is about time we give appreciation to the second-tier stars.
For a moment, I would like to throw a few names out at you: Elmer Fudd, Tasmanian Devil, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam. These are all names we can identify with, but have never come to give them the credit they deserve.
We get continuous laughs from the unfortunate and uncontrollable speech impediments of Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig and Sylvester. The audience anticipates Foghorn Leghorn and Wile E. Coyote getting demolished by numerous anvils, blown up by dynamite and burnt to a crisp by the cunning plots of the star characters.
Yosemite Sam, while viscous and hard-nosed, suffers from a lack of height and brainpower that ultimately leads to humiliation and many times, sheer pain.
Perhaps the worst of all, Tasmanian Devil plays the bad guy role and is not even given the right to freedom of speech because he simply does not have the ability to talk and explain his intentions.
We have been given characters willing to go through embarrassing, cruel and excruciatingly painful sacrifices to ensure that our invaluable time as four year olds does not go to waste.
I believe we have done these brave characters a disservice by displaying nearly zero recognition for their outstanding courage.
These heroes have risen from the ashes, quite literally, to provide us with unrivaled entertainment. It is about time credit is given where credit is due.
Jacob Stephenson is a senior at Oklahoma Christian University
0
0
Be First to Comment