Ex Situ: Yo Gabba Gospel!

June 23, 2009

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Who would have thought that Twitter would be useful for more than paradigm-shifting omnidirectional awareness of social zeitgeist? Well, since joining Twitter (by the way, I joined Twitter: @overanalyzation), in addition to fomenting unrest I have found it to be a useful tool for discovering new and exciting over-analyzations. Like this one: our first Twitter-found article, from a re-tweet  by @SaturdayMorning of a tweet originally from @SpaceMonkeyX.

Space Monkey X (the son of Space Monkey IX, inventor of the tungsten grapefruit) has written an impressively detailed over-analyzation of Yo Gabba Gabba!, placing it firmly and confidently within the Abrahamic canon. Here are some choice quotes to hopefully get you to read the whole thing:

Unlike the Golem – and more like the Muslim story of Adam, the first man, created from sand, clay, water, and dirt – once they’ve been animated by their Master, the Gabba Gang enjoys a certain level of free will to play in Gabba Land. Lance is still a presence as He watches from above, but for the most part He lets them do their own thing. However, that’s not to say that Lance never intervenes, as He did with the bird seed in the episode referenced above. In fact, He will often influence the events below by dictating when the Gabba Gang should eat, sleep, what to play with (bouncy balls, balloons, Super Martian Robot Girl comic books, etc.), how to treat one another, and even reprimands them if they misbehave. Similarly, the Bible chapter Leviticus deals with the laws that were passed down to the Jews regarding what they should eat, how they should raise their children, proper sexual practices, and other guidelines so they could remain in God’s favor. Of course the punishment for going against Lance’s wishes takes the form of a wagging finger and a disappointed demeanor, rather than fire, brimstone, or a plague of frogs…

…This leads us to the question of what roles the Gabba Gang plays in this scenario. If DJ Lance is God and Plex is Jesus/Muhammad/Moses, who are Brobee, Toodee, Foofa, and Muno? One could argue they are the four major sects of religion that worship God – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity broken into Protestant and Catholic. Muno, for example, would definitely be considered Catholic thanks to the guilt he carries in being the one who knocked down the blocks, bit his friends, and took things from others. His numerous reiterations of the song, “I’m So Sorry”, including the line, “I can fix it / I can make it better” show his obvious desire to atone for his sins against DJ Lance’s moral teachings. However, trying to equate the other Gabbas with the “personalities” (AKA stereotypes) of the other religions becomes more difficult. Perhaps the best answer, then, is that they are, as the characters’ personalities imply, children.

“Jesus wept.” – John 11:35

Yo Gabba Gospel! >Catena Ex Situ

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Ex Situ: Darkness at Disney and Pixar

June 12, 2009

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[Editor's Note: I found this Ex Situ via the indispensable The Disney Blog.]

Mr. Michial Farmer at Ladder on Wheels has written an excellent two-parter about themes of darkness and anxiety in Disney and Pixar movies (including Up). It’s practically a survey of disturbing things in Disney and Pixar movies. The first part is all about how dark the early Disney features were, and how they lost some of that darkness after (roughly) World War II:

…All of the early Disney features—for our purposes, let’s define “early” as prewar, which would allow us to work with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi—are shiny and beautifully drawn, but all of their prettiness only serves to hide the deep, existential dread at their cores.

While Mr. Farmer has a good point, I do think he neglects some of the darker imagery of The Rescuers, The Black Cauldron, The Lion King, or even Lilo & Stitch. Though the darkness in these films isn’t quite as fundamental or thematic as most of the pre-WWII examples he gives.

His second part is all about how Pixar’s stories are successful partly because they have embraced those  mature themes which have been largely absent from the post-war Disney films. Here’s part of his discussion of Finding Nemo:

Finding Nemo, on the other hand, begins with a reference to and amplification of the central terror in Bambi. Here Marlin’s wife dies a terrible death just as they’re planning their life together, and the Barrucuda who eats her also goes ahead and takes out all but one of her eggs. Marlin—understandably, although the film doesn’t seem to acknowledge that!—becomes a picture of anxiety, protecting his disabled son (a nod to Dumbo, though Nemo doesn’t get the brutal mocking that his elephantine counterpart does) from the world that took his wife with little to no warning.

It’s very true that Pixar does not shy away from including  more sophisticated and mature themes. It’s certainly part of the reason why Pixar movies  resonate strongly with both kids and adults. Pixar also does not make the mistake (common among the filmgoing public) of mistaking “dark/edgy” for “dark/mature.” A lot of cartoon and comic fans seem to think it validates their love of the artform if disturbing stuff is haphazardly included, whether or not it actually adds anything symbolically or thematically. Pixar probably learned its lesson after that first disastrous “edgy” draft of Toy Story.

Deep in the Big Black Heart of the Sunshine State
Part 1 >Catena Ex Situ
Part 2 >Catena Ex Situ

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Leave a Comment » | A Bug's Life, Atlantis, Bambi, Bolt, Brother Bear, Cars, Chicken Little, Cinderella, Dumbo, Fantasia, Finding Nemo, Home on the Range, Lady and the Tramp, Lilo and Stitch, Meet the Robinsons, Monsters Inc., Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Song of the South, The Black Cauldron, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Incredibles, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, The Rescuers, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Up, WALL-E, death, ex situ, morality, philosophy, villains, violence | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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Ex Situ: The Tragedy of Hercules

June 9, 2009

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Mr. Kyle Evans at Canned Geek has an interestingly dark take on Disney’s Hercules (a film which was kind of a mess, but kooky and enjoyable). He finds the film to be quite the parental tragedy:

…Yet for all that Hercules goes through – both physical and mental – I argue that the characters who suffer the most hardship in the entire film are Hercules parents, Zeus and Hera…

…The idea that these parents are separated from their child, yet can look upon him from Mount Olympus as though through a one-way mirror is just heartbreaking.  For eighteen years Zeus and Hera can see their son, but they can’t interact with him. Young Hercules doesn’t even know who his real parents are…

…There is no happy ending for Zeus and Hera. They lose their son, watch him grow up for eighteen years, are teased with the prospect of being re-united and finally are rejected by their son. That would have to hurt.

Still, it could have been worse. There’s definitely some weird, unaddressed melancholia in Hercules, e.g. the surprisingly accurate depiction of the Ancient Greek concept of the afterlife.

Click below to read Mr. Evan’s full article, which also includes ruminations on parental figures in other films directed by Musker and Clements.

The Tragedy of Hercules > Catena Ex Situ

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Ex Situ: When Theme and Plot Get Out of Sync

June 4, 2009

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Just in time for Up: WALL•E!

SynchroLux (né Kevin Koch) decided to revisit WALL•E and share some of his thoughts on the relationship between theme and plot:

My issue, put simply, is that the film’s theme was revealed and resolved early, robbing the remainder of the film of meaning.  Put another way, by climaxing and resolving the theme about half way through the movie, it ended up feeling like two distinct, shorter episodes welded together, with the first one quite a bit more compelling than the second.

and:

Let’s take a step back and look at the issue of theme.  Plot is about what happens, to whom, and in what order.  Theme is what the film is about.  Themes give films meaning, depth, and enhance our sense of entertainment.  Not all films have much of a theme, but I’d argue strongly that there are no memorable or great films that don’t have well-developed themes that infuse and drive the narrative. And, as I recall reading somewhere I can’t place now, the great films tend to make the resolution of the theme the key to resolving the plot…

His primary solution, which will not be completely revealed here, is to tweak  the character of Captain McCrea to keep more in synch with the theme to get that nice, endorphin-releasing thematic resolution.

…Perhaps the Captain, instead of being a bored dope, could have been a devoted scholar of man’s time on Earth.  Maybe this is how he spent his countless hours of leisure time, looking at old National Geographics…

Mr. Koch’s specific objection of thematic resolution never bothered me, since the movie supports all manner of thematic analysis and symbolism, despite what Mr. Stanton says. I don’t think WALL•E truly possesses one consistent theme, but seems to be a bit of a hodgepodge.

I do like his idea of tweaking the Captain character, since his transformation to proactive go-getter was a little bit easy. (The filmmakers did at least right away show how bored he was with his day-to-day routine.) I wouldn’t tweak quite so dramatically as Mr. Koch suggests, since this might rob the film of any suspense  or mystery regarding Captain McCrea if we know from the outset that he’s going to be emphatically on WALL•E’s side. It might also telegraph the return-to-Earth ending a little too much. Having the Captain as an interested go-getter from the start would also undercut a bit of the importance of humanity taking charge again. He can’t seem like the kind of guy who would have already flipped the switch to MANUAL.

WALL•E: When Theme and Plot Get Out of Sync > Catena Ex Situ

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The Art of Bill Melendez

May 26, 2009

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Here’s a great 10-minute mini-documentary on the artistry and influence of Bill Melendez, the animator who created most of the Peanuts specials we all know and love. Very interesting, especially how it ties in the Peanuts specials with Hitchcock, Kubrick, and Wes Anderson. It’s worth short time it takes to watch. (via Cartoon Brew)

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Leave a Comment » | A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown, psych, video | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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Surnames of the Future

May 22, 2009

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Contributed by Alexander R.

One of the things I remember strongly from watching cartoons as a child was the names. Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble. George Jetson. I thought it marvellous that the names fitted the surroundings, and I delighted in spotting the essentially terrible puns that was every non-main-character name in The Flintstones. (Actually the strongest thing I remember was being so frustrated at the super-obvious plot turns in The Flintstones. I could see the misunderstanding or conflict coming so far ahead that I had to leave the room until the inevitable happened and I could carry on watching.) But names in The Flintstones were understandable. They were named after stone because it was the dawn of civilization, and they were surrounded by stone. Not much imagination required. But The Jetsons was our future. This meant that our world turned into their world over time. So where did the names come from?

The 1881 census of Great Britain showed that the top nine surnames were Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor, Davies, Wilson, Evans, and Thomas. A recent survey showed the country’s top nine surnames were exactly the same, in exactly the same order. Names are chosem according to fashion, while surnames are passed down from parent to child. The same survey did note the dying out of surnames such as Balls, Death, and Shufflebottom, so we can see that bad names can die out. It also showed an increase in foreign surnames such as Zhang, Singh, and Patel, as immigration brings names with them. But none of this explains the arisal of entirely new names, such as Jetson, Spacely and Cogswell. In this article, I posit a few theories as to how such names could develop.

The first is name mutation. When people move to a country with a different language, their name may be difficult to pronounce, or may lose subtleties when transliterated into the local alphabet and pronunciation system. The immigrants may alter their name to fit in with the new culture. So George Jetson’s antecedents may have been Jessens, Janssens, Jeong Suns, or Jha-Sas, who gave up their heritage to ease assimilation into American (or wherever The Jetsons is set) culture.

The second possibility could arise from gender equality. While there isn’t a lot of evidence that women’s rights has a strong hold in the future, today we can see a rising issue of tradition versus equality in the concept of surnames. While a woman can keep her own surname when marrying, the question still remains: whose surname will the child take? Double-barrelled names are one option, if not a long term one, as double-barrelled marries double-barrelled and surnames grow exponentially. Another solution is that boys take the father’s name, and daughters take the mother’s name. However, this option can create large amounts of confusion. Let us assume for this article that a third solution is developed in the future: portmanteau. Upon a marriage, a new surname is created, using half of the man’s name and half of the woman’s. The order and proportion would probably be juggled to produce a suitable-sounding name. So when Ms. Nakamura marries Mr. Gruber, they both take the name Grumura, or Nakaber, or whatever they decide between them sounds good. So through generations of Concepcións, Garcías, Johnsons and Powells, one can arrive at a surname such as Cogswell.

The third option is a totally different approach to surnames. Take your fathers? Whatever? So last century. One still can’t legally change your name until eighteen, except in cases of extremely stupid parents. A judge in New Zealand determined that a nine-year-old is legally allowed to change her given name, if that name is Tallulah Does the Hula from Hawaii. But as Generation Y takes over, and young people grow increasingly determined to set their own stamp on themselves, it becomes a rite of passage to choose your own surname. Then surnames would change with fashion. If technology is sexy, technological names will arise. Jet? Jets are cool. Add a ‘son’ to make it sound like a surname should, and young George is off!

The final possibility I will touch on only briefly, as I am aware it has been discussed before, and that is nuclear holocaust. The theory that the world of The Jetsons is on unnecessarily tall and fragile pillars because the ground has become a nuclear wasteland upon which no human could survive is not one I have invented. But suffice it to say that rebuilding from an apocalyptic showdown between man and machine may inspire many to set aside reminders of the past. Indeed, there is a certain comfort to the thought that we are not connected to the atrocities that took place in the vast expanse beneath the clouds known only as “The Below”. Worry about the flesh-eating mutants that roam the surface? Me? Don’t be silly. They’re from another era. They ate people like Smith and Jones. My name is Jetson, and I will live forever.

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Ex Situ: Freud on Seuss

May 15, 2009

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It seems to me rather easy to claim one’s writing to be Freudian by simply peppering with “id,” “ego,” and “superego,” and perhaps throwing in “cigar” or two. This is much in the same way that episodes of BraveStarr can be repurposed into Law & Order scripts by replacing all musical cues with “chung-chung” and/or Jerry Orbach.

So I am unqualified to testify as to the verisimilitude of the following Ex Situ, which is a review of The Cat in the Hat that appeared in The Koala, the student humor magazine of UCSD.

After pooh-poohing the righteous rantings of the waterlogged Christ figure, the Cat begins to juggle several icons of Western culture, most notably two books, representing the Old and New Testaments, and a saucer of lactal fluid, an ironic reference to maternal loss the two children experienced when their mother abandoned them “for the afternoon.” Our heroic Id adds to this bold gesture a rake and a toy man, and thus completes the Oedipal triangle.

Freud on Seuss > Catena Ex Situ

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From the archives: The Morality of Sugar Bear

April 24, 2009

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So what’s the deal with Sugar Bear (you know, that seemingly cute character that always terrorizes his victims by chanting the “you can’t get enough of that Golden Crisp” jingle), is he a good guy or a bad guy? While the traditional response is that he’s a good guy, I propose that he is pure evil. He’s constantly stealing the cereal from Granny Goodwitch, and doesn’t her name suggest that she’s a “good witch?” She goes all the way back to the old wild west in an attempt to escape him, but he’s always there, he’s always one step ahead, waiting to crush the hopes and dreams of an old lady. And if he is a good guy, is this encouraging kids to steal?
- Contributed by Joshua L.

Hmm, actually Sugar Bear has constantly walked the line between good and evil. In all of his early commercials he was that defender and not the aggressor. Alligators and other animals would constantly try to steel his Super Golden Crisp and he would eat it and smack them around (think Popeye with cereal). But in his more recent commercials he does indeed steel cereal from Granny Goodwitch, so the question is, what caused Sugar Bear to fall from grace?
-Contributed by Karmacide

Reading this stuff about Sugar Bear’s transformation from good guy to bad made me think that this change was brought about by society’s view of sugar! Originally, the cereal was known as Post Super Sugar Crisp. Somewhere in the 1980’s, society decided that all things sugar were bad (note that Tony the Tiger once sold “Sugar Frosted Flakes”). Sugar was demonized, and dropped from the names of cereals everywhere – Kellogg’s Corn Pops and Honey Smacks were once Sugar Pops and Sugar Smacks – thus the transformation to Super Golden Crisp. Unable to change the name of an established and possibly possible character, the powers that be probably changed the animated ursine’s personality traits to make them more in line with the view of sugar in American society.
- Contributed by Rich S.

Actually (at the risk of dating myself) Sugar Bear was part of a trilogy of cartoons that used to run on ABC in the late 60s/early 70s (?). He appeared in his own episode along with a postman that represented another Post cereal, Alpha-bits, and a lion that represented yet another cereal I have forgotten. In his cartoon, he was a good character.
- Contributed by Ken G.

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2 Comments | Sugar Bear, Tony the Tiger, from the archives, morality, villains | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
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Mini-Analyzations

April 20, 2009

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  • In Little Bear, the Bear family celebrates not Christmas or Hanukkah or even Kwanzaa, but “Winter Solstice.” This implies that the Bears are, in fact, pagans. It is also curious that the adult bears wear clothes while Little Bear is free to roam naked. Perhaps there is a coming of age ritual (a breeching?) in which younger bears are finally allowed to wear clothes as part of their symbolic transition into adulthood.
    -Contributed by The Editor
  • Several of The Backyardigans can be associated with a different continent:
    • Pablo the penguin (family Spheniscidae)→ Antarctica
    • Tasha the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) → Africa
    • Austin the kangaroo (genus Macropus)→ Australia

    Tyrone is either a North American moose or a European elk (Alces alces). Uniqua is most likely either a mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) or an axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), both found in North America. Thus, Tyrone must be associated with Europe.
    -Contributed by The Editor

  • Handy Manny can be viewed as one man’s quixotic battle against the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
    -Contributed by The Editor
  • I’ve finally figured out a common trait in lovable cartoon dogs: a relatively large nose.
    • debonair dog Brian Griffin has a massive fan base (which I am part of)
    • Scooby Doo has enormous fame, not to mention his face on lots of merchandise
    • Muttley (popular in Britain at least) has a capability to do anything without getting in trouble. i.e. people will feel sorry for him more often than not.
    • Augie Doggy and Doggie Daddy (of Quick Draw McGraw) have a pleasant un-harmful air to their appearances.

    -Contributed by UCH

  • This is more of a question than an observation. Exactly what time period does Batman: The Animated Series take place? Look at the cars (Batmobile excluded) all of them are from roughly the mid 40’s and all the gangsters wear pinstripe suits and use tommy guns. (Including some of the villains look at Scarface and Two-face) But for all these antiquated references the people of Gotham city still use cellular phones, satellite communication, the latest in biological engineering and lasers, not to mention the multitude of nifty gadgets the super villains use.
    -Contributed by Dante Wyrmfoe

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5 Comments | Batman, Family Guy, Handy Manny, Mini-Analyzations, Scooby-Doo, villains | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
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Pokemon Explained

April 9, 2009

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[Editor's note: This incredible, epic article has been floating around the web for about a year; it's originally from one of the memers at 4chan  (though it is suspected to have actually been written by either Francis Bacon, Mary Anne Evans, or George Eliot). Recently over at deviantART, an individual known only as BellicoseBreakfast took it upon itself to edit and proof the article for improved readability and coherence, and post it on the deviantART forum. For this, we are most grateful. Rather than merely link to a forum, diaphanous and mercurial as feline affection, we have taken the liberty of reposting it below in its lengthy entirety, with a merciful page break.]

ashslapHave you ever noticed that the pacing, tone and story development of Pokemon changes after Ash is hit by lightning in the early episodes, how Ash and his world were relatively normal until after the incident?

I have a theory.

The accident with the bike put Ash into a coma. Days later he was found and was hurried to the hospital and treated with heavy medications, which is why Team Rocket became less menacing. The medication took effect and stabilized his coma dreams so that instead of being terrifying, they became idyllic, allowing him to live out his Pokemon master fantasies.

After the beginning episodes, the series is the result of Ash’s subconscious mind fulfilling his desires, as well as attempting to escape reality. Should Ash realize he’s in a coma, he would wake up, but suffer brain damage, so he must take down all of his mental barriers one by one until he can come to grips with who he is and escape his coma (since his mind will not allow him to escape until he’s come to terms with himself).

Further evidence comes from the realization that even though his journeys take him vast distances, he never travels on a bike due to having developed a phobia.

The coma and fantasy explains why he doesn’t change much physically. It also explains the worldwide socialism, as he thought up a safe system of government that would run smoothly and keep the world going, allowing his adventures to work like they do. It also explains how a child can go off on his own into a world full of dangerous and untamed animals, and why town has the same police officer and every Pokemon centre has the exact same nurse. Joy and Jenny he knew from his hometown, and they act as a safety net or anchor, allowing him to feel safe no matter where he goes. Joy and Jenny represent stability. The professors represent Ash’s ideals, which is why Gary became a professor. The fantasy also explains why every time he enters a new region, virtually no one has heard of him, despite his conquests. How could Paul, the rival of the Sinnoh area, not know of someone who has placed in at least the top 16 of all three leagues and has destroyed the Orange League and Battle Frontier?

Read the rest of this entry »

165 Comments | Pokemon, cross-dressing, death, homosexuality, villains | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
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