something I am grateful for today

[johncomic]

The Jetsons premiered fifty years ago today. The show was such an immense formative influence on me that traces of it persist even into my present-day work. And I also mentioned it more specifically in a graphic novel script I wrote in the 90s.


Two people are out for drinks. HE is a freelance writer who writes a popular-science column. SHE is a waitress. Here is some of their conversation over drinks:

HE: ...remember, I was really little at the time, but yeah: that's what got me into science as a kid -- The Jetsons.

SHE: >tsk< >giggle<

HE: No no, think about it. They show you a world where everything's faster and cleaner and safer and more fun and... and nicer... all because of technology!
That's what got me thinking about... knowledge as-as a force for good.

SHE: I didn't like The Jetsons. Or The Flintstones.

HE: Oh yeah? Howcum?

SHE: Well hey: didn't you ever notice that they all had the same plots?

HE: Um.... well, eventually, I guess so.

SHE: That's just it! All they were was “life in the 50s” in new clothes!
Wilma and Jane and all the women were just manipulative irrational 50s housewife stereotypes!
Those cartoons were propaganda! They said “Life has always been like this, it always will be, no matter what! And things are so cozy and funny and... reassuring this way, so why try to change anything?” As if life in the 50s was the Law of Gravity or something!

HE: .......
You got all that from cartoons?

SHE: Well, c'mon, you got “knowledge as a force for good”, so why not?

HE: ... touché.

Comments

[alisonebruce.livejournal.com]

I didn't really like The Jetsons or The Flintstones either -- and yet I have a nostalgic attachment to them. Weird.

I liked their theme songs though.

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

Both themes composed by the fantastic Hoyt Curtin...

Music to my ears

[alisonebruce.livejournal.com]

What else did the composer create? Any other catchy tunes I might remember?

Re: Music to my ears

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

Most of the H-B cartoons of the 60s and 70s, as well as the epic Battle of the Planets theme.

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

SHE: Well, c'mon, you got “knowledge as a force for good”, so why not?

Well, because He is extrapolating about the potential for positive change over time. She is indulging in conspiracy theories about the hidden motives of cartoon scriptwriters.

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

I confess: as a child, watching the show, I myself was much more a He than a She.

In my adulthood, I didn't see this as a conspiracy, but I did recognize that most pop culture is a reflection of its time. It's usually only a select few creators -- including some fine artists and SF writers and social philosophers -- who have the thoughtfulness and vision to conceive of ways that things might be different. I often see old culture criticized because the creator wasn't “enlightened” enough to share our worldview. This is a mistake, and it's unfair.

So even though I wrote Her, I'm not saying She's right.

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

only a select few creators -- including some fine artists and SF writers and social philosophers -- who have the thoughtfulness and vision to conceive of ways that things might be different

I think I'm somewhere between you and Alison.

In my extensive professional experience, corporations (rather like politicians) will put on whatever face they think will make them look good. Their tendency is to Be So Bland as to Offend the Fewest Possible Customers and/or Clients. And I'm sure that applies to major networks.

Is this a conspiracy? Not to me. It's just a conservative reluctance to take a chance. It's the same reluctance that stops companies like Dell from ever innovating -- innovation takes money and doesn't always justify the investment.

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

When you mentioned Dell the first thing I thought was Dell Comics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Comics) -- which says something about how my mind works!

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

Which is exactly why I think steady progress on Space Kid has had such a beneficial effect on you in general. This isn't just an interest area, but, as you say, how your mind works.

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

I do deeply appreciate your unflagging encouragement over these many years, BTW, sir. I hope I never made you feel like I was ignoring your advice, but in the long run it has all finally come to fruition.

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

Oh, for doubt you're nothing compared to my own family.

I told them A YEAR ago that Romney would be the GOP nominee, that his primary argument would be he knew how to create jobs, that his personal tax rate would be a major issue in the media, that Obama would win, and furthermore, that the eventual popular vote would be 51-48. They not only didn't believe me, but forgot what I had said.

In late 2008, I told them that the stock market would rebound incredibly in the Obama years such that it would be almost impossible to make a bad bet and that I personally was going to invest my brains out to take advantage of it. Here we are, with the Dow up about 100% (a stupendous increase in less than four years). Again: disbelief, failed memory.

Sometimes I think people have a built-in incapacity for imagining any reality very different from the one they're currently inside of.

[alisonebruce.livejournal.com]

Not a conspiracy of the cartoon scriptwriters, but the limitations placed on them by advertisers. Tell me you can't give at least a little credence to an American corporate conspiracy.

[jkcarrier.livejournal.com]

A fun article by Mark Evanier about how much he loved the original show, and why he didn't want to work on the '80s revival:

http://www.newsfromme.com/2012/09/23/how-i-met-george-jetson/

I was surprised to learn that the original run only lasted a year. Of course, it was re-run endlessly. The only episode I have a clear memory of is the "Jet Screamer" one that everyone remembers ("Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah!"). Come to think of it, the musical episodes of the Flintstones are the ones that stand out in my mind, too...Hoagy Carmichael, Ann Margaret, "Let the Sun Shine In", etc.