TMNT

I apologize to my UK and European friends in advance for what might be a blog decipherable only to the North American, but we shall see.

Let me tell you about TMNT. Initials, hmmm. You know what for? You remember? If you are between 22 and 30 are you going to tell me you can't hum the theme song right now? That's right folks, the phenomenon, the magic, the spectacle of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Love it. Had the actions figures--the Turtles, Shredder, Splinter, April their undeniably attractive acquaintance (side note: To all you ladies out there, how many of you would agree to hang out in sewers all day, with overgrown and adolescent turtles, fighting ancient ninja sects, and probably ending up smelling like pizza and sewage? Who's gonna date a girl like that? Not worth it in my book, but I am not a woman). Anyway, the TMNT craze sparked an endless amount of merchandise, t-shirts, bed sheets, anything you could ask for--I think there were TMNT blenders, workout tapes, and maybe even condoms. I am not positive about a couple of those.

Here is the thing: Think about when you went to school and learned about things: history, literature, art, etc. Think about what you knew about those things before you went to school (4th, 5th, 6th grade and on). Some of your parents may have educated you a great deal about art, Western Civilization, and European history. Most of them did not.

But, how many of you when learning about the Renaissance or about Italy or whatever, heard the name Leonardo or Raphael or Michelangelo and went, "Oh, I get it" Or, even exclaimed out loud in front of the class, "Like the ninja turtle, cool!"

Strange don't you think. How many of you have been to art galleries or museums, knowing nothing of art, and looking specifically for one of those artists? (This happens alot with Americans coming over to London and going to galleries).

What is the problem? Strange don't you think? That it is a ridiculous cartoon that instantiates some of the most important figures in Western history into our collective conscious. How is it that a medium such as television--which creates unreal realities (are the TMNT not real? Of course they are real. They had a symbol--what did it refer to? Anything we could touch, feel, or go find? No. So, unreal realities), be our educator?

What is the integrative force of our society? The thing that brings us all in to the culture at large? TV, and now, the internet. So, if the force among us that makes us part of the group--informed members of society from an early age (sorry to all of you "I went to home school and we didn't have a TV types), do we live in unreality from day one? Do we take part in a virtuality which has tempered our perception to the point that we can't discriminate between ourselves and the unreal realities we are trying to emulate?

Is this blog a second rate philosophy paper? Probably. But, if you heard the name Raphael for the first time while watching a cartoon in which a 6ft turtle says the word "bodacious" then you best back up and give it at least a thought.

I love living.


Keep it real,