I, like most Americans, grew up on sugar packed cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. They have been a staple of American culture for 50 years but, unfortunately, this new generation will not participate in such an iconic ritual. The CW was the last non cable network to air Saturday morning cartoons but last Saturday was the final broadcast of that genre on the network. NBC & CBS ditched cartoons in the 1990’s and ABC followed suit in the early 200’s, but the CW was the last network standing, not anymore. Cartoons have been replaced by live action “educational programming.” It’s a shame because I remember a time when cartoons were very educational for children.
Millions of kids learned about their parts of speech, math and the government through School House Rock (I still remember many of the songs today). There were moral and social lessons in everything from Fat Albert to the memorable PSAs between programs. On Saturday mornings I learned how to count, read, practiced laughing, enhanced my imagination, developed my Christmas wish list and learn the only I “could stop forest fires.” If you are of a certain age, your Saturday morning cartoons prepared you for an afternoon of Soul Train, wrestling, Kung-Fu films and (if your from Philly) Creature Double Feature. We looked forward to spending our Saturdays in front of the TV before going outside to play, to practice (whatever sport or art we participated in), or run errand with our parents. Saturday morning TV belonged to children in the most amusing way possible. Times have changed and so must we, but if you long to relive those care free moments with your favorite cartoon I suggest you go to the market at buy your favorite sugary cereal from yesteryear and watch YouTube.
