Analysis of Article by John Bisges
The article I chose is very interesting because it takes a movie and compares it to what is going on in the rest of the world. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a huge hit back when I was kid in 1990 and 1991. I was a tomboy and loved ninja movies and these were my favorites.
The author, John Bisges, depicts sarcasm throughout the article comparing the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) to what were significant impacts in our history and culture. Some comparisons included past nuclear war with the Japanese and the ending of the Cold War. The first point brought to light is the amount of money this movie made and the significant impact it had on the young adolescence. According to the article, "the franchise's first film grossed $201.9 million dollars and its sequel $78.657 million in 1991." (Bisges, 2008, 918) This money didn't include the money that was made off action figures, lunch boxes, cartoons etc…
The authors, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, of TMNT first developed a comic strip in 1984 that in turn turned into the hit movie. My husband is really into collecting comic books and he also agrees with the next point Bisges makes. He compares TMNT to the comic strip Daredevil. TMNT is about four baby turtles that encountered radioactive chemical that turns them into superheroes and is trained by a martial arts master rat names Splinter and together in they fight off in the first movie Japanese ninjas and the head guy is "Shredder". In Daredevil, almost the same scenario applies. Daredevil was a young boy when he encountered radioactive chemicals and is trained by a martial arts master to fight off evil ninjas.
The author brought to light an important issue regarding the radioactive chemicals. To the young adolescents when they read this comic or watch these fictional movies they get the idea that these radioactive chemicals are going to make them superheroes and strong. When in actuality they can get cancer and die from these chemicals. When a child is exposed to a container that says radioactive waste, are they going to spill it on themselves because of what it did to the turtles? I would certainly hope not but it's hard as a child to understand that what you see on television is not real and they are forced to alter their way of thinking.
Major points the author brings up is how some situations in the movies resemble important events in history. The author states, "it is interesting to note that while no conventional tactics were effective in defeating the Shredder (who was from Japan), a group in possession of nuclear-related powers defeated him almost handily, an ending that can be related to the conclusion of World War II." (921) Due to the Turtle's and the ninjas being of Japanese influence you see how they really compared that to what was going on in the real world. Another example is that during this time of the movie "many Japanese business practices were being imitated in the US," (923) and in the movie the news reporter that became the turtles' friend, April O' Neil, does a news broadcast asserting "that the solution to New York's current troubles can be found by consulting with the city's Japanese. By ignoring O'Neil and the warnings of the immigrants though, the city slips deeper into trouble that plagues it." (923)
At the time of the first movie, it was just as the Cold War was ending and I agree with the author that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became so popular because of the circumstances regarding nuclear power and the "necessity of fighting, along with their emphasis on surfer slang and Japanese culture. They reflected a need of Americans to thumb their noses at the messages of sacrifice and impending death those decades of Cold War fears had pounded into the psyche of the country." (Bisges, 2008, 924) I believe we will see the same thing happen with the Iraq War. The entertainment industry will capitalize on our emotions and our desires to see it on a big screen.
Reference
Bisges, John. (2008). Turtle Power!: How Four Mutant Teenagers Nuked the
Entertainment Industry. The Journal of Popular Culture. 41(6), 918-933.
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Wow, that brings back memories. I used to be addicted to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I enjoyed reading your analysis. I never really related what was going on in the world and the TMNT. Looking back, that makes since. I find it interesting that movies have a way of depicting what we experience in our everyday lives. Movies have a way of stereotyping the bad guys into who America is having a conflict with. This goes with television shows as well. Look at the Law and Order episodes that seem to reflect what we see on the news. Children do have a way of mimicking what they see on television. What ever happened to eating your spinach because it would make you strong like Popeye?
ReplyDeleteI loved the TMNT. I have watched all the movies and think they were great. I did not associate the movies with what was going on in the world though. Maybe because when I was younger, I did not pay attention to "adult" issues but to my own issues of school and friends and who was doing what and who was being mean to whom. Maybe that is a good thing that most children are not paying attention to the world at large but are paying attention to their own lives.
ReplyDeleteAs for children wanting to dump the radioactive waste all over them, I would hope that they would not! But I can see how kids would think that it would give them super powers and how they would think it was cool and interesting to act like a superhero.
Overall, I thought your analysis was very good and interesting to learn about how the author related the TMNT to the world and what was going on in it at the time.