Re: Swat Kats change your life...

From: Dana Uehara <duehara_at_cisk.atmos.Ucla.EDU>
Date: Wed, 31 May 95 14:51:23 PDT

> From: Andy Hill <chance_at_unix.infoserve.net>
> To: kats_at_sard.mv.net
> Subject: Re: Swat Kats change your life...
>
> Hmm...you generally keep tuning into a show because you like the
> characters in it, and you may even like them to the point you either
> consciously or unconsciously emulate them or aspects of them to a
> degree.

Agreed. As I've told a few people, I tend to emulate Razor quite a
bit, almost to the point where he's becoming a "personal furry" -- a
character who is essentially me (in terms of personality).

I generally like characters that I can either identify with or relate to,
(i.e., Razor)... and I've even been told on occasion that I *look* like
Razor (;-). But as Andy has mentioned, this can apply to any show,
not just SWAT Kats (for example, Raphael's my favorite TMNT character).


> Just as something seems very obviously out of character with someone
> you've known for quite a while, so too with characters like the 'KATS.

A friend once told me jokingly that "you know you've been mucking too
long when you see T-Bone and Razor [on TV] and feel like you know them
personally." After roleplaying Razor for almost a year and a half I'm
starting to feel as though I've become part of him, so to speak (or
that he's become part of me).


> The earlier generation, especially if they immigrated from overseas
> in the 60's, don't generally have much appreciation for toons becuase it
> was drummed into their parental heads during the 70's that "cartoons are
> for kids". Well, that's nonsense.

This is something I should put in the FAQ. It's an ongoing debate that
sometimes pops up in rec.arts.animation and it's the pet peeve of another
mailing list that I'm on (the Disney Afternoon mailing list). Even the
creators of the old Warner Bros. cartoons (i.e., the Termite Terrace
guys) once said that the cartoons they made "were never intended for kids
[but more for themselves]".


> There are _very_ intelligent people that watch cartoons like 'KATS
> (Harlan Ellison, apparently), and I think you'll find that most
> adults who dismiss the entire genre as "crap" or similar flick the
> channel and land on "Married with Children", which is about the
> biggest irony I can imagine.

There's something else ironic about this comment, and I know it's already
been brought up once on the list... and that's Jake's taste in TV
versus Chance's taste in TV. Chance likes the Tex Avery-ish "Scaredy
Kat," while Jake says, "*some* Kats have higher standards"... and then
promptly puts on David Litterbin. In a sense, I think SK is poking
fun at this very notion by that comment.

--
=================== Dana Uehara (duehara_at_atmos.ucla.edu) ==================
"I was raised to always offer my seat to a lady..." -- Razor

Received on Wed May 31 1995 - 18:05:50 PDT