One of western culture’s favorite pastimes is remembered watching Saturday morning cartoons. In America our youth has had the privilege of growing up with animated tales. It has taken other countries over fifty years to show the same media to their young. From 1991 on, children’s based cartoon channels have surfaced on our cable selections. In India the first children’s channel aired in 1999. Many of the cartoons that people watch are from a western culture. India has recently launched their first 2D animated films, and series’ made and produced in Bollywood.
The first animated western cartoon made was “Fantasmagorie" by the French director Émile Cohl. The cartoon reel on film was released in 1908.
In the late 1920’s Walt Disney started to make their first reels of animated film for the child viewer. Today our children have a variety of cartoon channels to watch and can choose hundreds of shows to watch. The animations that our children watch are produced from many other cultures. In India the children have been influenced by western cartoon heroes from a couple cable channels now being broadcast to their televisions.
Most cartoon produces are from the western culture. Some Indian parents are concerned with the influences the children are taking from cartoons. Many families feel that monitoring their child when they view cartoons is necessary. Some children are taking influence and ideas of our culture into their daily lives. Some families feel that their children are loosing their traditional culture through westernization or globalization.
 | Some of the cartoons that are being aired on the Indian cartoon broadcast channel for children are Japanese, Crayon Shin Chan, (which airs on the Saturday by Cartoon networks adult swim at 2 am.) others include Tom and Jerry, (which displays acts of random violence), Johnny Bravo, (American male chauvinist) |
In India the first animated cartoon TV series was launched in 2003. It is called Hanuman. The series is based off of an ancient Hindu god. The ancient Hanuman is a monkey headed deity who performs great deeds, and leads a monkey army to defeat the evil. The new animated series’ character is a deity reborn as a boy / superhero who attends life as an everyday character who fights common day dilemmas to save the Earth. Other popular Indian made animations include some of the most popular Hindu gods such as Ganesha, and Krishna. “A number of haloed Hindu gods and goddesses have debuted in the frenetic world of animation over the past five years. Their appearance marks a shift from a decades-long period in which Indian children grew up almost exclusively on American TV and movie characters.” (Lakshmi)
Parents like the Idea of their children learning ancient myths through cartoons. They are not worried about monitoring their children at the television. The Indian culture has found a successful way to introduce the ancient tales, and cultural values, of their background to their children, who are surely losing touch with their heritage with so many options from today’s emerging popular culture. The new animated series, is promoting India’s ancient culture as a new cool trend.
The cartoons being produced in India are full of values and good virtue. The animation is as quality as American, Canadian or Japanese toons. In fact the animation is revolutionary. The imagery and illustration is far beyond a typical Warner Brothers or Disney animation flick. Each still image is a beautiful piece of artwork in itself. The color and flow of the images catch the attention of all viewers, young and old. The traditional stories are a brilliant way to broaden our knowledge of the countries traditional cultures. India has much to offer the rest of the animation world. India is leading by example. This example may help stop producing and airing our children cartoons that need to be monitored closely. We may also get a little closer to making shows for our children that will teach them about traditions, culture and good morals.
Lakshmi, Rama. In India, Gods Rule The 'Toon' Universe: Hindu Myth a Fount of Superheroes. Washington Post Foreign Service. 2008
Vālmīki, Manmatha Nath Dutt. The Ramayana. Girish Chandra Chackravarti, 1893
Allen Katie. BBC children's series confirms India is centre of animation. The Guardian. 2008 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jan/02/bbc.television>
www.indiantelevision.com
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