Is the world a dystopia without you?

[dstebbins]

Let's play Mythbusters for a minute.

 

Often, in movies and TV shows, when characters wish they had never been born, some supernatural being takes them to some other dimension where they never were born. This place is ALWAYS a dystopian version of the character's home universe. It's supposed to show the viewers that they can always make a difference, but I think they REALLY exaggerate the results.

 

When Kermit the Frog, for example, wishes he were never born, an angel takes him to this place where Piggy is a con-artist and Gonzo is a criminal.

 

Wait... you're saying that, if it weren't for Kermit, Jim Hanson would have created them to be complete pieces of crap instead of the lovable, kid-friendly icons they really are? Like, was Hanson going to make them villains (or at least antiheroes) until a friend suggested including a frog character, and only then did Hanson's creation make the transition from Bill Dunn to Clark Kent?

 

But perhaps the most contrived instance of this happening is in Nickelodeon's "The Rugrats." Chuckie gets taken to a parrallel universe where all the kids are beating each other up, because... Chuckie doesn't tell them it's not right (because Chuckie is the only one on the PLANET who knows right from wrong), and Angelica orders around the grown-ups, because... umm... I have no idea! Yeah, apparently, without Chuckie, the grown-ups in this universe are a bunch of pansies who give in to Childrens' damands. This episode was nose-pinchingly horrible.

 

Ok, I can accept that writers make these movies and episodes with good INTENTIONS, but really, don't you think this runs the risk of giving kids an inflated sense of self-worth? Like, it tells kids that "the world needs you, in a big way. You're the ONLY thing keeping the world together."

 

Don't you think that's going to turn kids into douchbags?

[iNow]

No. I think there is more good than harm that comes of telling those stories, and that other influences on kids lives like youtube and access to stupid videos will have much more of an impact on the general level of douchiness across the populace.

[Prometheus]

I agree with iNow. Having a sense that one can affect change in the world is an important lesson. There's nothing worse than watching someone go through life believing themselves to have nothing to contribute. All kids stories involve hyperbole. There are far worse influences in our media afoot.

[SomethingToPonder]

Well it depends. I think it could be true. It all depends on the person and what that persons actions are. It's down to chaos theory, which simplified is the butterfly effect.
Anything you do can set of a chain reaction of events that could still be happening 20 years from when you performed the action.
Something so small, for arguments sake , i drop something down my sink. This has set off a series of events that Will shape my life and many other peoples here's how.
I drop something down the sink -- The drain Gets clogged -- I phone a plumber to fix it -- The plumber falls hits his head on my stairs which have a chip in them -- he dies or is seriously injured -- I have to deal with all the police investigations -- His family have no way of an income as the man has allways been the main breadwinner in their house -- His child grows up in poverty and falls in with the wrong crowd -- His wife forced to make money any way she can to feed the family And so on.

This is just an example but you can see how anything you do could have massive consequences. If everyone lived their lives thinking about it we would all be insane. We live in a world with over 6billion humans who each everyday make major and minor choices which have a major chain reaction of events.


And to the OP, The episode of the rugrats sounds like that the producers are trying to teach children that you need to stand up for other kids and not just go along with the crowd also that if you know something is wrong to voice your opinion. I think thats good skills for kids to learn

Edited January 11, 2013 by SomethingToPonder