As I look back on my childhood I wonder, “Did I learn anything from Bugs Bunny?”
I did. I’m sure of it. I learned that I have no idea when Duck Season happens, I learned that it’s all right to dress like a girl to confuse a hunter and to always take that left turn at Albuquerque.
That’s about it.
Of course, I cherish those old Looney Tunes cartoons. They helped form me (God help us all) into the man I am today as it did for my entire generation and the generation before me. This explains why the economy is in shambles and reality television is still popular.
We’re idiots.
My children are growing up on a steady diet of Jake and Finn and I think the world will be better for it.
Case in point, this last week’s episode, “Sad Face.” It was a commentary on wish fulfillment, artistic expression, the demand of celebrity, the acceptance of horror in real life as entertainment, the sacrifice of one’s dreams for a greater good, and how greed twists us to subjugate those we consider less than ourselves.
Adventure Time did all this in 11 minutes. And the main character was Jake’s tail.
Once a month, while Jake sleeps, his tail has been donning a hat, packing a bindle full of nuts and berries and sneaking out of the treehouse, stretching itself across the Candy Kingdom to a tiny, insect circus where it dons make up to entertain the crowd as Blue Nose, the Clown. It’s a sad clown and its act is just as sad. Jake’s tail sets up a phonograph and a cart of oranges in the center ring. With the help of a bee marionette, Blue Nose begins a piece of performance art and the audience hates it. He’s in good company though, Jerry Lewis and Andy Kaufman both started out doing bits on stage with phonographs, but that was before the Mushroom Wars and…
… I digress.
It’s important to note that this is Jake’s tail we’re talking about. Not Jake. We accept that his tail is a separate character. Perhaps Jake subliminally wants to be a clown. Or he thinks of himself as a clown and his tail is personifying that idea. But, no, it’s just his tail. His tail moonlights as a clown.
Classic.
After Blue Nose is booed off stage, the Ringmaster tells him, “Too much Artsy, not enough Fartsy.” This is the maxim that most television today observes as well. Following Blue Nose, the next act promises to amaze and astound. Goralina!! The giant captive chipmunk! Goralina is wheeled out on a platform and breaks her chains after she is injured by an audience member throwing a piece of trash. She swallows several audience members (which doesn’t seem to disturb anyone) and begins a rampage. Luckily, Blue Nose transfixes her with a wiggly dance and the day is saved.
Later, the Ringmaster is counting his gigantic coins (he is a bug, after all) earned by Goralina’s popularity and discussing the chipmunk’s freedom with Blue Nose. If Blue Nose can earn as much as Goralina, the Ringmaster will let her go.
Art must be sacrificed for freedom.
During the second show, Blue Nose gives up his performance piece and embraces all the clown stereotypes; seltzer bottles, whoopee cushions and pratfalls. He even destroys his phonograph with a giant club. The crowd roars and throws copious amounts of coin into the ring. Goralina should now be free!
Naturally, the Ringmaster’s greed overtakes him and he decides to keep the chipmunk to make even mo’ money! Blue Nose has had enough and orchestrates Goralina’s escape. He is chased away from the circus, never to perform again.
As Jake’s tail winds its way back across the Candy Kingdom, I couldn’t help but wonder what my son thought of all this metaphor for today’s society. I asked him and he said he liked the part where Blue Nose smashed stuff.
Maybe he’s not learning anything after all.