Saturday Morning Fever : Growing up with Cartoon Culture
- Book Review,
by Timothy Burke, Kevin Burke
From Publishers Weekly
The lowdown on Scooby-Doo, Hong Kong Phooey and other beloved kids' shows can be found here. Combining standard research with interviews, insight and anecdotes, the brothers Burke (one a college professor, the other a journalist now working in the film industry) deliver a well-rounded yet irreverent analysis of the cultural phenomenon known as Saturday morning television. Their fast-moving history of so-called "kidvid," from its emergence in the 1960s to its expansion into cable programming today, includes scholarship, data from psychological studies and quotes from producers and authorities such as Peggy Charren, former president of the now-disbanded watchdog organization Action for Children's Television. But most illuminating?and fun?is the brothers' commentary, which entertains while convincingly debunking the received notion that Saturday morning television viewing has always been bad for kids. Insisting that watching TV never hurt anyone, the authors discuss Saturday morning ads and then wax nostalgic about their favorite sugar cereals and childhood toys. Sidebars such as "Cartoon Animals We'd Like to See" ("Woogums the naked mole rat") and "The missing G.I. Joes" will likely strike a chord with readers of a certain age. For those who've always wondered who would win if Space Ghost and Birdman fought a duel to the death, this book will prove indispensable. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The goal of this entertaining collaboration by two brothers (Timothy is a professor at Swarthmore College, and Kevin works for Quentin Tarantino) is "to tell our readers how we experienced and remember Saturday morning" rather than to deliver a comprehensive overview of cartoons. The authors first describe the growth of animated television programming as it evolved into a "distinctive cultural institution" by the mid 1960s and the resulting growth of criticism targeting the cartoon's alleged negative influences. The book's second section wittily details the authors' personal Saturday morning experiences and explains the powerful sense of connection felt by people who engaged in the same ritual. Components of the participants' shared experience include what time they woke up, when and what they ate for breakfast, where they watched TV, what they watched, and how individual shows and characters are remembered. Recommended for large public libraries and academic libraries with performing arts collections.?Bruce Henson, Georgia Inst. of Technology, AtlantaCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"For anybody who grew up a veteran of Saturday morning, this book is beyond essential. It does for Saturday morning cartoons what the Psychotronic Guide did for exploitation films. It confirms one's sanity (yes Virginia there really was a show called Goober and the Ghost Chasers, you didn't just dream it); ponders serious questions (were Dr. Quest and Race Bannon the most positive portrayal of a gay parental unit in the history of the media? How many budding young lesbians experienced their first crush on Velma from Scooby-Doo? And how easily would shaggy fit in with the whole Dazed and Confused gang?); and finally frustrates one to no end ( I must see again The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan!). --Quentin Tarantino
"If you think Saturday morning cartoons rot kids' minds, then the Burke brothers have a message for you: 'Piss off!' The authors manage to be stylistically impudent, socially trenchant, and impeccably scholarly in the first media analysis of kiddie TV created by today's adults who actually watched and loved kiddie TV." --Howard Rheingold
Review
"For anybody who grew up a veteran of Saturday morning, this book is beyond essential. It does for Saturday morning cartoons what the Psychotronic Guide did for exploitation films. It confirms one's sanity (yes Virginia there really was a show called Goober and the Ghost Chasers, you didn't just dream it); ponders serious questions (were Dr. Quest and Race Bannon the most positive portrayal of a gay parental unit in the history of the media? How many budding young lesbians experienced their first crush on Velma from Scooby-Doo? And how easily would shaggy fit in with the whole Dazed and Confused gang?); and finally frustrates one to no end ( I must see again The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan!). --Quentin Tarantino
"If you think Saturday morning cartoons rot kids' minds, then the Burke brothers have a message for you: 'Piss off!' The authors manage to be stylistically impudent, socially trenchant, and impeccably scholarly in the first media analysis of kiddie TV created by today's adults who actually watched and loved kiddie TV." --Howard Rheingold
Review
"For anybody who grew up a veteran of Saturday morning, this book is beyond essential. It does for Saturday morning cartoons what the Psychotronic Guide did for exploitation films. It confirms one's sanity (yes Virginia there really was a show called Goober and the Ghost Chasers, you didn't just dream it); ponders serious questions (were Dr. Quest and Race Bannon the most positive portrayal of a gay parental unit in the history of the media? How many budding young lesbians experienced their first crush on Velma from Scooby-Doo? And how easily would shaggy fit in with the whole Dazed and Confused gang?); and finally frustrates one to no end ( I must see again The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan!). --Quentin Tarantino
"If you think Saturday morning cartoons rot kids' minds, then the Burke brothers have a message for you: 'Piss off!' The authors manage to be stylistically impudent, socially trenchant, and impeccably scholarly in the first media analysis of kiddie TV created by today's adults who actually watched and loved kiddie TV." --Howard Rheingold
Book Description
Hey Hey Hey, You're Gonna Have A Good Time!
It's predawn Saturday morning. You and your brother are the first ones up, gathering pillows and blankets and the TV warms up to the weekly Farm Report. Then, just as the sugar cereal kicks in, you begin your descent into the happy-spazzy TV world of Space Ghost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Hong Kong Phooey, The Herculoids, and for the hard-core Saturday morning junkie, live-action shows like Jason of Star Command.
Little did you know that this cherished world was also the battleground where greedy toy advertisers, network flacks, cutthroat cartoon companies, opportunistic politicians, and concerned parents struggled for the attention-deficit souls of America's youth.
Brothers Tim and Kevin Burke bring us a loving, insightful, and hilarious examination of all aspects of Saturday morning television. Tune in and get ready for some fun.
From the Publisher
"Timothy and Kevin Burke deftly counter the glib technological determinism that has so far prevented our culture from having a sane and serious discussion about television's impact on children. They proceed on the heretical (and bracingly nonacademic) assumption that the people who actually consumed Saturday morning kidvid might know something about it." --James Morrow, author of Blameless in Abaddon "Fun . . . Insisting that watching TV never hurt anyone, the authors discuss Saturday morning ads and then wax nostalgic about their favorite sugar cereals and childhood toys. Sidebars such as "Cartoon Animals We'd Like to See" ("Woogums the naked mole rat") and "The missing G.I. Joes" will likely strike a chord with readers of a certain age. For those who've always wondered who would win if Space Ghost and Birdman fought a duel to the death, this book will prove indispensable." ---Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Timothy Burke is a professor at Swarthmore college in Pennsylvania.
Kevin Burke was an editor of Film Threat and Wild Cartoon Kingtom magazines and now works for a film company in Los Angeles. Neither brother regrets watching lots of television.
Buy from Amazon
Compare Prices
|
|
Home
